Detoxification of Silicone and Saline Breast Implants
Detoxification of Silicone
and Saline Breast Implants
Breast implants contain an array of toxic chemicals and heavy metals which cause us symptoms and health problems. But after our proper explant, when our inflammation is lower, our body undertakes detoxification of these silicone chemicals, heavy metals and infections due to immune deficits. Our silicone detox and healing from breast implants generally unfolds over a year or two, in flareups, which come and go with symptoms gradually dropping away for good. However, some women heal quicker than one year and some take longer than two years to heal.
Rest assured after your explant your body knows how to detox and heal on its own if supported by a healthy diet, quality sleep and a postive attitude. Anticipate your healing in all ways. The following are guidelines and suggestions that will help you support yourself through your detox and healing from breast implants. The first four steps will be enough for most women to heal well from breast implants.
Steps to Detoxify (silicone detox)
Your Body From Silicone and Saline Breast Implants
1. Explant – The first and most important step to detox the body from breast implants is to properly explant your breast implants which means an En Bloc / Total Capsulectomy explant. Please see Explant for a full explanation of a proper explant and Explant Surgeons for a list of surgeons who are known to remove breast implants properly. Removing your breast implants which is the root of your toxicity starts your healing process. Directly after explant your body will concentrate on healing the surgical wounds and detoxing surgical drugs such as anesthesia, antibiotics and pain medication. About two months after surgery your body will begin the longer process of detoxing stored chemicals, heavy metals, toxins, infections and heal your glands and organs over a year or two.
2. Diet – The next most important step after removal of breast implants is to support your body’s natural systems of detoxification through a organic, whole foods, anti-inflammatory diet. Anti-inflammatory diets eliminate alcohol, all sugars and sweets, seed oils, gluten grains and most grains, dairy products and other foods known to be inflammatory to guts. Your diet will be the most important factor in supporting your detoxification and managing day to day symptoms. Examples of diets that work well for us are the AutoImmune Protocol if you have autoimmune symptoms. Keto is also well suited to our healing because it is both antifungal and provides nutrients for our particular healing needs, heals metabolic problems and includes some fasting which supports detox and healing. Gerson is a good diet if you are vegan or vegetarian and is also known to be a powerful detox regime itself. Some ladies have good results following the Whole 30 or Medical Medium‘s diet suggestions. Diets like these are nutritious, lower inflammation, do not feed fungus and will support your natural detoxification and healing.
3. Heal Your Gut – Many women who have breast implants have poor digestion and IBS. Some women develop allergies due to leaky gut and lose the ability to digest dairy, wheat and and other inflammatory foods. All inflammatory and allergenic foods should be cut out of the diet in order to lower inflammation to support digestion. Bone broth and powdered collagen will help heal leaky gut. A few may need Betaine HCL and digestive enzymes to help digest their food. If your gut is badly damaged and not responding to good diet and you need additional help please investigate the GAPS diet for healing damaged guts. Probiotics, especially lactic acid producing probiotics, found in fermented foods and on raw fruits and vegetables are important for restoring healthy gut flora which modulates the immune system and removes toxins. Take lots of probiotics supplements or fermented foods each day to bring your gut flora, digestion and bowels back to healthy. Rotate probiotics to get a variety of flora in your gut over time. Eat prebiotic foods and resistant starch carbs to feed your probiotics, don’t starve your probiotics.
4. Infections In Us Due to Immune Deficits – After explant, some women discover fungal colonization in their saline implants and other women had contact with mold in their environment and have CIRS but by far the most common fungal infection in us is overgrowth of yeast and Candida. Other infections that are not uncommon in us are UTI, H-pylori, SIBO, bacterial infections in capsules and root canals, mycoplasma infections, Lyme, EBV, herpes and even parasites. These bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitical infections caused by immune deficits and poor gut health due to breast implants need to be eliminated for a full recovery as they are contributing to our symptoms. Sometimes these infections can be detected through various tests but not always. Bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics. Mold should be treated with mold eliminating protocols by doctors knowledgeable about mold. Fungal infections such as yeast overgrowth and Candida are treated with antifungal diets and antifungals whether natural or prescription. Antifungal diets and antifungals are important to overcoming fungus however our healthy gut flora and probiota controls yeast and Candida overgrowth in the long run and re-establishing good gut health and gut flora is one of the most important tools in combating fungus.
