'Mystery illness blinded me but it disappeared when implants were removed'

28 July 2023 , 21:48

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Danielle Sheehan, now 32, had implants aged 19 after winning a £5k beauty makeover (Image: Danielle Sheehan / SWNS)

A mum spent years suffering from a mystery illness which left her temporarily blind - but disappeared after she had her breast implants removed.

Danielle Sheehan, now 32, had implants aged 19 after winning a £5k beauty makeover. She was then plagued by hair loss, fatigue, eczema and inflammation in the years that followed - but couldn't work out why.

She went to her doctor multiple times and even attended A&E when she lost her sight. Danielle, from Norwich, Norfolk, says medics suggested she might have an autoimmune condition or be under too much stress.

But she now thinks she had breast implant illness (BII) - after her problems vanished within weeks of her implants being removed. Government information published in January 2020 said experts were aware of BII and were investigating.

It said they did "not know if there is a link between breast implants and the reported health problems" - but did not rule it out. Danielle, who owns a beauty clinic, said: "After I had my son and over the last year, I had constant eczema, weeping skin and dry eyes - I ended up in A&E because I couldn't see.

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'Mystery illness blinded me but it disappeared when implants were removed'

Danielle now thinks she had breast implant illness (BII) (Danielle Sheehan / SWNS)

She was plagued by hair loss, fatigue, eczema and inflammation in the years that followed (Danielle Sheehan / SWNS)

"Doctors told me they thought it was stress due to being a new mum and going through a breakup. I stumbled across other people talking about breast implant illness and saw they had rashes around their eyes the same as mine, it was like a lightbulb moment.

"My symptoms were all exactly the same - I had rashes, a low mood, I felt like I was slowly dying, and I just didn't feel well at all. Even the surgeon was shocked to see the before and after pictures following the explant - two hours after the surgery [the rash on my face] was gone."

Danielle decided to get implants in 2010 after winning a makeover in an online competition. She says at the time she was working as a model and thought implants would help further her career.

However, she claims she began to suffer from eczema flare-ups almost immediately and despite using steroid tablets and light therapy the problems persisted. Doctors told her the issues were down to stress but Danielle tried testing herself for food allergies and high cortisol levels - even cutting foods out of her diet and changing her water filter system to try and heal her symptoms.

However, after she saw posts online about breast implant illness she began to compare her symptoms.
She says that the doctors she spoke to had not heard of the condition but sent her for an ultrasound to check the integrity of the implants.

As the implants were intact, doctors offered her immunosuppressants in case the issues were caused by an autoimmune condition - but Danielle decide to undergo an explant first. She sold her car to fund the surgery and says within hours of having the implants removed she saw an improvement in her skin condition.

Now she wants to raise awareness of the condition and thinks doctors should ask women if they have breast implants before investigating for autoimmune disorders. And she says since posting about her journey on TikTok, other women have got in touch to share their similar experiences with her.

"The moment the implants came out I felt so much better," said Danielle. "I feel safe in my body now, I feel emotionally stable, the rashes around my eyes have gone and the eczema is trailing off now.

"My hair looks better - it had got really thin and was falling out. My priority is awareness of breast implant illness. GPs need to take it seriously and ask about implants - it should be a mandatory question for girls going in with autoimmune conditions.

"I don't think anyone would know - you never would put hair loss and rashes down to having implants.
"So many girls have messaged me since seeing my video on TikTok - so many of them having come into my clinic to say they're getting a consultation to get their implants removed."