I’ve been weighing up whether to share this journey. It’s a very personal story, and I’m not jumping on here to warn anyone off having breast implants, as I am all for them, but that there are ramifications that go along with them!
I originally had mine done in 2010, after many years of extreme exercise I lost a lot of size and shape. I was also getting into fitness competitions, so looking and feeling more feminine in a bikini was important to me. I had no issues with them after I got them done, and I loved them. They looked very natural and I carried on after the recovery process with no issues what so ever.
Fast forward to 2017/2018 when I started getting into power lifting and heavy lifting, I tore my right pec muscle when aiming to deadlift something crazy like 120kgs for reps. I was pushing my body way too hard, I wasn’t warming up properly, and well, my ego has a lot to answer for I guess?!
Power lifting never agreed with my body, I was always injured with lower back pain, and then the pec tear, which I had to manage as I carried on with my training and did my first novice comp not long after I tore it!
I carried on training and I was being careful, but my pec never came right. Not just that, from all the bench press and chest work, my pec muscles have developed in a way that caused the socket the implant was in to stretch. This on top of breast feeding Leo and how huge my boobs got during pregnancy, they didn’t look or feel that great anymore.
I decided to see my surgeon in Melbourne and we had booked in to get the implants replaced and the pec tear sorted in early 2019.
Then I broke my foot!
So the pec pain and the surgery was put on the back burner while I had to focus on the foot saga. After dealing with that huge set back, I decided to move back to Nz, and was planning on flying back to see my surgeon in Melbourne a few months after we were settled.
Then along came Covid and border restrictions..gah!
I was so over it, and I really wanted to get this sorted, it had gone on for long enough.
So I did my research and sourced a very good plastic surgeon here in Christchurch. We decided to go ahead and replace the implants and he said he would tidy things up and make sure that the socket was secure, and if I was to pull back on all the crazy chest training and heavy lifting (which I had anyway), that things should settle down and I would feel more confident and comfortable.
So, I had them replaced at the end of August weeks ago, and was very happy with the result. The pec pain had subsided and I was starting to feel like my old self again. The whole process of pain killers and surgery isn’t fun though, and I was a bit of an emotional mess during this time!
I rested up and followed all of the post op instructions, and after a few weeks I was allowed to do some light body weight (lower body) exercises, plus walking and I started back with some light Pilates.
After around 4 weeks I noticed that my crop top was wet under the left implant, and I saw that one of the incision scars was weeping, I started to feel really sore and the breast was going red and felt hot. This was the left one, so not the one that was the issue to begin with.
I rang my surgeon first thing on the Monday, and I was advised to go straight in. He looked at it, and I could tell it wasn’t great news.
Disclaimer: I am in no way here to slag him off and I won’t name him as I do believe this was just one of those things, he has the most amazing track record and is one of the best surgeons in NZ.
I had a bacterial infection and the implant had been exposed, there is no way back from this other than explantation and 3 months to let the body heal, then once healed we will re-do the procedure.
I cried and I was in shock, I couldn’t quite comprehend what he was saying. He said that this was the best and safest way for my body to heal, and if I were a family member of his this is exactly what he would do!
He was very fast to get me into emergency and the next day I was back in hospital getting them out! He organised everything and has taken full responsibility, to his credit, I value that in a surgeon. Things would have been a lot worse if he hadn’t of supported me and done the right thing!
So here I am today, and for the next 3 months or so with a lot of loose skin and saggy tissue as boobs. It is very hard to comprehend, and to even look at them. Right now I am processing a lot, I feel like I’ve had so many set backs over the last few years, and that nothing seems to go right!
It’s a confusing and very emotional time, my body is a huge part of the work that I do in the fitness space, and right now I am feeling extremely vulnerable and out of sorts.
I am sharing this with you ladies to:
a) journal my feelings out and to be open and honest as this in turn can help others, and that is a huge part in my healing process
b) please be super careful if you do have implants with the type of training that you do
and c) understand that there are risks involved in surgery. This is one of those ‘that will never happen to me’ situations, and I’m here to tell you, ‘it can happen to anyone’!!
I am finally starting to feel like my old self again, I have seen the surgeon and I am healing well since the implants were removed. I am learning a lot about self love, and confidence right now, it sure is an interesting process to go through.
I will film a video on my views on training with breast implants, and the do’s and don’ts as a lot of women out there may not realise the damage they can do by lifting too heavy, or training the chest area too much! I will also share a more in depth talk on what I went through mentally and emotionally during this time.
2020 sure has a lot to answer for! Let’s just hope that things ease up and we can all heal, grow and get through these challenging times in the hope to come out stronger; mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually!
Yours in health
Juzzy xx