Empowered Explant

11 Things You Should Know Before Your Explant Surgery

September 10, 2024 • Darnah Mercieca • Season 3 • Episode 54

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Are you ready for this rollercoaster ride? Here are 11 things I think you should know before you go in for your explant surgery. Whether you are just considering explanting, or already have your surgery booked, this is for you breastie! I hope it helps xx

Links and resources:

Free 33-Step Explant Planning Checklist:
checklist.empoweredexplant.com

Episode 43: When Should I Start Detoxing:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2073651/13930267

Episode 45: What to Expect During Surgery Recovery:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2073651/14010701

Empowered Explant Website Resources
www.empoweredexplant.com/resources

For coaching and support before or after surgery, email me!
darnah@empoweredexplant.com

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Let's connect!

Join the Empowered Explant Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/empoweredexplant

Connect with Darnah on Instagram: @darnahmercieca

Interviews and sponsorships email: podcast@empoweredexplant.com

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/ilya-kuznetsov/anticipation

Disclaimer: This podcast does not constitute medical or mental health advice. Darnah is not a medical practitioner. She shares from personal experience, research, and conversations with other people. If you are experiencing symptoms, pain, post-surgery complications, or mental health concerns, please seek care from your medical provider or surgeon.


Darnah Mercieca:

Today, I'm sharing the things you really need to know before explanting, whether you're in the early stages of thinking about it or you're already planning for surgery. These tips will help you prepare both physically and emotionally for what's to come. This is Empowered Explant the podcast helping women ditch their breast implants with confidence Darnah Mercieca I'm a board certified health and wellness coach and Explant warrior, so my new background is pretty cool because it's not new. For starters, this used to be if you're watching the YouTube video, okay, you can't see this if you're just listening, but if you're watching on YouTube, then you can see a new background. And I decided to flip everything around so that y'all had the view, instead of you looking at the wall and me looking at the view. It's really pretty. And then I've got my plants and my shelf with all of my sentimental stuff on there, my shelf with all of my sentimental stuff on there, and if you, maybe I don't know if you'll be able to see, but you might catch a hummingbird fly onto the feeder at some point, so you never know. Anyway, I like this better. I hope you like it better, I think it looks better and, um, except, I've got this tree, this bamboo plant, growing out of my head, which it's a bit weird, but it's okay, I can get over it. I am actually really excited because I went to Positano, italy I'm wearing my shirt positively Positano, and it was so fun. Actually, italy's been on my vision board for six years six years and it's a lot of manifesting Um and finally did it went with my partner.

Darnah Mercieca:

He's incredible. We had a great time. We went to London and Italy and it was just such a life-changing transition in my life, in my world, this summer. So it was the perfect trip to really lock in on all of the changes that were happening in my life, which I will share with you over time. But you are not here for my life story today, so I will shut up now and I'm going to tell you the 11 things you need to know before explanting.

Darnah Mercieca:

Okay, a quick disclaimer. Please know I'm not a medical doctor and this podcast does not constitute medical or mental health advice. I share from my personal experience, research and conversations with other people. If you're experiencing symptoms, pain, post-surgery complications or mental health concerns, please seek care from your medical provider or surgeon and please make any medical decisions in consultation with a qualified and experienced healthcare professional. Let's jump in Number one mindset and emotions matter on this journey.

Darnah Mercieca:

Okay, explanting is not just a physical journey, it's emotional. And here's the thing Emotional healing starts before you even go into surgery. It's a good idea to have the tools and practices in place for managing anxiety, like journaling, meditation or even talking to a counselor or therapist. Start working on your self-talk now. Speak kindly to yourself, because this process will test you emotionally. The way you talk to yourself can make a big difference as you navigate through this journey and as you heal and face everything that you're going to face. You're making a decision to reclaim your health and your body, and that's a powerful thing, so give yourself some grace and some kindness.

Darnah Mercieca:

Number two not all surgeons are created equal. Finding the right surgeon is huge. Seriously, do not settle. Not all surgeons understand explant surgery the same way, and it's important to find someone who gets your health concerns, especially if you have breast implant illness symptoms. Just go to someone that's really compassionate and knowledgeable. Take your time, do your research and trust your gut. If something feels off during a consult, listen to that feeling. Okay, you're the one going through this, so make sure that you've got someone in your corner who respects that You're the boss You're paying them. You can ask all the questions you want, and don't forget that.

