Model reveals how breast implants caused her extreme pain

Sarah Harris, 29, has opened up about her four years of “hell” after having breast implants, claiming they “stole my health”.

A Playboy model has revealed how her decision to get breast implants led to four years of hell.

Sarah Harris, 29, had her breast implants removed after she began to experience anxiety, hair loss and heart palpitations.

The New Zealand woman, who had her implants at 21 in an attempt to appear more “feminine”, now believes they are the cause of an array of health issues she now battles.

Now she’s warning others to be careful about undergoing the popular cosmetic procedure.

“For a long time I believed my happiness and success was defined by the size of my breasts,” Sarah wrote on Instagram recently.

“Until my health was stolen from me.”

Sarah Harris, 29, revealed she was removing her breast implants after health problems had plagued her for years. Picture: Instagram/@iamsarahharris

Sarah says her symptoms included hormone imbalance, fatigue, chest pain, food intolerance, nausea, migraines and irritable bowel syndrome.

“My hair falls out in clumps, I have full body rashes often. Joint pain, chronic fatigue, anxiety and migraines affect me daily now. I’ve become allergic to a long list of things, including random metals such as tin and lead,” she wrote.

“All my tests were inconclusive, I kept looking everywhere but breast implant illness, despite people mentioning it. Why? I wasn’t ready to heal, despite feeling like I was dying, I still chose my appearance over my health.”

At times, her joint pain was so agonising her fiancé, Joshua Antonio Williams had to help her out of bed, leading her to have hip surgery in 2020.

“My joint pain is so bad I even went through hip surgery in 2020, but it didn’t help,” she wrote.

Her tipping point came after having a thermography scan, which is a test that uses an infared camera to detect heat patterns and blood flow and body tissue.

Sarah’s scan showed she had more inflammation than a number of the clinic’s breast cancer patients, she said.

She said her joint pain became so bad she needed hip surgery in 2020. Picture: Instagram/@iamsarahharris

Sarah said she hopes her journey can help other people. Picture: Instagram/@iamsarahharris

“It was at that moment I finally woke up. The past 4 years have been hell,” she said.

“Until now I’ve been apart of a world consumed by the superficial, it will take time but I'm ready to unburden my shoulders of the weight of unending comparison and insecurities and truly fall in love with my remarkable body.

“There’s something so freeing about the idea of going back to the state you were intended to be.”

She said, despite everything, she didn’t have regrets. Sarah said at the time she was an “emotionally damaged and impressionable girl” and the implants were what she wanted at the time. Sarah said she believed she went through this to help others.

“I want to remind you to love yourself for the things that truly make you beautiful, not how big your breasts are! Despite how you may feel and wow have I been there, you are beautiful, you are enough,” she said.

“Learn from my mistakes as I embark on this journey of healing.”

Sarah's fiance Josh has supported her in the lead up and following her breast explant. Picture: Instagram/joshwilliams

Josh echoed Sarah’s Instagram post and added, after her surgery to remove them, her symptoms had completely disappeared but knows it can take six months for Sarah’s body to completely heal.

He said he was so proud of her for speaking up.

“All I will say is, if you’re thinking about getting them, or you’ve been getting weird symptoms that are unexplained, please do your research and don’t ignore what’s right in front of you (literally),” Josh wrote online.

“I know it’s hard, it took Sarah years of being sick to finally consider it may be them, once she did some digging, it was very clear that it was and accepting it can be hard but your health is your wealth.

“As a huge health advocate as you all know, I will continue to stand by Sarah throughout this journey and help spread awareness on this topic.”

Breast implant illness is a term used to describe a wide range of symptoms that can develop after choosing to get implants.

It is not currently recognised as an official medical diagnosis.