A bikini model claims she was laughed at by doctors before she tried to cut out her own breast implants after they “drove her to the brink of suicide”.
Melissa George, 28, believes that she was suffering from breast implant illness (BII), which left her wanting to kill herself.
The personal trainer from the Gold Coast had a boob job in February 2015 — taking her from a 32A to a 32DD, The Sun reported.
“I felt happy and content with my body but also desired to be like other bikini models with larger breasts,” Melissa said.
“It was something I didn’t hesitate to do as the sport was all about appearance on stage and I felt bigger boobs would help me. I was so into natural health and implants were the only toxic things I allowed into my body.”
Within months of having the operation, however, Melissa found that she was constantly tired.
She also became intolerant to many foods and was taken to hospital on several occasions complaining of breathlessness.
But every test that Melissa had came back normal.
She said: “After my breast augmentation, about three months post-op, once the swelling had settled, I began to notice a lot of nerve damage and they were completely the wrong size for my body.
“I noticed health symptoms around seven months after the operation, a major symptom being the fatigue and crippling anxiety. My anxiety led to panic attacks.
“No matter what I did and how much I slept, I was always tired. I never felt refreshed after sleeping.
“I was sensitive to so many more foods than before my implants.
“I couldn’t eat any form of gluten without extreme pain and bloating.”
In 2018, she was diagnosed with bowel polyps which needed to be removed, and stomach ulcers which needed treating.
“Other symptoms were constant body aches, mood swings, muscle pain and soreness which lasted for weeks after training.
“I couldn’t focus. I’d lose interest quickly and forget things. I had no appetite, hair loss and brain fog.
“Everyone would ask me why I was sick again, but that was just how I woke up each morning and to me it was normal, so I learned to live with it.
“The hardest symptom was the anxiety and depression which ruined my life.
“I was contemplating suicide, and as hard as that is to admit, it’s the harsh truth of the illness.
In the end, she spent around £10,000 ($ A18,200) seeing different specialists trying to work out what was wrong — but they only prescribed medication to numb the effects without finding the source.
Melissa said her implants caused her to have vivid dreams that she was dying and would often wake up in tears.
“I reached a point of total psychosis and I was going insane.
“I felt like my body was shutting down as the weeks went by and I thought that if no one would do it for me, I would just cut them out myself.
“I had such vivid dreams that I was dying, and I would wake up crying at the thought.
“My brain and body were taken over by my toxic implants. I became scared and before I knew it, I was hospitalised with severe anxiety.”
In the end, convinced that something was taking over her body, she was hospitalised for severe anxiety five times and almost sectioned by doctors who refused to believe she was genuinely sick.
“Medical professionals laughed at me and told me it couldn’t be my implants. I stand firm that it most definitely was and I’m living proof,” Melissa said.
She eventually had her implants removed in December 2018, after finding a Facebook group of women discussing their own experiences of BII.
Melissa immediately contacted her surgeon to find out if she could have her implants removed and claims that the moment the anaesthetic wore off, she immediately felt better.
“I was fortunate that my surgeon believes in BII and he listened to my every concern.
“The hospital staff were amazing after my surgery, but what I did find interesting was that a lot of hospital staff had no idea what the illness was, and I was educating them on the issue.
“Some of the effects happened immediately when I woke up from surgery.
“I could take a deep breath again and my eyes weren’t swollen or yellow in colour. I cried from happiness when I saw the instant changes in my face.
“My anxiety is completely gone and I’m not having any panic attacks now.
“I feel a lot more present in my body and I don’t wake up sore or suffering. I can now breathe deeply without difficulty. I can even eat food that I was never able to eat before.”
She says that looking back, it gives her “goosebumps” to think how horrible she felt.
“I have always been so strong but suddenly this pain became so crippling that it led to suicidal thoughts.
“While I had implants, I became such a cold and bitter person who turned nasty. It was hard to admit that mentally I wasn’t okay.
“I wasn’t in control of my emotions or actions a lot of the time. I lost jobs, friends and opportunities due to my lack of interest in anything.”
She’s now sharing her story in a bid to regain some confidence and to warn other women of the possible side effects of having breast augmentation.
“I believe all of us women who had explants are the future for this to be a medically recognised illness.
“The human body rejects anything foreign as it’s the natural response but so many of us women suffer in silence because we’re told it’s not our implants making us sick.
“Breast size doesn’t make you a better person or more of a woman.
“It means absolutely nothing but sadly we live in a world of vanity.
“This experience made me love myself more and my blog is there to educate others on breast implant illness.”
WHAT IS BREAST IMPLANT ILLNESS?
A growing trend has emerged of women who’ve had implants getting them taken out — because they said they’ve made them ill. Breast Implant Illness isn’t formally recognised, but anecdotally it is reported widely on social media, with a Facebook group boasting thousands of members.
Symptoms are supposed to include:
• chronic fatigue
• brain fog, memory loss
• muscle aches and pains
• joint pain
• hair loss
• dry eyes, mouth, hair, skin
• weight gain or loss
• bruising
• low libido
• tinnitus
• heart palpitations
• shortness of breath
• night sweats
• rashes
• insomnia
• metallic taste in the mouth
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission