A woman who went in for breast augmentation after feeling insecure about her 'sagging breasts' ended up with her new chest 'poisoning' her.
Danielle Watts had been feeling self-conscious about her chest for years and only felt confident 'in the dark' when she was in the bedroom.
She said: "When I met my partner, I wouldn't really let him see them because I felt that bad about them that I went and had the surgery done. I wasn't confident, even though I was comfortable with him. It would depend on the environment - if it was dark I felt okay.
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"He was very reassuring but I still felt adamant I wanted them done.
"They weren't full at the top and I hated the way they looked. I wanted to do it for my confidence. When I lost four stone, I noticed they were really sagging and wanted to get them done."
In 2020, she spent £5,000 to get a breast augmentation and the 32-year-old was initially rather pleased with the results, but the Castleford woman soon started getting some strange symptoms.
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"I was just getting really bad sinus infections, nosebleeds, migraines, and headaches," Danielle explained of her symptoms.
"I was then diagnosed with chronic rhinitis and sinusitis and suffering from persistent sinus infections.
"Every other week my body would feel like I had the flu even though I didn't. The common cold would take me a lot longer to recover from than normal. I have had ringing in my ears and vision problems.
"I felt zapped of energy all the time. My immune system was so suppressed. I then developed an autoimmune rash which shows randomly on my face and chest then goes.
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"I have suffered from constant inflammation showing in my bloods but with no clarification of where this was coming from."
She made 20 visits to the doctor over four years, but couldn't get an answer as to why she was in such poor health until she found an internet forum about Breast Implant Illness (BII).
While it's not a condition formally recognised by the NHS, BII is a term used by some to describe the symptoms that some people experience after they get breast implants.
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Including the effects Danielle felt, other symptoms described include brain fog, memory loss, aching joints and muscles and hair loss.
"After years of suffering and being so sad I started to think could it be my implants? As a foreign body, my body could be fighting against them constantly and this is why I am suffering." she said.
Danielle ended up spending thousands more to go through an 'explant' procedure in the hope that removing them will stop the sickness, and she said she already feels like she has more energy so she can 'start to live her life again'.
Now she's said she regrets 'ever getting them' and is 'not bothered about what they look like' as she just wanted to be rid of the implants, adding: "It's everyone's own choice to get their boobs done but people should bear this in mind.
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"You never think you'll end up with this."
Joe Harker