Darnah Mercieca:

Number three your body might do some crazy shit while you're healing. Things like hormonal shifts and detox flares after explant surgery are real. They're actually a sign that your body is healing and rebalancing. Okay, it's easy to feel frustrated, I know, when you're dealing with mood swings or low energy or flare ups of symptoms that you thought had gone away. But just remember, your body is doing what it needs to do to recover. Okay, it's been through a lot. Give it a break. The good news is, you can help your body out by focusing on the right nutrition and self-care. I sound like a broken record because I feel like I say that all the time, but it's true. Eating well and taking care of yourself can make these shifts more manageable and make the symptoms not as severe, if any. Okay, so just don't underestimate how much of a difference it can make and that you can take control of some of the severity of that, some of the severity of that.

Darnah Mercieca:

Number four your body and your brain will take time to adjust. Your body is going to look different after surgery, okay, and it's rare for your breasts to look exactly like they did before implants. So we just kind of have to get real here with our expectations, because we can kind of come out of surgery and feel that shock and it can take time for your brain to catch up and rewire itself to get used to your new look. You kind of walk past the mirror and it feels shocking for a while, but it's okay, it's normal. Be patient with yourself. Your brain is going to start to get used to how you look in the mirror and before you know it, kind of like me now. I I can't even picture myself with the implants when I look in the mirror. Now, this is my normal and I can't even imagine myself with double D boobs, oh my goodness. But as you're going through this, okay, speaking kindly to yourself and using positive affirmations can really help with this adjustment. It can help get your brain back on track and reframe some of those negative thoughts. And just remember this is a part of your healing journey and it's important to embrace it with love and acceptance, especially when it feels really difficult to do that.

Darnah Mercieca:

Number five start preparing your body early. If you're dealing with BII symptoms, you might even get a little relief by making some lifestyle changes before surgery if you're lucky, okay, but start supporting your detox organs now. I'm not saying start a detox now. I'm saying start supporting your detox system, your detox pathways now by drinking more water, eating anti-inflammatory foods and focusing on gut health. These changes can help prepare your body for surgery, yay, and even give you a bit of a head start on feeling better. It's going to help you recover easier, recover faster detox. You're going to move into detox much more smoothly. So there's just so much that you should start doing before surgery, a few months before, if you can, at least at minimum to get that head start. And it's just all about taking small, mindful steps towards your surgery.

Darnah Mercieca:

Number six detox support is important post-surgery. So after surgery, your body will need help detoxing. Your body's been through a lot. It's probably compromised. Your systems are compromised, like I mentioned in the last point. Start doing those things to support your body before surgery, especially the anti-inflammatory diet and the gut health, and then, after surgery, you're going to continue to support your detox organs with supplements. Clean eating and hydration is super important as well and movement starting to exercise. You can also try simple practices like dry brushing. You can use infrared sauna to help your body along. There's a lot of things that you could do, but they don't have to be complicated or expensive steps. Okay, and it's not something that you have to like dive into aggressively straight after your surgery, dive into aggressively straight after your surgery. As long as you're taking those steps pre-surgery to clean up what's going into your body and your environment and really support your detox system, you don't have to go into detox aggressively. In fact, you shouldn't go into detox aggressively. You should let your body kind of get into its groove and start clearing things out.

Darnah Mercieca:

I do have an episode, a podcast episode. Oh, what is that episode? Let me take a quick look. I do have a podcast episode about detoxing. When should I start detoxing? Yes, I do. Yay, I'm going to link to that episode in the show notes because that's a great one here, because I just feel like a lot of women ask like, oh, should I start detoxing before? Like, well, I've still got my breast implants? Should I start detoxing immediately after surgery? It's probably one of the biggest questions that's asked in our community. So I will link to that episode in the show notes and I recommend you listen to that.