5. Check for MTHFR Genetic Variants and Support your Methylation and Detox Pathways – MTHFR genetic variants may be inhibiting your ability to detox ad especially if left untreated. MTHFR genetic variants impair our ability to break down crucial B vitamins that support liver methylation and other important functions. MTHFR may be supported with a few supplements such as Methylfolate known as L-5-MTHF and MethylB12 supplements knowns as Methylcobalamin, Adenosylcobalamin or Hydroxocabalmin (different forms of B12 targeting specific areas) and MethylB6 known as Pyridoxal-5′. My own MTHFR status accounted for my own poor reaction to breast implant chemicals and heavy metals and delays in detoxing. If you have one of the more serious MTHFR genetic variants I suggest not to stimulate detox and take binders to help you escort toxins from your body. Aside from MTHFR, many women in the group have low B12 due to years with toxic breast implants because B12 is used during liver methylation and detoxification. B12 is crucial to other processes in our body including our iron levels and neurological processes and many feel much better when their B12 is brought back to healthy levels.
6. Heavy Metals – Most women will detox heavy metals from breast implants naturally over time and need not worry about heavy metals. If you are worried an inexpensive, preliminary heavy metals test is Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis or Hair Toxic Elements Exposure testing. Hair tests can give a lot of good health information because they reveal your minerals status which can point to certain health problems common in us such as slow metabolizing or thyroid and adrenal problems. If heavy metals show high in hair tests, you may want to follow that up with a provoked urine heavy metals test to see what that shows. If a provoked urine test for heavy metals shows very high metals you may want to consider a gentle oral chelation supplement under a health care provider.
7. Support your Endocrine and Immune System – Consider checking your Cortisol levels with a pm Cortisol blood test or a Four Point Cortisol test and check your thyroid’s free T3, T4 conversion to see if your adrenals and thyroid are functioning properly. You may need to support both adrenals and thyroid in order to get well. There are various supplements that will help support your endocrine and immune system. Echinacea, Epicor, Transfer Factors Multi Immune are known as good supplements to support the immune system as are certain mushrooms such as Reishi. Vitamin C and zinc support the immune system too.
8. Progesterone – Progesterone stimulates your natural, nightly detoxification cycle and helps balance your hormones and support your adrenals and thyroid. As silicone is an endocrine disruptor and estrogenic in nature (acts like estrogen in the body) and toxic chemicals and heavy metals damage thyroid and adrenals some ladies experience markedly diminished hormones, hormonal imbalances and low progesterone and this is another reason you need to undergo silicone detox. Have your hormone levels tested and supplement with bio-identical hormones and especially progesterone if you are low so that you feel better, heal better and your natural cycle of detoxification is working. If you have to supplement estrogen avoid oral medications because they slow your liver detoxification cycle down and cause fungus to proliferate in the gut. I had to take bio-identical for a time but as I healed I was able to eliminate them.
9. Green Vegetable Juicing – Vegetable juicing is very helpful to supply extra nutrition, potassium and enzymes crucial for healing and detoxification. Try and include a vegetable juice in your diet several days a week for a while and see how you feel. I found the Gerson Therapy Green Juice very helpful to how I felt day to day and my overall healing.
10. Remineralization – Minerals are required for every aspect of your body and for detoxification (silicone detox). We suggest putting a pinch of high quality Celtic or sea salt and a couple drops of ionic liquid minerals in each glass of water to get various minerals on an ongoing basis. Most of us are so low on magnesium which is affecting our health. Magnesium is important to cell and muscle function and how you feel day to day and is usually very low in toxic and stressed people. Magnesium malate or magnesium glycinate is the preferable source for magnesium. Calcium may be required, too, especially if you cannot eat dairy foods. Potassium is a very important mineral to cells for healing and detoxification. If you are eating plenty of fruits and veggies and doing some green juicing you should be getting enough potassium. Use ionic liquid mineral supplements to replace the more trace minerals. Get a Hair Test to test yourself for low minerals that may need shoring up so you can heal.
11. Vitamin and Antioxidant Supplements to Lower Inflammation – Vitamin and antioxidant supplements help keep inflammation low which stimulates detoxification. Please carefully read all labels and research supplements that you take as some have unhealthy ingredients you need to avoid. Vitamins A, B, C, E, Selenium, Zinc, CoQ10/Ubiquinol, Turmeric/ Curcumin, Milkthistle, Ginger and Krill Oil will all help lower inflammation in your body and keep your detoxification cycle up regulated. Vitamin D is important to healing and is the vitamin that controls all hormones and is low in most of us. Most of us are very low in B vitamins and especially B12. Meyer’s Cocktail IV’s can help you restore low vitamins and minerals. Acetylcholine can be an important supplement in our healing too as it stimulates the vagus nerve to lower inflammation and eliminates brainfog. Acetylcholine can be found in lecithin supplements.
