Note from Betsy: There are many reasons women, non-binary, and trans persons choose to get breast implants. This article is not intended to be anti-implant. It’s a pro-explant for me story.
Nothing in 2020 went as planned, and most unexpectedly it was the year I set my boobs free.
The year started slow. I’d been having some health issues and my twice-daily hikes turned into a once-a-day slow walk. I’d just turned 57 and it hurt my knees to carry my young grandchildren up several steps to enter my home. It’s like there was a slow leak in my body. My brain was foggy. I had no energy and the joint pain became so intense I found myself in bed for two weeks with heating pads on my knees and hips—and this was all before the pandemic started.
Once lockdown happened, it only got worse. I prefer holistic healing and I knew if went to the doctor I’d be given steroid shots and pain meds. That wasn’t a solution for me. I wanted to heal from the inside. I’d also been dealing with stress from a family situation; maybe if I managed my stress the pain would lift, and my vitality would return.
By the summer, I was napping all of the time. It was hard to get out of bed. I’d use my hands to lift my legs to roll over and then I’d steady myself on the floor. It hurt to take a step. I didn’t tell anyone what was going on because the world was in turmoil—the pandemic, racial protests, and ongoing social inequities. My health issues were my problem.
In June, a breast thermography revealed some curious spots around my breast implants. The nurse who reviewed my records reminded me that I should get new implants every 10 years. That was the first time I’d heard this information. My implants were 21 years old.
To read more, go to the article on Better.net.