My fake boobs boosted my self-confidence but they nearly killed me

A WOMAN was left struggling to breath and experienced heart palpitations and sickness because of her breast implants. 

Safia Berrada was forced to have the 650cc breast plants removed - which can boost your breasts by up to four cup sizes.

The 27-year-old health coach said her breast implants made her so ill that she lost her libido and was unable to workout.

Safia, who lives in Florida had the procedure in 2017.

Her job as a health coach meant she had been in great shape, but she felt she needed bigger breasts in order to complete the look.

For the first couple of months after the procedure she loved her implants - but after a few months she knew she wasn’t feeling right.

She started to struggle with her workouts and also had feelings of chronic anxiety, depression, and extreme fatigue.

Safia also began to experience heart palpitations, nausea and a decreased libido, symptoms that she hadn’t experienced before.

After a while, she started to feel as though the implants were too big and didn’t fit her lifestyle.

But Safia felt as though she had had the procedure, and should learn to live with the implants the best she could.

She explained: ”They looked fake and I felt like I was more confident before the implants.

“About three to six months after getting the implants I started to notice that I wasn’t feeling right. I was dealing with shortness of breath.

“Other symptoms I had included anxiety, extreme fatigue, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, vertigo, fever, chills, muscle weakness, temperature intolerance and sensitivity to light.

“I also experienced hair loss, a choking feeling, ringing in my ears, decreased libido, mood swings, sharp pains in my breasts, inflammation, weight gain, heart palpitations and night sweats.

“For several years I had been dealing with extreme amounts of anxiety beneath the surface of my smile and positive uplifting energy. I was so confused as to where these feelings were coming from and why they were happening to me.

“I embraced them as my ‘normal’ and continued to live my life the best way I could, but the signs were right in front of me all along.”

SHOCKING STORIES

Safia said she had been looking through her Instagram posts and had come across one from 2018, where she detailed her symptoms.

She was shocked as she realised that someone else had commented on the post, who said they experienced the same symptoms.

“They commented www.breastimplantillness.com and I hadn’t spotted it.

“Earlier this year I started doing research using the “breastimplantillness” and tags on Instagram and was shocked to read the countless women’s testimonials and hear of the similar symptoms they were experiencing.”

As soon as she realised her implants were the cause of her symptoms, she found Doctor David Rankin who specialised in explant surgery.

She had her breast implants removed on January 25, 2021 and feels like she’s got her life back. 

Her symptoms have receded and now she says if she had done more research before the decision, she never would have gotten breast implants.

Following the explant procedure, she had comments from friends and followers saying that she was glowing and had made a good decision to remove them, with many people noticing that she looked healthier and happier without the implants.

Breast Implant Illness is currently an unofficial term used to describe symptoms experienced by people who have had breast implants. For some people, these symptoms start immediately whereas for others they can take years to develop, and some people never experience them at all.

There is currently no formal way of diagnosing or identifying BII. The American FDA has released a statement saying they are 'taking steps to better characterise [BII] and its risk factors.'

In a lot of cases, but not every case, the symptoms can be eliminated by having the implants and surrounding scar tissue removed.

LUCKY BREAK

Safia said she had been lucky enough to find a doctor who specialised in these procedures.

She said: “I called the doctors office as soon as I came to the realisation that my implants were the cause of my symptoms.

“When my implants were finally removed I was very happy - the first words that came out of my mouth when I woke up from surgery were ‘implant free.'

“Thanks to my doctor, each day I am feeling more like myself. The first thing I noticed immediately after removing my implants was that I could take a full deep breath.

“With those two foreign objects, made up of aggressive chemicals that were implanted above my heart and lungs I literally always felt something blocking me from breathing deeply.”

Safia added: “It would have saved me so much emotional pain, physical pain and financial pain.

“When I look back at what I was carrying on my chest for the past four years I’m just blown away, but hey, we live and learn."

Safia added that it would be ‘hypocritical’ of her in her role as a health coach to teach her clients the importance of living a healthy lifestyle - while walking around with “foreign objects in my body that are comprised of toxic chemicals and heavy metals.

“I feel so much better. There’s nothing better than natural”, she added.