On Wednesday, Danica Patrick had her breast implants removed after dealing with significant health problems, according to PEOPLE.
The former professional racing driver shared on Instagram that she “wasn’t sure” if she was ready to reveal her experience, “but then I remembered that true vulnerability is sharing something you’re not really ready to. So here it is.”
The 40-year-old explained that she got her breast implants in November 2014, “because I want to have it all.”
She said, “I was really fit, but I didn’t have boobs. So I got them. Everything went well, and I was happy with them.”
In 2018, Patrick started noticing her hair “was not as healthy and was breaking off.” She also started gaining “a few pounds and had no luck losing it.” She said her problems increased from there, and in late 2020, “the wheels came off.”
“I had cycle irregularity, gained more weight, my hair wasn’t looking healthy at all and my face was a different shape (weird I know),” Patrick said. “So I went down the rabbit hole to figure it out. I did every test that could be done.”
She went on to list her symptoms of “hypothyroidism; heavy metal toxicity; dysbiosis (a gut imbalance); severe leaky gut; hypoglycemic; low estrogen, DHEA, testosterone, magnesium, white blood count, vitamin D, and progesterone; adrenal fatigue; elevated CRP (a sign of inflammation); temperature sensitivity; swollen lymph nodes in her neck; dry scalp and skin; “weird” perspiration smell; dizziness; achy hands; face swelling; weight gain; hair loss and capsular contracture — meaning scar tissue grew around her implant.”
The aforementioned health problems led Patrick to undergo implant removal. In the Instagram post, she posted of pic of herself a few hours before and after the removal of her breast implants.
She said, “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 2:30 p.m.).”
Resharing her post on her Instagram Story, Patrick wrote, “Think about it!” She included pictures from her drive home, when she was feeling “well nothing I was pretty hopped up on meds riding home. ? But look at my face color!”
Patrick said the bandage and drains, which she has to wear after the surgery, have been the “most annoying part.” She joked, “Other than my little veins taking 4 tries in the OR.”