Darnah Mercieca:

Number seven recovery takes time. It just does. Be patient and kind to yourself. Healing takes time. Okay, it's just all a part of the process, and so the best thing you can do during this time is just be kind to yourself and your body. You need downtime, you need to go slow, you need to rest, you need time off. You can't dive into exercise straight away, straight away. It's just kind of part of this process. There's not much you can do about that. You can speed up your recovery and have a stronger recovery by preparing your body before surgery, yes, and by eating the right foods and doing the right things. The right self-care. Taking care of yourself, makes a huge difference in your recovery. But you still got to recover. So just you kind of got to suck it up and go through it and be kind to your body. Give it the time it needs to bounce back. There is no point in rushing it because it could actually end up having an adverse effect and send you in the wrong direction. Patience and self-care are key.

Darnah Mercieca:

Number eight breast implant illness symptoms will not disappear overnight. Sorry, explanting is a major step, the major step, but BII symptoms don't always disappear right away. Your body is working hard to heal. It's working hard to recover after its surgery and it might take time for certain symptoms to fully go away. It often does take a long time for symptoms to fully go away, and some symptoms might not fully go away depending on if the damage has been done in your body to a point where it's not reversible. And sometimes that's the case If an autoimmune condition has been triggered by the inflammation or the toxicity of the implants and now you've got an autoimmune disease that's irreversible. Maybe you're, maybe you're stuck with that for life. But maybe removing your breast implants and getting rid of the inflammation and looking after yourself and taking all of the steps to clean up your life and the toxins in your life and the right self-care and all of that, maybe those symptoms will decrease and it won't be something that plagues you every day. So just remember that healing is a journey. It looks different for everyone and even small improvements are a sign that your body is moving in the right direction. So just know that removing your breast implants is a step in the right direction. You are addressing a root cause and getting rid of something that's causing your body to struggle, and even if some of the breast implant illness symptoms linger for a long time. That could also be a sign that, like there's still work to do, there's still healing to do, there's still my system still needs my help, right? So just keep showing up for yourself. That's the main thing there.

Darnah Mercieca:

Number nine you don't need to buy all the things. You might feel like you do I know I felt like I did but you don't need all the things. So you don't need to buy every detox treatment or every high-tech product out there to be prepared for explant surgery or to recover from explant surgery. You don't need every single supplement out there. Sometimes it just feels like you need to go on a shopping spree to get everything that you need Every type of zip up front zip bra in all the colors and all the styles, and you need every button down shirt because you need like five different outfits and trust me, girl, like you're not going to need all the outfits, okay, you're just going to want to chill for the most part, and I mean you can literally get away with rotating between two front zip bras the entire time. One's in the wash, one you're wearing, wash one you're wearing.

Darnah Mercieca:

Don't overdo it. Focus on the basics good nutrition, hydration and a simple self-care plan, just really focus on the basics. That's not to say that you're just like, meh, okay, I don't really need to do anything. That's not what I'm saying. You do need to show up for yourself and there is a way that you need to do that to get the best results and to really have this explant surgery be transformative in your health and in your life and your body. You know consistently, taking mindful action over time is way more effective and a lot cheaper than buying all the fancy things. That's all I'm saying. You don't need all the fancy things and you don't need to spend all the money on stuff that you just don't need or won't use.

Darnah Mercieca:

Trust that your body can heal with the essentials. And for some people the essentials might look different. Okay, for some people the essentials might be very simple because they haven't had their implants long, they don't have a lot of symptoms. They maybe just got a simple explant. They recovered very simple, like very quickly and easily. And for others, you might be really unwell and maybe the essentials does mean you need more right. You might need more supplements. Or you might need you might be really unwell and maybe the essentials does mean you need more right. You might need more supplements or you might need, you know, maybe you do some genetic testing to really get answers. Maybe you do want to take some stem cell enhancing supplements to help with your scarring and to really help your body be able to heal, because you struggle with healing. There are things and the essentials can look different for different people, like I said, but know yourself, know what you really need, and I think that that's a part of how this journey is unique for everybody.

Darnah Mercieca:

Number 10, you'll need a support system. You don't have to go through this alone. You shouldn't go through this alone. Okay, having a solid support system of family, friends, you know, even if it's just one person back home that loves you and is there for you and can look after you after your surgery and during recovery and all of that, it just helps to not be alone. Honestly, even during recovery, if you don't have anybody that can be there to look out for you and care for you during that time and help you out, I mean, there is nothing wrong with paying for support as well, you know. Just remember that if you've got it, that is like there is nothing wrong with paying to have a carer come in and help you.

