Former professional race car driver Danica Patrick opened up about why she initially decided to get breast implants — and the fact that she opted to have them taken out after revealing a series of health issues she attributed to them.
The 40-year-old driver took Friday to her Instagram where she admitted she wasn’t even sure she was “ready to share this” news but then she said she “remembered that true vulnerability is sharing something you’re not really ready to” as she broke down all the changes she noticed happening to her body in the years after she got them.
“I got breast implants November of 2014,” Patrick explained. “I got them because I want to have it all. I was really fit, but I didn’t have boobs. So I got them. Everything went well, and I was happy with them. Fast forward about 3 years to early 2018, and I noticed that my hair was not as healthy and was breaking off. I also gained a few pounds and had no luck losing it.”
Danica Patrick Removes Breast Implants Amid Health Concerns https://t.co/9CditubPeN
— E! News (@enews) April 29, 2022
“Then fast forward to late 2020…. and the wheels came off,” she added. “I had [menstrual] cycle irregularity, gained more weight, my hair wasn’t looking healthy at all and my face was a different shape (weird I know). So, I went down the rabbit hole to figure it out. I did every test that could be done.”
The most successful female race car driver in history in an open-wheel series then provided a list of “symptoms and out of range medical tests” she underwent over the last few years to figure out what was happening. Some of those things included “hypothyroidism,” “low estrogen,” “adrenal fatigue,” “dry scalp/skin,” “face swelling,” “weight gain,” and “hair loss,” among so many others.
“I had them removed on Wednesday,” Patrick revealed. “The picture is a snap shot of a couple hours before and a couple hours after. Within hours after surgery this is what I noticed – my face had more color and less dark circles (no food before the second pic), my face started producing oil again, I could take a 30% deeper breath into my chest already, and I had so much energy when I woke up (and surgery was at 230pm).”
Her post included two photos — one taken before she had the implants removed and one she said was taken just a couple of hours after and the differences are definitely visible.
View this post on Instagram
Patrick said she believed the condition known as “breast implant illness” is what affected her as she slammed the “good folks at these drug companies who are selling them to say they are safe.”
“There are a host of issues that women have dealt with and I have many, but not all,” Patrick shared. “After watching over 100 stories on YouTube…. my belief is, it’s not if but when you develop symptoms. Some are right away, others are over 15 years later. Silicone is a foreign object and leaches chemicals (look up that huge list!) that’s why the body produces a capsule around it. If this post helps just one get to the root of their issues, it did its job. I will share my progress as I go along.”
Reading through the comments, a lot people showed their support to the former driver speaking out about her experience.
TV personality Catt Sadler called Patrick’s post “important” and wrote, “so happy you are free. And thank you for sharing this story.”
Another person, Celebrity Chef Serena Poon, wrote that she was “so proud of you and so excited for this next chapter of health and vitality.”