'I got breast implants thanks to gym culture. Four years later, the symptoms started.'

Growing up, Kirsty Seward had a positive relationship with her body. She played plenty of sport, and loved jazz and tap dancing. 

As she moved into her late teens, though, and swapped childhood sports for the gym, her relationship with her body started to change. 

Immersing herself in gym culture meant she no longer saw her body as 'enough', especially when it came to her breasts. 

"It wasn’t until I got more involved in the gym scene that I questioned changing my body through surgery," says Kirsty. "A part of me felt that implants would make my body more 'enough'."

Watch: Know Your Normal ~ A Pink Hope Self Breast Check Initiative. Article continues after the video.

After choosing a qualified plastic surgeon, Kirsty looked forward to the procedure, viewing the choice as more or less, "normal". 

"I’d seen others in my family get breast implants and they were very common in the fitness/gym culture. I was also in a relationship at the time, looking back it wasn’t a healthy and secure relationship."

Although they were a little larger than she'd expected, Kirsty was happy with the outcome, and felt positive about her decision. 

Mysterious symptoms. 

In 2020, about four years after her implants, Kirsty started to experience chronic fatigue and brain fog. 

"At that time, I was lecturing at the university and struggled to make it through the full days. I was napping a lot," she says. 

"I went from writing an 80,000 word research thesis, lecturing at the university and running a business to now opening my laptop and not being able to pull one single email together — my brain was completely fogged."

Her body physically changed too—with puffiness, inflammation and weight gain becoming progressively worse. 

"I was tired all the time - napping every afternoon just to make it through the evening. Repeat migraines. Muscle and joint aches. My hair was snapping and thinning."

As a business owner and active gym-goer, Kirsty put her symptoms down to burnout. But even after reducing both her work commitments and her workout schedule, there was no improvement.

"I felt groggy all the time."

Kirsty visited her GP who ran several blood tests, but nothing specific was showing up. She visited her naturopath too, but nothing worked. 

Breast Implant Illness.

In mid 2020, a friend mentioned to Kirsty that she's had her breast implants removed due to something called Breast Implant Illness, or BII. 

"I didn’t believe it and I simply thought this couldn’t be happening to me, but as my symptoms continued to get worse, I started to consider the possibility that it could be BII. I also mentioned it to my naturopath, who confirmed that she had previously seen clients who’d experienced similar symptoms."

Kirsty joined a BII support group and found thousands of other women who had all reported similar symptoms. However, there was no formal diagnosis for BII. 

"When I mentioned breast implant illness to my GP, he was really supportive of the possibility and wrote me a referral for surgeons to seek getting them removed."

Failing an official diagnosis, Kirsty made the decision based on "gut instinct". 

"I remember waking up one morning and had this knowingness that my implants were to go," she says. 

"My intuition was telling me. I journaled on my lounge room floor, with tears streaming down my face, asking myself the big questions like, 'Why didn’t I feel worthy?, Why did I need implants to feel more enough?, and Will I still feel sexy after I get them removed?' After this I made the final decision to get them removed and then started to take the steps to book in consultations with surgeons."

Kirsty discussed implant removal with two surgeons, and the experience was vastly different. 

"The first surgeon said there was no evidence to support breast implant illness and said I would risk looking deformed if I was to get the implants removed. He also suggested I get fat grafting to refill the volume of my breasts. 

"I walked out of this consultation in tears and cried in my car—I felt quite a bit of shame for getting implants in the first place."

The second surgeon's response was completely different. "She was compassionate and talked me through the whole process. I felt very safe and trusted her expertise to remove the implants."

Once removed, Kirsty's implants were fully intact, with no leaking or damage. 

The symptoms disappeared. 

Kirsty had her implants removed in January, 2021. Despite being considered major surgery, Kirsty's recovery was smooth. 

"It was like my body was thanking me for getting the implants out of my body."

From the moment she woke up, Kirsty says, she had more energy and her mind felt sharper. "It’s a moment I will never forget—taking my first deep breath after surgery, the deepest breath I’d taken in years."

These days, Kirsty feels the healthiest and happiest she's ever felt. 

"I am so much more deeply connected to my body now and able to listen to my body—I am so grateful for my body and how it carries me through each day of life. I appreciate my body for all that it is beyond its appearance."

Kirsty says she'll never forget the first time she looked at her naked body in the mirror following the implant removal. 

"It was the most beautiful and at home I’d ever felt in my body. I still have that connection to my body."

To women considering implants, Kirsty recommends asking yourself why you're wanting to change your body before proceeding. 

"Also take the time to research the complications and what could go wrong—to make sure you’re making an informed decision. 

"If you have breast implants and think you may have symptoms of BII—trust your body and yourself."

Feature image: Instagram.