When Salmon ArmB次元官网网址檚 Karissa Pukas decided to get breast implants in 2013, she had no inkling of what horrors the next five years would hold.

At 22, her thought was that bigger breasts would improve her looks B次元官网网址� give her more confidence.

At 28, her recent experience has changed that view: B次元官网网址淔rom no boobs, to big boobs, to no boobs. You think you will wear different clothesB次元官网网址� I think everyone has a notion the grass is always greener. There are great things about small boobs, great things about big boobs. The biggest thing is about being happy about how you naturally are.B次元官网网址�

In 2013, Pukas was already an Internet sensation, with hundreds of thousands of people tuning in to her YouTube channel, following her on Facebook and on Instagram.

Her fame had begun simply enough.

Living in Vancouver and taking a fashion merchandising program at the Blanche MacDonald Centre, she decided she wanted to meet people. And meet people she did. She began making fashion videos and soon expanded into makeup. But it was her style B次元官网网址� engaging, unpretentious, unassuming, that seemed to draw followers.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 a combination of right time, right kind of things needed and being approachable,B次元官网网址� she said in a 2015 interview with the Observer. B次元官网网址淚 think a lot of women doing what I do come across a little bit robotic or too properB次元官网网址� I am unapologetically myself.B次元官网网址�

When her lease on her apartment ran out, she moved to Australia, a place sheB次元官网网址檇 always dreamed of living, to be with her boyfriend who sheB次元官网网址檇 met when they both worked at Silver Star Mountain. Life was good.

Pukas did her research before committing to surgery. Silicone had been discontinued for implants in the B次元官网网址�90s due to problems, and now B次元官网网址榞ummiesB次元官网网址� or B次元官网网址榞ummy bearB次元官网网址� implants, textured rather than smooth, were said to be a good choice.

The surgery went well and she was pleased with her decision, despite having back pain as her body adjusted to its new proportions.

But about six months after the operation, she began feeling fatigued constantly.

Then came anxiety. Depression.

She delved into her life, trying to understand why the changes. A doctor said B次元官网网址榮tress,B次元官网网址� but she couldnB次元官网网址檛 see how her life was any more stressful than it had been a year earlier. Not to mention, health and fitness had always been a top priority for her. She stayed fit, ate well.

Then she developed B次元官网网址渘asty body odor. A metallic, acidic stink, predominantly on the left side.B次元官网网址�

Even after a shower where she would scrub and scrub, she would come out and her boyfriend would notice that she would still B次元官网网址渟tink.B次元官网网址�

She developed night sweats, where she would wake up drenched and shivering.

She went to a naturopath, but symptoms continued.

In 2016 she returned to Canada and things continued to get worse. She began suffering from chronic joint pain.

B次元官网网址淢y hip would wake me up B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 not normal for a 26-year-old.B次元官网网址�

Then came problems with food intolerance, recurring diarrhea, daily. She began having menstrual periods multiple times per month. She had adult acne, heart palpitations, strange-smelling urine, brain fog and trouble concentrating.

Pukas saw several doctors and was given several tests. She was dismissed, told there was nothing wrong with her. She was never asked if she had a foreign object in her body, nor did she make the connection.

B次元官网网址淚 think the biggest frustration for me, it was almost likened to me being a hypochondriac. I knew this was not right, it was not how I should be feeling.B次元官网网址�

Still, she managed to maintain her presence online. Although she no longer wanted to go out of her house because of all her health problems, she kept up her Youtube channel. She would try to carry on as usual, but sometimes she was brutally honest. In response to a video talking about all her digestion problems, a couple of followers mentioned breast implant disease.

Pukas didnB次元官网网址檛 pay much attention, at least not at first.

B次元官网网址淗onestly, when I first heard that, I almost got offended. How would it be my implants?B次元官网网址�

Although reluctant to consider the implants, the similarities with what other women were saying on the Internet was uncanny.

B次元官网网址淚t was absolutely unbelievable, B次元官网网址� word for word.B次元官网网址�

She eventually arrived at the decision to have her implants removed, and chose a California plastic surgeon, Dr. H. Jae Chun, who was recommended.

In September of this year, in a video in which Chun provides testimony to the FDA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, he explains he has been focused solely on breast explants over the past three years. He said the women who come to him, who have saline or silicone implants, usually have neurological or connective tissue disorder symptoms.

Such symptoms are well-documented in implant manufacturersB次元官网网址� own documentation and brochures, yet B次元官网网址渢hese women are routinely told thereB次元官网网址檚 nothing wrong with them, theyB次元官网网址檙e perfectly fine and healthy, itB次元官网网址檚 all in their mindsB次元官网网址�,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e often told breast implants are the most studied medical device ever and they have been definitely proven to be perfectly safe.B次元官网网址�

That view has been expressed by various manufacturers, Chun said, so it disseminates down to plastic surgeons and other specialists and primary care physicians. He notes that the incidence of problems reported in core studies range anywhere from 1.4 to two per cent. However, manufacturers have offered a rebuttal, stating a panel of expert scientists has found the evidence linking neurological diseases to breast implants is insufficient or flawed.

Chun says thatB次元官网网址檚 because the scientists realize the study size required would be very large.

Related:

Pukas went ahead with her explant in April of this year B次元官网网址� which involved removing the scar capsule as well as the implant B次元官网网址� and describes the change as shockingly immediate. The whites of her eyes were suddenly white. The brain fog began to lift.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a night and day change with my health and how itB次元官网网址檚 turned around.B次元官网网址�

She explains that the symptoms came down to the fact her body was fighting itself, trying to get rid of the implant.

B次元官网网址淚t has nothing to do with who put that implant in, itB次元官网网址檚 how your bodyB次元官网网址檚 immune system reacts to that implant.B次元官网网址�

And she now feels great mentally.

B次元官网网址淭he crazy thing is, after the explant, I feel so much better about myself, so much sexier, so much better than I did with the implants. My body is one that works, itB次元官网网址檚 healthy.B次元官网网址�

Her purpose in talking about her experience is not intended to incite panic or to point fingers. ItB次元官网网址檚 for information, she emphasizes, calling herself pro-information, not anti-plastic surgery.

B次元官网网址淚 want women to be aware it is a possibility from implantsB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 an important conversation. Often womenB次元官网网址檚 health gets pushed aside.B次元官网网址�

Her story is spreading throughout the media, including Cosmopolitan, O (Oprah) Magazine, MSN.com and Yahoo.com. Her YouTube video, B次元官网网址淭he Truth about Breast Implants - Breast Implant Illness,B次元官网网址� detailing her experience, has surpassed half a million views.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 important people put their story out there, and the truth. A decision I made at 22 will affect me for the rest of my life. I see the value of what my body can do, not what it looks like. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what itB次元官网网址檚 for. It doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter what you look like. ItB次元官网网址檚 a shell.B次元官网网址�

marthawickett@saobserver.net
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