My Personal Story

After about 10 years of breast augmentation, I kept having different symptoms but I never tied the two together, yet I couldn’t understand why I was having an array of unrelated symptoms while I was living a very healthy lifestyle: eating a clean diet, exercising and looking great. I gradually began gaining weight around my waist -this is when I also developed food sensitivities and allergies. In an attempt to regain my slim waist and improve my digestion I dropped gluten and dairy products from my diet but my body didn’t react to these changes and gradually it seems like nothing was helping me – my health symptoms started accumulating and ranging from migraines, skin rashes, to joint pain including a frozen shoulder. Working out improved my symptoms but I remained limited to what I could do. For example, I couldn’t squat because of pain in my knees and I also developed fibromyalgia in my neck and shoulders, numbness in my feet and arms with a tingling sensation in my fingers, and eye floaters.

Discovering Breast Implant Illness

In 2019 my symptoms got worse. I developed anxiety. My stomach was constantly bloated and I started having difficulties breathing and swallowing. I had to constantly clear my throat or drink tea with honey otherwise I felt that I would choke. At this point, I went to a gastro who had me tested. The results exhibited no illness. Yet my symptoms continued to accumulate. The most frustrating aspect was that my girlfriends who were eating a typical American diet with dairy products, meats, and gluten were actually feeling better than me. I was mostly vegan, the queen of health, yet inside of me, I knew that something was off, needless to mention that my family and even my children thought that my condition was related to stress and anxiety.

I kept my condition to myself not wanting to seek a medical opinion, but I gradually got helpless and concerned about my health. In July 2021 I decided to go into a deep cleanse and detoxification program at Hippocrates health institute in Florida -a place I used to visit once every few years to recharge my batteries. This decision has changed my life – while I was at Hippocrates eating sprouts and drinking green juices I met a woman by the name of Nikki who changed my life. She was after an explant surgery and was healing due to “breast implant illness”. This is the first time I heard the term and to be honest I didn’t believe in it at first. She was passionate about spreading awareness and I received from her within days links with information about BII As well as links to FB support groups and IG groups where there were many honest discussions related to these symptoms. All of a sudden and for the first time in many years I felt heard!!!! These women were voicing exactly what I have been feeling for years -BII is and was real and it wasn’t all in my head. 30-50 symptoms were posted in different groups by different women and gradually I realized that I had at least 30 of them.

My decision to explant

Within 2 months I went from total ignorance to being an expert in breast implant illness. I ended up consuming articles from different sources but mostly scrolling for hours in Facebook groups, forums, FDA websites, and reading testimonials of women of all ages – and they all displayed similar physical symptoms as well as emotions which were related to breast implant illness. The day before my explant surgery, I tallied at least 30 symptoms that I was actively experiencing: some on a daily basis, others will come and go randomly.

These were my symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Bloating
• Food sensitivities
• Tingling in my hands and feet
• Floaters in my eyes
• Numbness in my hands
• Pain in my chest
• Difficulties swallowing
• Sinus inflammation
• Vaginal dryness

After extensive research and consultations, I ended up choosing Dr. Randall Feingold, MD, an expert in Breast Cancer Reconstruction and en bloc procedure. On August 3 2021 I underwent an explant surgery with a breast lift and fat grafting. The surgery lasted 3 .5 hours. Below are my en bloc implants which I received from Dr. Feingold after the surgery. Despite the fear I must admit that I felt empowered and so happy to remove these fake boobs.

When I fully recovered my daughter drove me back home and for the next few days, I was connected to draining tubes. The pain was tolerable and I hardly took any pain medication mostly because they cause constipation and as far as I am concerned this was worse than the pain itself. Days 5-7 were difficult, I called Nikki to share with her how depressed I felt, she assured me that it will get better. She said something really profound which helped me during these difficult days –

“Focus on the results and not at how you feel right now”

Words of wisdom

I kept reminding myself that I am traveling this amazing journey with such a profound destination so that I can share it later with other women. I guess no one can understand what it means to carry an artificial implant close to your heart unless you had it and later removed it. What a sensation of relief and freedom!. This was an emancipated moment in my life. I no longer cared if my breast projected sexuality or not, I care about who I am and how wonderful it feels to fit into my old clothes and have this youthful look again. I also knew that I had removed two bags of toxins that could potentially kill me.

4 months after my surgery some but not all of my symptoms disappeared.

I am doing my detective work to understand what symptoms are related to breast implant illness and what needs more attention in order to heal.

So far these symptoms improved or disappeared:

• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Bloating
• Food sensitivities
• Tingling in my hands and feet
• Floaters in my eyes
• Numbness in my hands
• Pain in my chest
• Difficulties swallowing
• Sinus inflammation
• Vaginal dryness

My future year of 2022

I am mostly a plant-based diet eater and I also juice regularly. I am on a path to cleaning my diet and lifestyle completely in order to create a detoxification protocol that will support my healing journey.

Life is all about authenticity and when you are yourself miracles happen. Few last insightful words- Explant surgery is the beginning of your journey, keep moving, you have not yet reached your destination – eat better, detox all these chemicals from your body. It takes time – give yourself 12 months. Our health is dynamic therefore you have got to get on a good dietary program, exercise, and be authentic- do what you love without fearing the future. While you become you -reflect on the things in life that make you passionate, happy, and dare to go for them. Don’t give up on yourself.