Fitness blogger removes breast implants after seven years due to serious health issues

With more people than ever going under the knife for cosmetic reasons, plastic surgery has most certainly become less of a taboo subject in recent years.

In 2017, 20,000 Australians underwent breast implant surgery, according to the Australian College of Cosmetic Surgery.

However, recently some have come forward with harrowing stories of declining health due to their implants.

Last year American fitness influencer Sia Cooper, who runs the popular blog Diary of a Fit Mommy, told her 1.2 million followers she was having her implants removed after seven years, due to to some serious health issues.

The 29-year-old originally went under the knife in 2011 after her ex-husband “encouraged” her to get implants, and also following a 20kg weight loss to make her feel “more feminine and voluptuous”.

But in the following years, Sia found herself dealing with “hormonal imbalances, chest pains, extreme fatigue, brain fog and hair loss”.

It was only after a follower told her about Breast Implant Illness (BII), that she realised that her implants could be the culprits.

“As my health declined for another year, I realised enough was enough and I had to do whatever I could to see what the problem was, even if that meant removing my implants,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

“I was experiencing signs of an autoimmune disease without any positive diagnosis.

“I’m a fitness professional, by practice I should’ve been displaying a lot more strength and endurance… so this was all particularly scary and unexplainable to me.”

At the end of last year, she announced on Instagram she had made the decision to go under the knife again, but this time to have her implants removed.

Two months on from the surgery, Sia is feeling “much better”.

“I am back to working out and have more energy,” she explains. “My skin is not as dry anymore, my joints stopped aching, my hair is not falling out as much and my brain fog and cognitive state is improving.”

Whilst Sia’s physical health has improved, she admits she was apprehensive about her body confidence in herself following the implant removal surgery.

“I was really worried I would be disappointed in my appearance and miss having larger breasts, like a piece of me would be missing even though it wasn’t my natural state,” she says.

Luckily, it has affected her in the slightest and Sia actually feels “more confident” without the implants.

Whilst Breast Implant Illness is not currently a medically-recognised condition, Sia revealed that since she’s spoken out about her struggles, someone new reaches out to her with the same issues every day.

Many doctors who are a part of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons insist there are no statistics or research to confirm Breast Implant Illness.

Similarly the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons told A Current Affair last year that there was “no current scientific evidence to support the diagnosis” of the condition.

However, from seeing Sia’s journey surely the proof is in the pudding?

Got a story tip? Send it to tips@oath.com

Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Or sign up to our daily newsletter here.