My Breast Implant Story
It was 2014. I had a 1 and 2 year old and my husband was deployed to Afghanistan at the time. I was a cosmetologist by trade and worked full time up until I became a mother, and then went down to working three days a week and maintained that schedule through out my career so I could spend most of my time with my kids. Being in the beauty industry was all I knew. I enrolled into hair school straight out of high school. It was “in my blood” so to speak. I had a grandmother who was retired in the field, and two aunts who practiced as well. I enjoyed my time with my clients who were mostly women, where I could express my creativity by changing their hair color and applying makeup for pageants, business ventures, everyday life and the such.
I had been doing hair for about 7 years when I had gotten sucked in to the body images rabbit hole and what society was portraying as “beautiful”. I became obsessed over ‘the look’ and had decided I needed breast implants. My husband at the time, was all for it and so for my birthday that year I got saline 350 cc’s.
Ironically the consultation before surgery I had with my surgeon, I specifically had asked him if breast implants were safe and if they were connected to any type of cancers..specifically breast cancer as I had lost a grandmother to the disease. He said they were completely safe and no reports of any illness related to implants. So I went through with it and little did I know in less than a year my health would spiral downward.
Time went on and in 2017 I I had already racked up a pile of medical bills and ended up on Paxil for what doctors diagnosed my mysterious medical condition as “depression”. I went through life numb and emotionless and just ‘there’ but really somewhere else. I continued to do hair but found myself having to cancel clients appointments because I didn’t have the energy to even stand somedays, even worse, be a mother to my little boys in diapers.
It was spring of 2018 when I ended up in the ER after having a bad case of tachycardia and what we believe was a seizure after taking an excedrin for a migrane. I had told the boys we would go to the park earlier that day after I had a nap because I was exhausted and not feeling well. My head had been pounding on and off for weeks by this point. But I felt so guilty for neglecting my own children because I never seemed to have the energy for them anymore. We were in the living room and I was on the couch when I called my dad and told him I felt like I was about to die and needed him to come after my kids. He and my mother showed up in two separate vehicles and he grabbed my boys. My mother drove me to the ER. After another unsuccessful visit with a medical doctor, xrays, and tests I left with no hope once again. I knew that night it would be up to me, to pull myself together and figure this out on my own. And that’s exactly what happened. I knew if I didn’t my boys would be burying their mother in the foreseeable future.
I got on my knees after I got home and prayed to God that he would show me something. I had came to the end of my rope and needed his guidance. I was ready for him to show me and I was receptive of whatever that may be. I replayed the conversation over in my head laying there in the floor staring at the ceiling and one thing I recalled was he, like so many doctors before had asked me “have you had any surgeries?” I’d always without ever really thinking about what I was saying would answer, “yes. A breast augmentation in 2014.” And there was my ah-ha moment!! Could my breast implants be the source of all these problems for me?! I started researching and sure enough, what I discovered was horrific about how toxic breast implants were in the body. I prayed God would show me, and he did….
What is breast implant illness?
Breast implant illness is not to do with the brand or type of implant that you have. Breast implant illness occurs in all brands and both saline and silicone implants and is a very multifaceted illness. For both saline and silicone breast implants a strong and immediate response to the silicone shell directly after implantation may be predicted by your genes specifically HLA B27, HLA DR52, and HLA DR53 which are genes associated with being ill in the first year after implantation and a higher sensitivity to silicone. Even if you don’t have these specific genes your body will still respond to the face that breast implants are large foreign objects implanted in your chest over fragile organs and glands and you will eventually experience the usual foreign body immune response as your body mounts an all out war which causes immune deficits, immune dysfunction and eventually autoimmune symptoms and diseases.
Our overwhelmed immune system eventually switches over to attacking itself instead of attacking invaders. This is known as switching from TH1 dominance to TH2 dominance and it is when the immune system develops antibodies against itself instead of killer T- cells to kill what it perceives to be abnormal cells. Eventually, both silicone and saline breast implants cause immune system failure by overwhelming the immune system and allowing various infections in the body to gain a foothold which causes symptoms. These infections can be bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitical.
