SISTERS!!! I am BACK!

I needed to disconnect for a little while so I could really be present and soak in every second of healing, GETTING MARRIED, and honeymooning! BUT I am happy to say that I am BACK and better than ever and hopefully you will be hearing from me much more often!! YAY! With that being said, let’s talk about boobs. 

Drumroll PLEASE!! FINALLYYYYYYYYYYYY! The BOOB BLOG that everyone has been waiting for!!! I finally feel like I am in a place mentally, physically, and emotionally to share my experience with everyone! PRAISE JESUS, halleluiah!!!!!!!

It has been almost 8 months since my explant and I’m literally thrilled to announce that I have been feeling AMAZING and am in such a good place.  

I want to start at the beginning of my journey because I have had many people reach out to me curious about my experience and why I came to the decision to get my breast implants explanted. 

I got my implants in on Christmas break my senior year of college (so, December 2014)! My reasoning for getting implants is, of course, intertwined with insecurities and self-esteem issues that started in middle school. I was a “late bloomer” - as they say - and can remember begging my mom to buy me a bra, even though it would serve absolutely no purpose for my flat chest. Wearing a bra and having boobs signified being a woman to me, which was of the upmost importance when you’re in the midst of puberty! I can remember getting teased by mean kids saying, “Elise is as flat as her middle name” and for those of you that don’t know, my middle name is Walls. How clever, right? 

So after years of pondering the idea, I decided to get implants! I honestly wasn’t nervous at all going into the surgery and didn’t have many questions for the surgeon, since I knew it was such a common surgery! He told me that he recommended “Mentor - gummy bear silicone implants” placed under the muscle, because they look and feel the most natural. We decided on 325CC’s on my right side and 350CC’s on my left, to even out my naturally asymmetrical breasts. Surgery went well and recovery was fine! I was back to school a few weeks later and loved my new boobs! I felt like they balanced my body out more, I was more confident, and felt more like a woman (which sounds dumb to say out loud now… but it’s how I felt)!

6 months later, I graduated college and took a job at a staffing company in Scottsdale, Arizona. I was living life to the absolute fullest and having a blast. A few months into starting my new job, I noticed some weird symptoms. I had random aches and pains, no appetite, body temperature issues, and some GI issues. I didn’t think much of it because my symptoms weren’t on a consistent enough basis for me to think something may be wrong. Then… I got these huge bumps on my hands that were hot, red, and painful to touch… and it was honestly all downhill from there. If you haven’t already, I recommend you read my blog post called “THE ROLLERCOASTER FROM HELL” to take you through the next 4 years of my life and catch you up to speed. 

I can remember specifically about 2 years into being sick, I had two doctors voice their concerns with implants and recommend that I get them explanted immediately. I was in the midst of an emotional and physical nightmare, so I honestly didn’t give their recommendation that much thought at all. In my mind, I had already given up so much of my life and identity to my illness. I told myself and my mom that “getting my implants taken out would be my absolute LAST resort”. Fast forward 2 more years to January 2019! At this point, I had been in remission from Chronic Lyme for about a year and a half and had done absolutely EVERYTHING you could imagine to get better. Yet, I was still very much symptomatic and having “bad days” a few times a week. I was unable to work, unable to socialize, unable to do much beyond wake up, cry, and lay on the couch all day – I was desperate. 

It was then that my mom starting doing some research on breast implants and came across something called “Breast Implant Illness” and then did some more digging. Isn’t it crazy that moms just KNOW and are always right with their intuitions and gut feelings?? She showed me this Facebook page called “Breast Implant Illness by Nicole” that has over 70,000 women who’s implants are making them sick. We both joined the group and spent DAYS just reading peoples stories and getting information on what this illness is and who it impacts. 

****I want to note before I get into all of this that there are PLENTY of people out there who may have implants and have no issues whatsoever from them! I just happened to be one of many who had issues with mine.