12. Stimulate Detox – The body knows how to detox on its own. We don’t feel you need to stimulate detox or recommend that you do but certain supplements are known to stimulate detoxification such as Vitamin C, Magnesium, Chlorella/Spirulina, Lipoic Acid, MSM, Inositol (for silicone detoxification), NAC (N-Acetyl L-Cysteine) and Iodine. Do your research on these and go slow. If you try them, try one at a time, taking smaller doses to begin with to test for tolerance and gradually titrating up your doses to stimulate detoxification until you feel symptoms. Then rest for some days while those toxins clear and then repeat. Don’t take Chlorella, Lipoic Acid or NAC if you have mercury fillings as it will drag mercury around your body which causes inflammation. When you stimulate detoxification strongly, try a binder to bind toxins and help carry them out of the body. Binders like clay or charcoal absorb toxins and carry them out of the body. Take care and do not use charcoal for periods of longer than three weeks as charcoal binds healthy minerals and nutrients too.
13. Glutathione – If you do research on detoxification you will come across information on glutathione which is produced in the body and acts as the body’s master detoxifier picking up free radicals, toxins and heavy metals and escorting them out of the body. Normally, glutathione is created and recycled in the healthy body except when the toxic load becomes too great then it becomes depleted. Glutathione is made from the amino acids cysteine, glutamine and glycine. If you want to increase your glutathione you can take the inexpensive supplements NAC (N-Acetyl L-Cysteine) 4 parts, glutamine 2 parts and glycine 1 part in a glass of water between meals. No need to buy expensive glutathione supplements. Alternatively, you can also take organic, grass-fed, un-denatured whey powder which has all the precursors of glutathione if you can tolerate dairy products.
14. Exercise – Get exercise everyday if possible. At first walking, yoga and swimming are great exercises for healing breast implant illness and silicone detox. Gradually work up. Go outside for fresh air, sun and to connect with nature each day. If possible, sit or lie on the ground/grass/beach each day to eliminate inflammation in your body through grounding.
15. Sauna Therapy and Epsom Salt Baths – If you have access to an infrared sauna, sauna two to three times each week. It is well known that toxins and heavy metals are eliminated through the skin by sweating and infrared kills microbes in the body. Avoid saunas if you have implants and or mercury fillings. Also take a couple Epsom salt baths a week for magnesium replenishing and detoxification (silicone detox).
16. Low-Level Light Therapy, Oxygen Therapy, Ozone Therapy – I read another lady’s site that said she had profound healing after receiving low-level light therapy treatments on her chest to break down capsule tissue which should have been removed but was not. Not only did the low-level light therapy breakdown the capsule tissue, it also killed the bacteria and fungus in her chest. Although I have not had a chance to try it, I believe it works and could be a profound healing tool for some. Chiropractors use low-level light therapy in their practices, hopefully you can find one near you. I have personally tried oxygen therapy and it does stimulate healing. Many are having good results getting rid of bacteria, mold/fungus and viruses using ozone.
17. Timeframe to Feel Healthy – You will notice that the process of detoxification does increase inflammation in the body and the feeling of illness for a period. Moving toxic chemicals, bio-toxins and heavy metals through your body and organs will cause inflammation and detox symptoms (headaches, brain fog, negative mentalism, emotionalism, sore back bone, sore joints, general illness, fatigue, digestive disturbances) and an increase of your specific symptoms which is why you should go slow and need to take rests from detoxing but always maintain your clean diet and some exercise if possible. Detoxification (silicone detox) of breast implants is not a straight line, but rather an up and down process generally lasting one to two years. After explant, you will notice certain symptoms go away but then in a few months after explant, your body will begin the heavy work of detoxing stored chemicals and heavy metals from your cells and your symptoms will increase and go up and down for some months but gradually disappear one by one. Most women feel substantially healed within about one to two years. If you are not improving over years, then you need to look for other sources of toxicity. Perhaps you have a bacterial or fungal infection. Please ensure you are not living or working in a moldy environment. Perhaps you have mercury toxicity from your amalgams. Perhaps you have root canals that are producing potent bacteria creating illness in your body. Perhaps you have parasites. There will be a reason you are not healing.
Most of the above are things I did to get well. I was able to research a lot on the processes of detoxification and I tried a lot of things. I hurt myself sometimes by speeding up detox too much and unleashing more heavy metals and toxins than my body and organs were able to handle at one time. So, take care. If you try supplements, add one thing at a time so you can tell if something bothers you. Not everyone will be able to tolerate any or all of these suggestions and especially not in the beginning of your healing. Some have done nothing to detox and healed too. If you have a bad reaction, stop everything and rest. Then add one thing back in at a time so you can tell what is causing the reaction. Trust your own instincts. It takes time to heal this illness and the damage we have done to our bodies so be patient with yourself and trust in your healing.
