Kayla Lochte is opening up about her health.
On March 10, the 29-year-old model and wife of Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte shared she underwent surgery to remove her breast implants.
"Both of them were deflated—one more than the other," she explained on Instagram Stories. "So, they think they were possibly leaking inside of me."
In a separate post, Kayla detailed what she had previously been experiencing. "BII aka Breast Implant Illness and the array of symptoms that have come with it for me," she wrote. "Fatigue, brain fog, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, joint pain, dizziness, reoccurring illnesses, abrupt food allergies, insomnia, bladder issues, swollen lymph nodes, common feeling of a hangover without having alcohol, inflammation, night sweats, vivid dreams, trouble breathing, feeling weak, low libido, bruising easily, vision issues, intolerance to cold, ringing in ears or pressure, and worsened PMS."
After consulting multiple doctors and undergoing an array of tests, she decided to explant her implants.
"I do not tell you these things to scare you but...just to make you aware and listen to your body!" she continued. "Implants are filled with a horrendous amount of VERY toxic chemicals and they sit on top of very important organs in our bodies. Our bodies are wonderfully intelligent and dislike foreign, highly toxic objects within them."
Kayla then went on to share how "2020 was a scary year" for her health and mental wellness, one she prays "to never relive again."
"I tend to be open about my struggles which I kept a smile on as much as I could but I felt a lot of shame and embarrassment to have so much to be thankful for—yet I was drowning," she added. "I was afraid of myself, my thoughts and didn't know how I could continue to live feeling the way that I was. BUT I PROMISE YOU There is hope—do not give up. There are valleys and there are mountaintops and I am currently on the climb."
The mother of two also talked about a few of the initial changes she's seen so far. "The dark circles under my eyes were immediately gone," she said on Instagram Stories, "and my skin tone, like, changed drastically when they took them out, which is just so crazy."
And while Kayla said she usually has pain in her knees, she noted this is no longer the case. "I normally also pee, like, three times a night—just because that's one of the symptoms, like, you just are constantly having to go pee," she added. "I didn't pee at all last night, and I've been drinking water. It's just been so crazy. I slept so good."
In addition, she claimed she "used to have this huge lymph node" in her neck that "was like a walnut" and that it's "completely down."
"It's insanity how much it was affecting me," Kayla continued, "and, like, how sick they were making me."
Overall, she noted she's "already feeling better and can feel my body thanking me." She then gave a shout-out to her team, Dr. David Rankin and Dee Hicks, as well as to her family, friends and 36-year-old husband. Ryan also wrote how proud he is of his wife "for standing true to her convictions and undergoing breast explanation surgery."
"There is nothing more important than one's health and I am so happy for her that she will finally rid herself of all the horrific symptoms associated with breast implant illness," he posted on Instagram. "I love you!!!"
Near the end of her Instagram Stories post, Kayla encouraged her followers to consult their doctors if they have any concerns.
"If you're having any of these symptoms, please just, like, look into it," she said, "and just, I don't know, consider how much better you could feel. So, [I'm] still tired and groggy. I'm taking, you know, medicine and stuff and still in a little pain. So, my healing journey starts now."