Next, the approximate 40 toxic chemicals and array of heavy metals in silicone which are known endocrine disruptors, inflammatory, carcinogenic, cytotoxic and neurotoxic poison our fragile endocrine glands especially thyroid and adrenals and poison our immune system and gut health which creates toxicity in our body.
With saline there is also the added element that the saline fill valve ports collect body fluid and can mold and these mold organisms can cross into the implant due to defective valves and even colonize the implant. These microorganisms produce metabolites know as biotoxins which are toxic to us. The interior of capsules is a perfect place for infections to grow and the inside of capsules necrotize over time.
Textures add another layer of toxicity soaking up body fluids and providing spaces for infections to thrive. Textures also aggravate the immune system as they flake off and travel through our lymphatic system. Many of us also have pathogens and parasites in our gut as they inhabit our body because there is very little immune opposition to them due to immune deficits. With poor gut health we cannot properly digest our foods and due to autoimmune processes our guts and bodies are full of inflammation.
These were my implants and capsules (the red film surrounding the implants) the day they came out.
Symptoms of breast implant illness
These will vary from person to person. Mine were both random and consistent like digestion and stomach problems, headaches (in which I was never prone to get before), extreme fatigue, recurrent laryngitis, and flu like symptoms about every other month or so.
I started speaking out about what I had discovered because I just wanted to show others suffering like me, that there is hope after all. In November of 2019 I was able to finally EXPLANT those toxic bags and remove the very thing that was taking my health away. I had found a doctor in Little Rock, Arkansas that was able to do the surgery correctly and remove my capsules as well as the bags.
Here is a helpful website with tons of resources and a list of surgeons who have been recommended to do this type of surgery successfully. Also, I will list other scientific research here on breast implant illness. The FDA put a black box warning on implants in 2019 meaning this product has the highest regard of death in patients. Again, when considering this type of surgery its more invasive than just removing the bags because the capsules (see picture above) has to come out too because that is what harbors infections, bacteria, mold, biofilm, parasites etc. If left behind, you could continue to experience sickness from the capsules. This type of procedure is called an “en-bloc’ or a total capsulectomy, making sure your surgeon can perform this when shopping around for the right one will make all the difference.
How I'm doing since my illness with breast implants
It’s been five years since explanting and I’m feeling so free. Free from recurrent illness, pain and symptoms that were constantly plaguing me! I’ve since been on a mission to swap toxic products in my home! I’ve swapped my hair and makeup products as well and am intentional about what we use in, on and around our body. You’ve probably seen me post on my social media about the makeup but I’ll leave a link here on which kind I use and love. Super clean, and very few functional ingredients with no toxic additives like propylene glycol or formaldehyde. It is another small family owned business, that aligns with my beliefs and values, and I have a heart for supporting small locally owned businesses who doesn’t mind making sacrifices to stay true to their values. my makeup, you can find here, just be sure and use code “NIKKIKELLY10” at checkout for your discount of 10%!
Wearing “light Medium” in the powder foundation and contoured with the “cocoa” shade in the same powder, also wearing their mascara in black!
One thing I’ve done consistently since explanting is supporting my body with detoxing by drinking this mineral blend full of herbs that support our eliminative channels! Regardless if you have implants or not, we are all bombarded by environmental toxins everyday and our bodies need all the extra support and nutrition we can give it. I swapped all my expensive vitamins out for this one tea blend I created after I graduated from herbal medicine school called the “Nutritive & Nourishing Tea” blend and it not only supports the eliminative channels so our bodies can excrete toxins out effectively but herbs like Nettles being full of magnesium supports restful sleep, decreases depression, and supports the kidney. Rosehips is full of Vitamin C which also plays a huge role in fighting off sickness and is anti-aging. And so much more goodness in this one blend. It is absolutely safe for the entire family including pregnant mamas.
Check out this newest design here if you want some cool advocacy merch!!
Being intentional about the choices I make that impact my life and health made and continues to make all the difference in the world for me! Struggling with chronic sickness for so long has completely opened my eyes and completely changed the way I view it and live it and how I teach it and share it with my beautiful children who look to me to protect and nurture them. I am continually thankful for this journey and what it continues to teach me and I am grateful to have an opportunity to share it with you all as well. if you have questions or need more support, email us at seed_and_sparrow@icloud.com