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We look forward to your comments, feedback and personal stories about your symptoms due to breast implants. Please see the comment form below. Thank you.
Hi I have a question about my saline implants that were calcified when they explanted 13 years ago I am still unable to walk without a walker and a wheelchair the stiffness is getting worse on and off inflammation throughout my body is ongoing I cannot walk some days I cannot bend the legs other days the stiffness is so bad I’ve had all the Mercury taken out of my fillings 6 years ago 3 years ago I had a chest wall clean out which revealed crushed glass substance in the chest wall I want to go back for EDTA chelation and be retested to see where all these levels are and do some of them meijer’s cocktails in between what else can I do what do you think of this please help me
Hello,
I had my explant surgery 2 days ago with Dr. Lu Jean Feng. She and her team are incredible and a God send. I cannot imagine another surgeon and team would take better care of their patients the way Dr. Feng and her team did. Immediately after surgery I was able to take a full deep breath. I am a trail runner and yogi and never able to really take a deep breath. Also, pre and post surgery showed my alveolar to increase, basically the ability for my body to move the oxygen from my lungs throughout my cells dramatically improved immediately post surgery. I had my saline implants in for 22 years. I’m 42 now. Complete healthy prior to implants at 20 years of age and then diagnosed with Hashimoto’s in 2016 along with debilitating daily migraines. I am very health conscious but know my journey to healing completely will not be easy. I have dental work to do next week and will begin my healing journey.
Hi!
I removed my implants three weeks ago and I am very concern about the procedure, because I believe that the doctor left some of the capsule inside. I would like to know how long I have to wait to remove this residual capsule. Thank you!!!
Hi Mayrin,
Did you receive photos of your explanted capsules/implants and a copy of your explant operative report? From both of those and a conversation with your surgeon about exactly what he did you should be able to assess if you might have left over capsule. Depending on how much is left over, please know that some do heal from symptoms with a little left over capsule. We heal over 1 to 2 years so if after a year or more your symptoms have not substantially improved, then you may have to consider left over capsule could be hindering your healing.
Hi there,
I’m two and half years post explant but I’m still not feeling any better.
Since then, I have also been diagnosed with Lymes Disease.
Regarding point 12. Stimulate Detox see above. I have been taking fairly high daily doses of chlorella (and lipoid acid) since my explant.
I have just had some tests back that say a normal mercury level should be less than 10ug but mine is 78!
Is it possible that the chlorella I have been taking has leached the mercury from my fillings and dumped it in my blood/body?
I have looked for information on this but can’t find anything to substantiate my worry apart from your post which warns against taking Chlorella if you have fillings.
Please will you let me know where you got this information so I may share it with my practitioner.
Many thanks and warmest wishes to everyone on this site.
Hi Rachel,
Yes, lipoic acid should not be taken if you have mecury fillings as it will drag mercury around your body and you will feel terrible, stop taking it now! Instead get your mercury fillings out of your mouth but carefully with a dentist trained in the proper protocols for removing mercury safely for you. Also be careful with Chlorella, it stimulates the immune system and so can cause an increase in autoimmune symptoms meaning increased inflammation. I would like to see your Lyme test, I’m suspect of some Lyme testing.
Nicole
22 years with saline implants.. I will be having them removed in August.. I have been sick daily chest muscle pain which causes anxiety and panic, brain fog, headaches, gastric issue among other issues. I found out that the implants should never have been placed on top of the muscle and the lagging can cause lack of oxygen to the area causing pain. The worse part is that the doctor never told me that they should be replaced after 5 years.
A functional doctor will test for MTHFR?
Hi Madelaine
I tested through 23andme.com. Once my file of raw data was available from 23andme, I downloaded it and then uploaded to geneticgenie.org which told me about my MTHFR variants and my detox profile.
Hi there. I am kinda confused and I’m sorry if I missed something. The article states silicone and saline but this seems to be primarily for silicone. Is there a different detox for saline?
Hi Lindsey, the suggestions for detoxing are for both kinds of breast implants, saline and silicone.
Keep in mind the shell of saline implants is silicone. So you do have similar detoxing and symptoms. .
Hello, I had a double rupture after having them for 10 years, had them removed but some silicone is still in body attached to lymph nodes. I am not feeling any other symptoms other than swollen lymph node which I originally had to alert me something was wrong
I want to be able to detox the remaining silicone from body? I assume doing the above will help do so?
