A 57-year-old woman has told how she had breast implants 20 years ago and has only now learned about Bll – an umbrella term for illness which can follow the cosmetic surgery
A mum has said she feels like she’s “dying a slow death” due to ill health following breast implants.
The unnamed 57-year-old says she has been left suicidal because of breast implant illness (BII) – an umbrella term for health problems associated with implants, which is not a recognised medical diagnosis in the UK. BII sufferers say symptoms include brain fog, joint pain, fatigue and anxiety, with S Club 7 star Hannah Spearritt previously revealing her own battle. But some medics still question whether it exists. The mum, who had breast reconstruction on the NHS 20 years ago after having lumps removed, said she only learned about BII last year after years of suffering.
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But she cannot afford to have her implants taken out privately and fears a long wait for removal surgery through the NHS. The carer, from Glasgow, said: “I have chronic fatigue, I’m aching from head to toe and my anxiety is through the roof. I feel like an old woman. I can hardly walk I’m so weak and my back is so sore. It’s affecting my memory.
“I had a 17cm cyst down near my ovaries and even though it’s been removed my belly looks like I’m pregnant. I didn’t think for one second it would be down to my implants until six months ago. Because nothing shows up on my blood tests this isn’t a proven thing and I feel like I’m not being taken seriously.
“I phoned NHS 24 and the Samaritans the other night because I felt I can’t go on like this. I feel like I’m dying a slow death. I just want them out.” The mum, who does not want to be named due to her poor health, had breast reconstruction in 2005 and when her symptoms began she put them down to her age.
“They became more severe and during lockdown her stomach swelled up, leading to the cyst being found. Six months ago she found an online support group with almost 200,000 members worldwide and said stories shared there were strikingly similar to her own. She said: “Not one person over the years has told me it could be BII. My doctor hadn’t heard of it.
“Apart from Facebook groups there seems to be no direct help or support and no one to talk to about it. Before the implants I was totally healthy and never needed a doctor.”
An NHS Lanarkshire breast surgeon has now written to the mum agreeing to remove her implants but the consultant said they “won’t be able to prove or disprove” BII because there is “no diagnostic criteria or test”. She is now waiting to find out how long she will wait. She said: “I’m crying on the phone to the doctor nearly every week. It’s affecting my whole life.”
In 2002, The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons said there is “no demonstrable link between the implants and any systemic illness” though about 50 per cent of those who self-identify as having BII feel their symptoms improve after removal. S Club’s Hannah made a documentary telling how she had “severe anxiety” and “felt like I was dying” and being “slowly poisoned” before having her implants removed.
Gill Baird, owner and managing director at cosmetic surgery specialist Cosmedicare, told the Daily Record her staff removed implants from women complaining of BII six times in the last year. Only two removals linked to implants the firm has placed have been carried out since 2016. The op can cost £6,500.
The cosmetics boss said: “There are two sides of the debate when it comes to BII. The side that our surgeons tend to lean on is that if a patient feels they’re having symptoms that could potentially be linked then it’s the patient’s choice as to whether those implants should be removed. Within the NHS the only way they will remove implants is if they are a risk to the patient, if they have been ruptured or damaged in some way or they are causing pain.
“The amount of women presenting with (BII) over the last six years or so has been fairly consistent but what I would say is when there has been a link to BII, none of them have regretted taking the implant out, they’ve been happy with their choice. For the last few years at least the General Medical Council has stipulated that anyone having breast implants needs to be consulted on BII.”
According to Breastcancer.org, BII refers to a wide range of symptoms, including joint and muscle pain, chronic fatigue, and memory and concentration problems, that can develop in people who have any type of breast implants.
There is a growing number of people reporting symptoms of BII as doctors and researchers attempt to understand what causes the condition and how best to treat it. Some experts believe BII symptoms may be caused by an autoimmune or inflammatory reaction to breast implants.
Here’s what doctors and researchers do know about BII:
- BII symptoms can occur in people with any type of breast implant, including silicone gel-filled, saline-filled, smooth surface, textured surface, round, or teardrop-shaped.
- BII symptoms can develop whether implants have ruptured or stayed intact.
- can appear any time after implant surgery — some people start to develop breast implant illness symptoms immediately, while others develop them years later.
