Women are opting to have their breast implants removed after experiencing debilitating health complications following augmentations.
Janelle Brunton-Rennie, 35, made the decision to have her breasts surgically enhanced after deciding to come a professional bodybuilder.
Competing with low body fat in competitions mean many woman lose their breast tissue.
Janelle Brunton-Rennie (pictured) had her breasts enhanced for pro body building dreams however the 35-year-old began to experience health complications almost immediately
After five year Ms Brunton-Rennie made the decision to have her implants removed and says just after three weeks she felt better for it
‘I was nervous and excited, I didn’t really think it through, I just knew I had a goal and I was going after it in terms of becoming a pro figure body builder one day,’ Ms Brunton-Rennie told Daily Mail Australia.
However from the moment Ms Brunton-Rennie’s implants were put in, she says her health began to decline, along with her sporting aspirations.
‘I did manage to do one show with them, four months after surgery,’ she said.
‘But I developed Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and adrenal fatigue and then spent the last five years managing my health so my body could cope with these toxic bags.’
‘Some women tolerate implants really well, but unfortunately I wasn’t one of them.’
Ms Brunton-Rennie is eager to share her experience with other women as a warning to the potential health risks involved, however understands everyone is different.
Competing with low body fat in competitions mean many woman lose their breast tissue so she decided to get the implants
The mother-of-one is sharing her experiences in a bid to raise awareness about the risks that she believes aren’t explained clearly to patients undergoing the enhancement surgery
‘It will be worth it to help the huge number of women out there who are unwell and have failed to realise that their implants may be a cause of their problems, and to try and inform other women who may be considering getting them so that they may make a more educated decision.
‘When you first get them, no one ever considers the process of replacing them every ten years or taking them out for good one day.’
After five years the mother-of-one had her implants removed, and just three weeks after the removal surgery Ms Brunton-Rennie already feels the relief.
‘I can breathe so much better. It’s great to have that weight off my chest. I’m still healing though.’
Ms Brunton-Rennie’s personal experience is not dissimilar from other cases around the world.
Famously, Crystal Hefner had her implants removed after believing they were ‘slowly poisoning her’ and causing sickness.
‘I began to receive comments saying that my symptoms resembled ‘Breast Implant Illness,’ Hefner told People Magazine. ‘I found a Breast Implant Illness website and Facebook group with almost 3,000 members. My symptoms matched theirs.’
Crystal Hefner (pictured) posted a photo of her lying in a hospital chair on Instagram as she lay there expressionless in blue hospital robes and a towel resting on her forehead
‘Happier and healthier’: The third wife of Hugh Hefner was back in a bikini after having her breast implants removed
She began to realise that the breast augmentations could be behind her illnesses and made the decision to have them removed.
‘Instantly I noticed my neck and shoulder pain was gone and I could breathe much better,’ Hefner said. ‘I know I won’t feel 100% overnight. My implants took 8 years to make me this sick, so I know it will take time to feel better. I also have other illnesses to address, but with the toxic bags removed, my immune system can focus on what it needs to.’
The third wife of Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner shared a photo of herself in an American flag bikini after having her implant removed, and said she was on the road to recovery and learning to embrace her natural beauty.
‘The new me. Happier and healthier,’ wrote Crystal.
New Zealand woman Michaiah Simmons-Villari found similar problems after beginning to suffer severe health complications following her breast enhancement surgery.
‘I was quite unwell I had issues with repeated ongoing glandular fever, chronic fatigue, shingles, fainting and seizures, extremely exhausted, very bad brain fog, memory loss, depression, lack of focus, lack or interest in anything, bloated, auto immune disease, developing allergies to things I had always eaten, sore dry eyes, skin looked grey and the list goes on,’ the owner of Deluxe Events and Promotions told Daily Mail Australia.
Michaiah Simmons-Villari found similar problems and became seriously ill (pictured left with implants and right after explant)
A year after the surgery she believes her body is still adjusting to having the implants out, but has noticed a substantial improvement in her health (pictured after explant)
‘I stumbled across Breast Implant Illness when trying to figure out what was wrong with me and realised that was the issue.
‘As soon as I took them out I felt so much better.’
A year after the surgery she believes her body is still adjusting to having the implants out, but has more energy, is functioning normally and says she can even define colours more clearly.
New Zealand Association of Plastic Surgeons president John Kenealy negated there was cause for concern, telling Stuff.co.nz there was ‘no scientific evidence that implants posed a health threat’.
He said the symptoms the women had experienced were unable to be measured.
‘At the end of the day, those things [fatigue, immune system problems, aches and pains] are very prevalent in the patient population anyway,’ said Kenealy, although he was aware of ‘the occasional woman who has unexplained discomfort [after breast implant surgery]’.