If you have followed the blogs here at Le Boudoir Studio you may know that they are written by one of the talented studio writers. They are not written by me, the Founder Jodi Lynn. Well that is about to change, this is Jodi Lynn and I finally decided it was time to write one, just one. The reason I am writing today is because this one is so important. Breast Implants changed my life, and not in a good way. I need to get the message across to other women that may be going through the same thing or may be contemplating getting breast augmentation themselves.
Please know that this blog isn’t to criticize any women with breast implants, but to educate them on Breast Implant Illness in case they start to experience the many symptoms associated with it.
Growing up as a gymnast for most of my life until the age of about 15, I compared myself to all the other girls in school. Gymnasts bodies tend to develop less because of being so active and on top of that, most women in my family are 5 foot tall and 100 pounds soaking wet. I was tiny. I never weighed over 95 pounds in high school and because I wasn’t “developed” I felt like a little boy. Lets just say I got really good at changing in 0.5 seconds in the locker room so no one would see that I was so flat chested. I remember in 9th grade saying, they will come next year. Then in 10th, 11th, and it kept going. I became obsessed. I started saving my lunch money as a young girl so I could one day feel like a woman. My first jobs I always saved some as well for my “future boobs”.
Lets stop right here and go into this further. A little girl since middle school lives in a society where she feels she doesn’t look like she should. And saves up since high school to change herself surgically. I am in tears right now writing this. I have a little 2 year old daughter and will do everything in my power not to ever have her feel this way. What is wrong with our society that it is all about how we look? Lets make it about how we feel. Start from within, this is where confidence is born as this is the very reason I started Le Boudoir Studio.
I want to help the women that I have the privilege of working with increase their self-acceptance and self-love by way of boudoir photography. A woman who not only accepts herself but loves herself – is an unstoppable force. I hope that all women will allow themselves the boudoir experience because every woman deserves to be a “supermodel” for a day.
My goal is to be a part of creating stronger, happier, and more confident women. ~ Jodi Lynn
At 21 years old my surgery was finally saved up for. I ended up opting for about 300 ccs which is not that large compared to what a lot of women opt for but again, I was very tiny. After the surgery I was swollen, of course, but not for a few weeks or even months, but for a year. I was 95 pounds with DDs and I hated them. Could I ever be happy? I remember saying I will be happy with even a B or C. Finally, after a year the swelling went down. I convinced myself over the next 12 years that they made me feel better but did they? My confidence went up clothed but I never wanted to wear a bathing suit in public. You could tell they didn’t belong on me and looked so unnatural, I was embarrassed.
This blog is about two things.
- Confidence does not come from physically changing yourself, it comes from within. Love yourself, you are the only one like you. Embrace it.
- Not only did Breast implants not help me with my self-image, they made me incredibly ill.
Over the next 12 years after Breast Implants I had so many symptoms that seemed so unrelated to them that it took me the entire 12 years to figure out that they were the culprit.
I constantly had back pain to start. Well, being a gymnast for over 12 years, I blamed it on that, who wouldn’t? After that it was extreme fatigue. Over the next few years I was getting sick with colds then sinus infections 3-4 times a year. I changed my diet to less carbs and almost no sugar to be more healthy. I took herbs, adrenal supplements, and just figured I get sick a lot. I told doctors and it was all dismissed. They would just give me more and more meds to cover up what might actually be going on.
At age 24, I started Le Boudoir Studio. I was determined to build the confidence in women through Boudoir Photography. We all deserved to feel like a supermodel sometimes and I wanted to make that happen. And I did! Le Boudoir Studio has been so successful and I have built up the confidence of so many women that it has brought me tears of joy. I am so thankful for the amazing women I have met and come to know. But also, starting a business is stressful so maybe this is why I was getting sick? My adrenals weren’t functioning properly because of all the stress in a new business?
Fast forward to 2 years ago when I gave birth to my amazing daughter! The best day of my life but I had no idea what was soon in store for me. I had a routine yearly physical and talked to my doctor about some aches and pains and told her they were getting worse. She was the only one who listened. She looked at me and said, “you are not supposed to feel this way”. This was the first time anyone had ever acknowledged that something wasn’t right. She continued with my bloods test and realized something was wrong, but what?
Over the first two years of my daughter’s life my aches and pains got worse. Usually after childbirth women have joint pain, hip pain etc from carrying their baby, but it will start to get better. I was to the point that my joint pain was so severe that my legs throbbed all day and night, it never actually went away. My blood work came back as possible signs of Auto Immune Disease and/or connective tissue disease. Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome were all mentioned. I spent the next 8 months going from doctor to doctor with the comment of, “Something is wrong but all your bloodwork is inconsistent and we don’t know what”.