Darnah Mercieca:

Um another, you know, go to the church, go to the community that you're a part of and see if you can, you know, find somebody that would be willing to help you out there. There are so many good people in the world and, you know, also, having a community of women that understand what you're going through can make a huge difference. For example, the empowered explant Facebook group a great place to come where you can share very honestly how you're feeling and what you're going through. You can say anything in that group that is essentially from your heart and what you're experiencing. I encourage that, and we're all there to support each other, because everything that you feel on this journey is really real, and there's a lot. So, you know, don't be afraid to come in and get some support when you need it and also be a support to others.

Darnah Mercieca:

I think that that's a really nice way to also show up for yourself and and to feel better yourself as well. And you know I'm here for you too, for what it's worth. If you need guidance or just somebody to talk to, I'm here. You can hit me up, ask me questions. I am here for it. So, yeah, just know that you are loved and you've got people in the world that care about you and that it's okay to ask for help.

Darnah Mercieca:

I know a lot of us women struggle with the whole ask for help part, but this is this is a time where, yeah, you probably should. You should probably have someone there in your corner ready to help Because, um, I know that I I couldn't have gone through it without my mom by my side. Oh, my gosh, she was the best help ever. And then I returned the favor for her and I got to play nurse for my mom, but, you know, for as long as she needed it and, um, and it just made a big difference in both of our experiences to to be there for each other. So I hope that you can find your person as well.

Darnah Mercieca:

Number 11, you will feel so empowered. Heaven, you will feel so empowered. One of the most amazing things about explanting is how empowered you feel after. It's like a weight is lifted literally, yes, but also emotionally, and you'll just start to finally feel more in tune with your body Even before your surgery. You know your body Even before your surgery. Booking your surgery, getting that date on the calendar that is a really empowering moment, right? It's such a brave step towards reclaiming your health and this journey is so brave and I know that when you book that surgery it's like, it's like a little bit of a relief, right Cause you've made your decision. You've made that first like really important decision, like I am explanting and now I know when I'm explanting.

Darnah Mercieca:

Um, but this journey can be tough, you know for sure. Uh, but I don't know. Even through the difficult times, it's so empowering and as you overcome each challenge and as you move through every phase of healing and this journey and getting your health back and noticing things as you move through, and even just like moving through self-acceptance, you just get this sense of ownership over yourself and your life and your health and just this freedom that you feel and it's so worth it. So you know you're making a choice that's going to lead to a healthier, more vibrant you and that's certainly something to celebrate. So, yeah, just know that, no matter how you're feeling now, if it feels overwhelming, if anxiety is really heavy, if there's tons of uncertainty, all of those things, that's all just a part of this process, a part of this journey, I suppose.

Darnah Mercieca:

But I want you to really lean into those moments of when you feel so empowered, like yeah, I'm making this decision for me, I'm taking control right now of what I can control right now, of what I can, and just know that there is so much more of that feeling, that empowered feeling, on the other side of this, especially if you really lean into it and go for that transformation that this journey can truly offer you, transformation that this journey can truly offer you. So that's my 11 things that I think you need to know before explant surgery. If you're planning for your explant surgery or just starting to think about it, I hope these tips help you feel a little more prepared and just kind of get you in the mindset of, like, what you need to know as you go into this and there are so many podcast episodes on Empowered Explant that dive into these topics deeper and, like, really help you prepare more. Just remember this is a process, but you've got the strength to get through it.

Darnah Mercieca:

Okay, you, you're here, you're already here and for more support as you move towards your surgery, don't forget to download my 33-step explant planning checklist at checklistempoweredexplantcom. I will link that here. But that's going to help you get organized. It's going to help you kind of. It's more detailed right. It's like an actual checklist of the tasks that you need to do and the things that you need to do to get organized and feel confident going into your surgery. So I hope that's helpful for you. Thanks for being here with me, breasty. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a friend or not a friend, a complete stranger who might need to hear it. And don't forget to rate the podcast. It really helps other women find this info too. I'll see you here next week, breasty. You.