SIMONA Korkus, 36, works as a day trader and lives in Melbourne, Australia, with husband Roi, 41, and children Daniel, nine, Levi, seven, Eliyahu, four, and Moriyah, two.
Here, she reveals how her boob job made her feel "sick" and what pushed her to spend £10,000 on removing her plants.
Looking at the two breast implants lying on a recovery room table, I smiled with relief.
After five hours in surgery, at a cost of £10,000, these poisonous bags that stank of chemicals were out of my body.
Growing up in Lithuania, I always felt that my B-cup chest just didn’t match up to the image of the ‘perfect’ woman.
From tongue scraping to saying no, here are 12 health trends to try in 2023
After I graduated from university with a degree in social pedagogy in the summer of 2010, I went travelling, arriving in Australia in January 2011.
Although I had a brilliant time making new friends, my poor body image constantly made me feel self-conscious, and I’d never wear a bikini or tight-fitting clothes.
So when one of my new Australian friends had breast implants and was delighted with the results, it planted a seed.
I asked for her surgeon’s details and in April 2011, I had a consultation.
He suggested I go from a B to a DD and I immediately agreed, despite having done no research whatsoever, or telling my family back home.
Just a few days later I was in surgery, having paid £2,800 from my savings.
When I came round, I was thrilled. Although my new breasts were sore and swollen, there was only a light pink scar under each and I loved how they looked.
My self-esteem grew so much that when I met Roi in a shop in March 2012, I felt confident enough to strike up a conversation – something I would have struggled with before.
We were soon inseparable, and were delighted to welcome our son Daniel in May 2013.
However, soon after the birth I began to suffer from extreme fatigue.
How to de-clutter if you have a beauty stash to last you a lifetime
I brushed it off as new motherhood, but as the other mums I knew regained their energy, I struggled to even wash the dishes.
Every time I mentioned it to a doctor, they’d reply that it was expected with a young baby.
'HEADACHES AND DIZZINESS'
By early 2014, I developed brain fog and found myself losing the thread of conversations, or walking around a supermarket with no idea why I was there.
Still, everyone kept reassuring me that it was normal.
Roi and I married just before our second son, Levi, was due, in March 2015.
After his arrival, my tiredness became even worse and I also started to experience headaches and dizziness.
One day I even forgot to pick Daniel up – when the school rang, I had to race to get him, filled with guilt.
I also started to suffer with anxiety. Roi grew increasingly worried, but doctors kept brushing off our concerns.
I struggled on, but by the time I was eight months pregnant with our third child in June 2018, my problems were worse than ever.
One day I was Googling my symptoms yet again and I came across ‘breast implant illness’ (BII), an auto-immune response caused either by a leak from the implant, a reaction to part of the implant, or bacteria that grow on the implant’s surface and lead to an infection.
Fatigue, memory loss and anxiety are some of its main symptoms, and I became increasingly sure it was what I had.
Eliyahu was born a couple of weeks later, and I told my doctor what I suspected.
Reluctantly, he sent me for an ultrasound, and when the results showed my implants were intact, he said my symptoms were probably the menopause – despite the fact I had just given birth and was only 32 years old.
It was the final straw. Sick of being told I was fine, I decided I needed to get the implants out of my body.
This time, I researched the surgery fully, and Roi agreed the £10,000 cost would be money well spent.
So that August, I went under the knife again. When I woke up, despite being back to a B cup and left with scars across my breasts, I felt nothing but relief.
Almost as soon as I healed, my energy soared, my memory came back and my anxiety disappeared.
I became pregnant with Moriyah in early 2020 and felt great.
Even after she arrived that September, the newborn phase was a walk in the park.
After the surgery, I insisted on taking the implants home. I wanted a reminder of what I’d put my body through just to meet an impossible beauty standard.
I never want any of my children to do anything like that.”