My body seems to be in incredible condition still considering I feel pregnant so easily and have had my baby since.
Any thoughts would be appreciated,
Hi Rebecca, I am so worried. I also have enlarged lymph nodes,filled with silicon in the axilla and getting dark moles & bumps all over my body. Did you have a biopsy for the lymph nodes or have them removed to test for malignancy?What were the results if you did?
I still have to go for a biopsy …. I wish you well with your healing.
I just want to tell you thank you! I removed my implants about a year ago. Unfortunately I did not have the Total Capsulectomy explant. I’m feeling really sick I have body aches and stomach problems. But this article has been so helpful to me since now I understand that all these symptoms are part of the detox process. Thank you and God bless you
Hi Mel,
Many that leave their capsules in don’t recover from symptoms of breast implant illness, so if your symptoms continue after a year or more, we suggest that you may want to consider that it is residual capsules causing them. Studies show that residual capsules cause chronic inflammation and that removing capsules correlates with healing from symptoms of breast implant illness.
Hi I just found this website, God I found it. I am getting an explant in six weeks time for a double rupture with textured implants. I’ve had them 13 years for the past five years, I have been feeling unwell, allergies, IBS, memory problems, fevers, dry, mouth, dry, eyes, sort joints, I honestly thought I was dying. I thought I had cancer. I was getting so many blood tests trying to figure out what was wrong with me my doctors just thought it was depression. I wasn’t even asked any questions about my implants. When I found out I had the rupture four weeks ago I started doing research about BII and I think I definitely have it and it definitely started when they ruptured. I am 38 i am really scared because I had very saggy breasts before my lift and augmentation and I don’t have much breast tissue. I can’t imagine what my chest is going to look like it’s really emotionally draining. Also, it’s going cost me 16,000 to remove them and then another 13,000 to have them put back in. To be honest I don’t even know if I want them put back in but I’ve been single for eight years and I’m going to look deformed. I won’t be able to do what I used to do as my looks was how I got by in life. I’m going to have to change my whole career, I feel overwhelmed. I’m scared right now does anybody have their implants removed and have a lot of XS skin? Anybody wants to post this, anyone have strange feet is when they have the implants in?
Hi Shelly. I feel your pain! I too have extremely small breasts and it bothers me. I recently had explant surgery and I do not regret it one bit!! There are two options…keep putting implants in and decide you’ll have to be ok with being sick for the rest of your life OR get them out, heal and feel better. I will say I feel like a completely different person. It’s hard to put into words but I feel FREE. And, in a few months after I finish my detox protocol I will be doing a fat transfer. I’m confident I will look amazing! You have a good surgeon? I suggest REALLY researching, look at photos, ask A LOT of questions. And check out the breast implant illness FB page too. Hope you’re better soon 💜
Hi Shelly,
I had implants for 23 years and took them out last week. I feel so liberated and happy! I’m 53 years old and am also small chested…. I absolutely love having them out and no part of me wants to put any kind of implant back in my body! I think it is a good idea to take them out and do the detox and give yourself time to heal both emotionally and physically:-) I wish you all the best and hope you feel better soon!
I have a nerve issue they say as my arms get cold from shoulder to elbow and I have some tingling all over my body.
I had tingling and loss of feeling and an overall buzzing sensation all over my body. My eye even started twitching in the end before explant. I’m 8 months post explant and all the symptoms are gone, EXCEPT when I drink alcohol my hands and arms get tingling in them. I rarely drink, but even a glass of wine flares up symptoms.
HOLA prueba Nac 400mg .
Hi! It says not to go in saunas if you have implants, why is that? Doesn’t it help to detox? Or is it the heat of the sauna isn’t good bc it’ll heat up implants?
Hi Anne,
Yes, we believe avoiding heating up your implants is best. Many members notice that they feel unwell after a hot shower or whenever their chest is heated up.
hi, i am 2 years post explant. i have gotten a lot better and pretty much healed my entire body. however, i’ve been having issues with my nose. i believe i have permanent damage from the metals and chemicals which somehow got into my nose and have been sneezing them out the reason why i think this is because my nose tissue doesn’t feel strong and collapses when i inhale (i can see it when i do it on one side) not sure what to do but it’s making me extremely depressed. any input would be awesome.
Hi Alexa,
Did you have any work done on your nose?
hi, no I have not…
I can feel that my respiratory in general isn’t strong (lungs, nose, etc.) it’s been 2 years post explant. do you know how I can strengthen these areas after bii?
Hi Alexa,
NAC is a good supplement to clean out lungs and also supports detoxing of toxins and metals.
Have you seen an ENT Doctor to be checked out?