Bigger Problems #22

I’ve had my breast implants for 11 years which made me feel desirable but I must confess that deep down during all those years with implants I could never really visualise myself in such extravagant body. Five years ago, I had my second daughter and when I was done breastfeeding my health problems began. I have always considered myself a fairly healthy person and have been focused on my well-being in a true holistic way. But little by little I started to feel very bad. My joints began to wear and pain appeared in new places I’ve never felt before. I forgot things, I was tired all the time and I never had that energy that I always had. My thoughts were not clear, I suffered from anxiety- a problem that has not happened to me since my adolescence. My immune system went to the ground- I had the flu at least once a month and asthma attacks returned. Something was wrong with me and I couldn’t identify what exactly was going on. I began to think I had depression or had some sort of very late postpartum depression. I went to seek psychological help and both times I got discharged within a few weeks. I felt like I was slowly deteriorating without knowing what was happening to me.

I stumbled upon someone’s post who claimed had breast implant illness and that post led me to a group on Facebook where I read stories of thousands of women with similar cases as mine. I could not believe this was causing all my symptoms and I connected all of my symptoms with these women. I finally began to see the light. After all my years with breast implants it had never occurred to me that implants could be interfering with my health. The possibility of taking them out and returning to my natural body never really crossed my mind either. The more I read these stories, the more I began to make sense of what was happening to me.