Breast Implant Illness
Hi everyone, my name is Nicole.
Here to share my story and see if anyone has gone through something similar because I’m honestly looking for some hope.
About 2 years ago, I developed chronic muscle pain and tightness in my neck, traps, shoulders, collarbone area, upper back, and lower back. Before that, I was healthy and active. Over the last 2 years I’ve seen countless doctors, done physical therapy, had MRIs, CT scans, bloodwork, rheumatology workups, pain management, ER visits, medications, injections, etc. Everything keeps coming back mostly normal.
The only thing that really lined up with the start of my symptoms was my breast implants. After spending a long time reading about BII and talking to women with similar stories, I decided to explant.
I’m now about 4–5 months post-explant. I truly believed I would wake up and feel better right away, but that hasn’t been my experience. If anything, some of my muscle pain and tightness initially got worse. I’m still dealing with daily pain, stiffness, fatigue, and soreness, especially in my traps, shoulders, neck, and back.
To be fair, I do think I’m functioning better than I was before. I’m back at work, doing PT, walking more, traveling again, and slowly rebuilding strength. But I’m still in pain every day and some days are really discouraging.
I guess what I’m struggling with is this: if all my testing is normal, and the implants were the only major thing that changed when my symptoms started, how do I know if I actually removed the root cause? Or if there’s something else going on that nobody has found?
How long will it be until I’m pain free? What truly helps here?
I’m doing PT, trying medications, working on mobility, sleep, stress, and overall health. I’m not looking for medical advice, just real experiences from women who have been in a similar situation.
Thank you ❤️