Breast implant illness: Georgie Stevenson on getting breast implants removed

The Gold Coast influencer had no idea a decision she made during a Thailand holiday seven years ago would come back to haunt her.

When Georgie Stevenson decided to get breast implants as a teenager, she had no idea the anguish the surgery would cause her years later.

“I was so young, I was 19 and I saw a lot of girls doing it,” the 26-year-old told news.com.au.

“I had recently gone on a weight loss journey and felt a bit out of proportion … I also had an older boyfriend, it was a bit of a thing that I had always been quite flat chested I guess, and I did love the idea that you could pay for surgery and then have bigger boobs.”

The Gold Coast-based wellness influencer and businesswoman got her breast implants removed last month after suffering through years of worsening, and at times random, symptoms that made her suspect she was suffering from breast implant illness (BII).

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Georgie got implants in Thailand at age 19 after feeling “flat-chested”.

While not yet recognised by the medical community, an increasing number of women report negative symptoms after getting the cosmetic procedure, only to see them disappear when they get their implants removed.

Georgie was studying at university when she decided to get her size A breasts increased to a C cup.

“At the time I was a law student, didn’t have much money and was like, ‘oh I can pay 12 grand in Australia or I can pay five grand over in Thailand and also have a holiday’,” she said with a laugh.

“I went with a company who takes you over there and sorts it all out for you so it was legit, my doctor was awesome. I had no problems.”

While Georgie had heard of BII, she thought it only happened when you got adverse symptoms straight after the surgery.

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She felt fine at first but then began to experience worsening and at times random symptoms.

Georgie felt fine at first but three years ago began to feel unwell, leading to her being diagnosed with chronic fatigue — something she blamed at first on her busy lifestyle.

“At the start I was like, ‘oh maybe I’m just working too hard and doing too much’, but even if I would slow down or take a holiday it was like nothing would make me feel better,” Georgie said.

Georgie also felt like her body “wasn’t absorbing any nutrients” after discovering she was iron deficient and taking medication for several months, only to get retested and find out her levels were even lower.

“I just had a bunch of stuff (go wrong) – I had hormone imbalances, I had adult acne. I developed underactive thyroid which was actual markers on my blood test,” she said. “Then I just had other just kind of random symptoms like really dry skin, I was thirsty all the time.”

She also had increased anxiety, and “really bad brain fog and memory loss”.

“You know that feeling when you would walk into a room and be like, ‘oh why did I come in here?’ But it would be all the time to the point I was like, ‘what the f**k’,” Georgie said.

Over the years Georgie was open with her followers on Instagram and YouTube about her health struggles and would often get comments from fans who suspected her implants might be the cause.

When she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s she began researching breast implant illness.

But it was only after Georgie was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an auto-immune disease that causes antibodies that damage your thyroid gland, that she made the connection.

“I had someone DM and say they had implants, they were diagnosed with underactive thyroid, Hashimoto’s, they had all the same symptoms,” Georgie said.

“She was like, ‘I got my implants out over a year ago and all my symptoms disappeared and I no longer have to be on this medication’.

“I was just astonished, oh my god I’m going to look into this.”

Georgie began reading other women’s accounts of BII and after a bad Hashimoto’s flare, took the plunge and booked in for a consult with a plastic surgeon.

She had her explant procedure last month and, while it is still early days, feels a “sense of calmness”.

While not against plastic surgery she wants women to be better educated about the risks of implants.

Georgie had explant surgery and now feels a “sense of calmness”.

“A big thing I’ve noticed since the surgery is I feel the brain fog has lifted, I feel super clear and I definitely feel better energy wise even, though I’ve just had surgery,” Georgie said.

“I feel so so much better energy wise. So just little things like that have made me feel like yes, this is the right thing to do.”

Georgie will get a blood test in a few weeks’ time to see if getting her implants removed has impacted her thyroid.

While she has nothing against plastic surgery, she wants more awareness around the possible negative impacts of implants.

“Do your research, I do have friends and family that have implants who feel completely fine so it’s not like this is something that effects everyone and no-one should get implants,” Georgie said.

“When you get your implants the doctor doesn’t give you information about this, I don’t know if they do it all, I don’t know if it’s different now.

“And now, looking back, if my implants had caused this implants it’s taken a good chunk of my life where it does feel like I've been on the rollercoaster of emotions and feelings.”