I got to the point where we couldn’t go to events as a family. I could only walk from the parking lot to the ticketing lines before I was in so much pain I couldn’t walk anymore. My daughter would have to be in daycare on a day I was working from home because it hurt to pick her up. Something was wrong and my fear was my little girl growing up asking, “why cant mommy come out and play”.
I had a client one day at Le Boudoir Studio that I overheard talking while she was getting her hair and make-up done for her session. She was talking about the aches and pains she was going through, the auto immune diseases that she was diagnosed with and without even thinking, I walked in and asserted myself in the conversation. I needed to, she sounded just like me. She began to tell me about her surgery in a few months of Explanting. She would be removing her implants after some research she had done. The same research she sent me to Here. It was about healing Breast Implant Illness. It suddenly hit me, all these years of suffering and now I know.
I had so many symptoms on the list of Breast Implant Illness. I have made my symptoms bold and pink.
FATIGUE OR CHRONIC FATIGUE
COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION (BRAIN FOG, DIFFICULTY CONCENTRATING, MEMORY LOSS)
MUSCLE PAIN AND WEAKNESS, JOINT PAIN
HAIR LOSS, DRY SKIN AND HAIR
PREMATURE AGING
WEIGHT PROBLEMS
INFLAMMATION
POOR SLEEP AND INSOMNIA
DRY EYES, DECLINE IN VISION, VISION DISTURBANCES
HYPO/HYPER THYROID SYMPTOMS
HYPO/HYPER ADRENAL SYMPTOMS
ESTROGEN/PROGESTERONE IMBALANCE OR DIMINISHING HORMONES
HYSTERECTOMY
LOW LIBIDO
SLOW HEALING OF CUTS AND SCRAPES, EASY BRUISING
THROAT CLEARING, COUGH, DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING, CHOKING, REFLUX,METALLIC TASTES
VERTIGO
GASTROINTESTINAL AND DIGESTIVE ISSUES
FEVERS, NIGHT SWEATS, INTOLERANT TO HEAT/COLD
NEW AND PERSISTENT BACTERIAL AND VIRAL INFECTIONS
SLOW CLEARING OF COMMON COLDS AND FLUES
FUNGAL INFECTIONS, YEAST INFECTIONS, CANDIDA, SINUS AND UTI INFECTIONS
SKIN RASHES
EAR RINGING
SUDDEN FOOD INTOLERANCE AND ALLERGIES
HEADACHES
SLOW MUSCLE RECOVERY AFTER ACTIVITY
HEART PALPITATIONS, CHANGES IN NORMAL HEART RATE OR HEART PAIN
SORE AND ACHING JOINTS OF SHOULDERS, HIPS, BACKBONE, HANDS AND FEET
SWOLLEN AND TENDER LYMPH NODES IN BREAST AREA, UNDERARM, THROAT, NECK, GROIN
BOUTS OF DEHYDRATION FOR NO REASON
FREQUENT URINATION
NUMBNESS/TINGLING SENSATIONS IN UPPER AND LOWER LIMBS
COLD AND DISCOLORED LIMBS, HANDS AND FEET
GENERAL CHEST DISCOMFORT SHORTNESS OF BREATH
PAIN AND OR BURNING SENSATION AROUND IMPLANT AND OR UNDERARM
LIVER AND KIDNEY DYSFUNCTION
GALLBLADDER PROBLEMS
CRAMPING
TOXIC SHOCK SYMPTOMS
ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND PANIC ATTACKS
FEELING LIKE YOU ARE DYING
LEAKY GUT, IBS AND SIBO
SYMPTOMS OF OR DIAGNOSIS OF FIBROMYALGIA
SYMPTOMS OF OR DIAGNOSIS OF LYME DISEASE
SYMPTOMS OF OR DIAGNOSIS OF EBV
SYMPTOMS OF OR DIAGNOSIS OF AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES SUCH AS; RAYNAUD’S SYNDROME, HASHIMOTO’S THYROIDITIS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, SCLERODERMA, LUPUS, SJOGREN’S SYNDROME, NONSPECIFIC CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASE, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
SYMPTOMS OF OR DIAGNOSIS OF BIA-ALCL LYMPHOMA
After talking with my client a few months after her surgery she was a different person. Almost ALL of her symptoms were completely gone. She was healing and I knew what I needed to do.
I scheduled my explant surgery immediately. It was also very important to learn that you have to do a total Capsulotomy or ENBLOC procedure to also remove all scar tissue associated with the breast implants. This is where a lot of toxins are being held in your body and also making some women sick.
