Danica Patrick Says 'The Heal Is Real' One Week After Having Her Breast Implants Removed

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 12: Professional race car driver Danica Patrick at the BODY at ESPYS Event on July 12th at Avalon Hollywood. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for ESPN)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 12: Professional race car driver Danica Patrick at the BODY at ESPYS Event on July 12th at Avalon Hollywood. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for ESPN)
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Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick is glowing one week after having her breast implants removed.

The 40-year-old former NASCAR driver, who dealt with significant health problems for the last two years due to breast implant illness, delivered an update on her condition post-surgery in a series of posts on her Instagram Story shared Thursday.

Patrick went under the knife last Wednesday after experiencing negative side effects from her implants since early 2018, according to an Instagram post she shared last Friday.

In the first photo on her Story, Patrick showed off her healthy-looking face and the changes she experienced in just the first week alone after surgery — from her "healthy scalp" and "natural face oil" to the return of her law line and lack of swollen lymph nodes.

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The retired racer wrote "the heal is real" atop the image before answering questions from fans about breast implant illness and her experience with it.

Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick/Instagram

In her Instagram post announcing the removal of her breast implants, Patrick said she got her breast implants in Nov. 2014, "because I want to have it all."

"I was really fit, but I didn't have boobs. So I got them," she explained at the time. "Everything went well, and I was happy with them."

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But problems soon arose, and in late 2020, Patrick said "the wheels came off" as she experienced side effects such as menstrual cycle irregularity, weight gain, and more.

"[M]y hair wasn't looking healthy at all and my face was a different shape (weird I know)," she wrote. "So I went down the rabbit hole to figure it out. I did every test that could be done."

Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick/Instagram Danica Patrick before and after getting her breast implants removed

When asked Thursday how she knew it was her breast implants causing the problems, Patrick said it took lots of narrowing down — and she tried "everything" she could think of. Surgery, she added, "was not at the top of my list of fixes."

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"Multiple doctors. Every biological test. I even tested my house for mold and the water for bacteria," she wrote above an image of herself getting an IV on her Story. "Cleanses. 90 day gut protocol. Peptides. IV NAD. Chelation for heavy metals."

But still, Patrick said, "nothing worked" for her. "I told every doctor — I don't feel any different or look any different," she continued.

Patrick shared images of her removed implants when asked about the scars she has from the removal procedure. The racecar driver said she does not have any large scars, writing, "these baseballs went through a very small hole."

Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Danica Patrick

In another slide, Patrick told those following her story that "doing your homework is the best advice."

"I learned so much from watching people's stories. Their experiences were mine!" she wrote above a photo of herself and plastic surgeon Dr. Shaun Parson, later adding, "My intuition was sky high!"

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Patrick also shared a smiling image of herself as her interview with Good Morning America about her recent health journey played on a television behind her.

Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick/Instagram

Above the photo, Patrick said she is "happy to get the message out about potential complications from breast implants."

"I felt better within hours after surgery," she wrote. "Including — energy, inflammation, natural body oil production and lymph nodes are down."

Patrick concluded, "So much more to report on over the next 6-12 months."