I had a 34DD boob job so my husband wouldn’t abandon me… instead he almost killed me AND left me £11k out of pocket

POSING for her wedding photos, Ionela Ardelean has never felt so confident.

The plunging neckline of her asymmetrical white dress showed off her 34DD implants to perfection — and she felt confident that her new husband’s head would never be turned.

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But this came at a cost.

Just a few years later, CCTV operator Ionela battled hair loss, memory problems and heart palpitations so debilitating she feared she would die.

She says: “I was only 33, but I felt like a fragile 85-year-old. And the culprit was my boob job. It felt like my implants were trying to kill me.”

With around 8,000 women going under the knife each year, a breast lift is the most frequently performed cosmetic surgery in the UK.

But few would have heard about breast implant illness.

It is not currently recognized as an official medical condition, but some experts believe the symptoms – which include mental confusion, anxiety and joint pain – may be caused by an autoimmune or inflammatory reaction to the implants.

Previously a 34B, Ionela, 37, from Bristol, has always felt self-conscious about her smaller chest.

‘I was exhausted and overwhelmed’

She met her husband Vlatko, 40, a warehouse operator, at a cafe in July 2015.

The pair quickly became an item, but it wasn’t long before she began to worry that he would want to leave her for a woman with a larger bust.

She says: “Vlatko always insisted that I was beautiful and that he was happy with me the way I was – and he never did anything to make me think he would stray.

“But I have dealt with an unfaithful ex in the past, which left me with some trust issues.

“So I got this idea in my head and I couldn’t shake it.

“Vlatko said if I needed implants to boost my confidence, he would support me.”

“I had a terrible headache, reduced range of motion, zero energy and a strange burning sensation in my chest.

In May 2016, Ionela paid £5,000 for a 105-minute procedure at a clinic in the Midlands.

At first, she was thrilled with her bigger breasts

Other than some discomfort when running, she had no significant side effects.

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But after the birth of his son, in October 2019, everything changed. She says: “I was exhausted and overwhelmed. Then, when my son was a few months old, I went to the sauna and after ten minutes I felt nauseous and faint.

“I had a terrible headache, reduced range of motion, zero energy and a strange burning sensation in my chest. I spent the night curled up, sobbing silently, so as not to wake my husband and son.”

Then came the hair loss

Things got worse from there, with Ionela developing severe memory loss and mental confusion.

She would forget appointments, playdates, and social events and could not calculate the simplest of sums.

Then came the hair loss. A handful would fall out with each wash.

She also suffered from loss of feeling in her arms and fingers, burning pain in her right foot and right wrist, severe headaches, heart palpitations, blurred vision, eye pain, IBS and constant exhaustion.

“I thought maybe it was postpartum depression, but that didn’t explain the physical symptoms,” she says.

“I went to the GP a few times complaining of tiredness and pain, but I got no response. I felt like I was dying and there was no reasonable explanation for any of it.

“Fortunately, Vlatko was extremely supportive and understanding.

“When he wasn’t working, he took care of our son and did as much as he could to try and alleviate the intense tiredness and bad mood I felt. He just wanted me to feel better.”

Towards the end of 2021, Ionela suddenly noticed that her implants had fallen out significantly.

To anyone considering a boob job, I would say that big breasts don’t make you healthier, happier, or smarter.

She says: “I started researching local clinics that could do implant exchanges and breast augmentations and came across a term I had never heard before: breast implant disease.

“It was like a checklist for all the symptoms I had been experiencing.

“I went back to my family doctor and showed him the long list, but they didn’t consider it a real condition.

“He agreed to give me a blood test and, of course, the results came back normal.

“But I kept researching and told myself that if removing the implants solved my problems, it would be the last time I messed with my body and my health.”

After being quoted £10,000 for surgery to remove her implants in the UK, she decided to have the operation in Lithuania in June 2022.

The £6,000 surgery lasted five hours and included a breast reduction and lift.

She says: “As soon as I woke up, I instantly felt better.

“The pain in my joints just disappeared and I felt a vibrant energy coursing through my body.

“I no longer had mental confusion, my memory loss disappeared and all the other symptoms I had also disappeared.”

Since then, Ionela has grown from strength to strength.

And she has a renewed appreciation for her smaller 34B breasts.

She says: “I can’t understand how I could be unhappy with what I had or worried that Vlatko would make me over the size of my breasts.”

Her biggest fear now is that her son may have been affected too.

She says: “I fear that the heavy toxins in my implants may have harmed his health when I was breastfeeding him.

“Most online research says it is safe, but there are scientists who have identified abnormalities.

“Luckily he grew up to be a healthy and intelligent four-year-old, but I just don’t know what my breast milk could have carried into his body.

“To anyone considering a boob job, I would say that big breasts don’t make you healthier, happier or smarter.

“The implants stole £11,000 from my wallet and precious time and memories with my son.

“I’m lucky they didn’t cost me my life too.”

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