If you have any of the above symptoms and need help, I have found this Facebook group to be absolutely amazing. Over 30,000 women going through the same thing that can relate and talk you through this tough process. It is Breast Implant Illness and Healing by Nicole.
Also, people are starting to listen, there are news channels telling women’s’ stories and even groups trying to get the FDAs attention.
CBS 5 Investigates: Chemist claims breast implants make some women sick
(watch part 1 and part 2, it will change your outlook on breast implants)
In December 2017, I explanted.
As I am writing this it has only been a few weeks (6 weeks) but so far I am feeling 80% better.
This photo attached shows inflammation leaving my body literally overnight.
1st Photo is taken the night before surgery, 2nd Photo is taken the day after. 3rd photo is taken one week after.
I am excited to see what else is in store for me as I am already starting to get my energy back, my complexion, and my life. I went from taking a nap every day to needing one maybe once a week if at all. My food allergies are starting to go away as I can eat eggs again. My Radial neuropathy in my arm has gone away. I was able to get it tested by a neurologist and had no idea it could even be cured. The inflammation can push on your nerves and cause the damage so without the inflammation, I have healed! My legs do NOT constantly throb all day! This is the best part, I still have some joint pain and leg pain but can be on my feet again and best yet, pick up my daughter to play with her.
Here is the list above and remarked with symptoms, as you can see, most have gone away just in 6 weeks. Obviously some I cannot mark as I won’t know for a while but some I could not take off because of little pains I still have that are not gone, but again 80% better.
FATIGUE OR CHRONIC FATIGUE
COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION (BRAIN FOG, DIFFICULTY CONCENTRATING, MEMORY LOSS)
MUSCLE PAIN AND WEAKNESS, JOINT PAIN
HAIR LOSS, DRY SKIN AND HAIR
PREMATURE AGING
WEIGHT PROBLEMS
INFLAMMATION
POOR SLEEP AND INSOMNIA
DRY EYES, DECLINE IN VISION, VISION DISTURBANCES
HYPO/HYPER THYROID SYMPTOMS
HYPO/HYPER ADRENAL SYMPTOMS
ESTROGEN/PROGESTERONE IMBALANCE OR DIMINISHING HORMONES
HYSTERECTOMY
LOW LIBIDO
SLOW HEALING OF CUTS AND SCRAPES, EASY BRUISING
THROAT CLEARING, COUGH, DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING, CHOKING, REFLUX, METALLIC TASTES
VERTIGO
GASTROINTESTINAL AND DIGESTIVE ISSUES
FEVERS, NIGHT SWEATS, INTOLERANT TO HEAT/COLD
NEW AND PERSISTENT BACTERIAL AND VIRAL INFECTIONS
SLOW CLEARING OF COMMON COLDS AND FLUES
FUNGAL INFECTIONS, YEAST INFECTIONS, CANDIDA, SINUS AND UTI INFECTIONS
SKIN RASHES
EAR RINGING
SUDDEN FOOD INTOLERANCE AND ALLERGIES
HEADACHES
SLOW MUSCLE RECOVERY AFTER ACTIVITY
HEART PALPITATIONS, CHANGES IN NORMAL HEART RATE OR HEART PAIN
SORE AND ACHING JOINTS OF SHOULDERS, HIPS, BACKBONE, HANDS AND FEET
SWOLLEN AND TENDER LYMPH NODES IN BREAST AREA, UNDERARM, THROAT, NECK, GROIN
BOUTS OF DEHYDRATION FOR NO REASON
FREQUENT URINATION
NUMBNESS/TINGLING SENSATIONS IN UPPER AND LOWER LIMBS
COLD AND DISCOLORED LIMBS, HANDS AND FEET
GENERAL CHEST DISCOMFORT SHORTNESS OF BREATH
PAIN AND OR BURNING SENSATION AROUND IMPLANT AND OR UNDERARM
LIVER AND KIDNEY DYSFUNCTION
GALLBLADDER PROBLEMS
CRAMPING
TOXIC SHOCK SYMPTOMS
ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND PANIC ATTACKS
FEELING LIKE YOU ARE DYING
LEAKY GUT, IBS AND SIBO
SYMPTOMS OF OR DIAGNOSIS OF FIBROMYALGIA
SYMPTOMS OF OR DIAGNOSIS OF LYME DISEASE
SYMPTOMS OF OR DIAGNOSIS OF EBV
SYMPTOMS OF OR DIAGNOSIS OF AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES SUCH AS; RAYNAUD’S SYNDROME, HASHIMOTO’S THYROIDITIS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, SCLERODERMA, LUPUS, SJOGREN’S SYNDROME, NONSPECIFIC CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASE, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
SYMPTOMS OF OR DIAGNOSIS OF BIA-ALCL LYMPHOMA
I know in my heart and gut I made the best decision to remove my implants to live a better and longer life and to be here for my family.
I also wanted to attach some before and after photos. My breasts are still healing but I wanted to show these to share that you will still be beautiful. I decided to not get a lift and to wait until after having another child to see if its needed. I feel like myself again and actually prefer my body with no implants. How I look, feel and how comfortable I am doing day to day things, even sleeping is more comfortable.
Thank you for reading my story!
Additional Articles/HELP
THE EXPLANT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Breast implants linked to cancer
Resources on Silicone Breast implant Scandal
So gracious and brave of you to share your story! Thank you
Thank you Audra! I hope that this may in turn help other women going through the same thing or contemplating getting implants without knowing the risks. I truly appreciate you reading my story!
Oh my gosh. I have been wanting mine out for a few years, and just finally started looking into it. But my excitement changed when I realized the cost to remove them and that FSA funds don’t cover it without a very specific letter of medical necessity. Thank you so much for sharing, I needed to see this as a reminder to keep looking to find a way to make this happen! ♥️
Lee Ann! Message me if I can help in any way! I can also add you to the facebook group of over 33k women. Also, check out this link, thousands of women getting about $5500 in assistance to get them out. http://explantassistance.com/
So happy to see more awareness being spread about this epidemic!! Good job, Le Boudoir Studio!!
Thank you for your support Amber! It truly is an issue to get out there and spread awareness. I believe it will save lives.
Thank you for this post. Its very inspiring.
Thank you! I am so happy that this post has helped so many women and hope it continues to do so:)
Thanks-a-mundo for the post.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Thank you for reading my story:)
Hi Jodi, thank you for writing this. I got my implants only 4 years ago. I didn’t listen to my intuition and I have regrets. I now make sure to advocate against it and have questioned my own ailments as well. I’m a 9/9 hypermobile, but stopping stretching and anything ackward to my body has transformed me to feeling great. Also, getting off gluten was a huge improvement to my joints. Now, I’ve given up alcohol to heal fully. If I don’t, then I need to consider removal.
When I did some research before I was mostly finding silicone leaking issues. I don’t think I read this, what type of implants did you have? If I have the gummy silicone, I wonder if just the foreign object in my body could cause issues. Other people have many foreign objects put in. Such as broken bones, heart valves. Thank you again, Deanna
PS you did my engagement photos in maybe 2011 or 2012, Deanna Hatfield & Jarrod Hunt. We are now very happily married thank you :). Gelie Akhenblit told me about your advocacy and here I am 🙂
Hey Deanna!
I am so glad you reached out. Even if you start to heal these can cause an impact on future ailments as well as your body will constantly be fighting harder. I sent you a facebook message to chat some more as well. Just remember, Silicone is not good for your body, so whether you have saline or silicone, the outside shell is ALWAYS silicone which is touching your body, not to mention a foreign object in your body can cause confusion. This is a larger foreign object so I am not sure if that makes it worse but I know women who suddenly have auto immune issues by simply having an IUD in as well. I think that all of this will be coming out as more women speak out and figure out what may be the culprit. Talk soon!
Thank you for your website, it has helped me in making my decision to get them out. I was afraid to be back in the itty bitty titty committee, but my health comes before beauty. Anyone reading this should know that you can get sick from saline as well. I didn’t realize I was sick because I thought my symptoms were just from being a mother of 3 small children. I received a result from a hair test of high metal content in my body and that’s when the research began. To make plastic soft, it must have stabilizers and metals. All implants contain these ingredients. Wish me luck on my surgery in January! How bad was the recovery? Drains? Etc. Any advice would help, I’m not on fb so email me if you can.
Thank you Jodi for being open and real with your story! I am a sonographer in women’s health and perform breast ultrasounds. I have had many patients throughout the years who have confessed their regrets about getting implants and it breaks my heart to hear so many women feel bad about their bodies. Most surgeons don’t explain the disadvantages of implants post surgery and healing. You mentioned sleep positioning but also yearly mammograms to detect breast cancer becomes more difficult. Surgery to the breast creates scaring and distortion to the natural anatomy of the breast. This can cause women to be called back after their yearly mammo for breast ultrasound to be sure this is from surgery and not a cancer forming. For a lot of women, this causes anxiety and sometimes added cost.
Again, thank you for sharing your personal testimony! And thank you for empowering women to be in charge of their own choices and confidence. My husband and I still cherish the photos you took of me many years ago ❤