When Salmon Arm91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频� give her more confidence.

At 28, her recent experience has changed that view: 91裸聊视频淔rom no boobs, to big boobs, to no boobs. You think you will wear different clothes91裸聊视频� 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.91裸聊视频�

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 91裸聊视频� engaging, unpretentious, unassuming, that seemed to draw followers.

91裸聊视频淚 think it91裸聊视频檚 a combination of right time, right kind of things needed and being approachable,91裸聊视频� she said in a 2015 interview with the Observer. 91裸聊视频淚 think a lot of women doing what I do come across a little bit robotic or too proper91裸聊视频� I am unapologetically myself.91裸聊视频�

When her lease on her apartment ran out, she moved to Australia, a place she91裸聊视频檇 always dreamed of living, to be with her boyfriend who she91裸聊视频檇 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 91裸聊视频�90s due to problems, and now 91裸聊视频榞ummies91裸聊视频� or 91裸聊视频榞ummy bear91裸聊视频� 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 91裸聊视频榮tress,91裸聊视频� but she couldn91裸聊视频檛 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 91裸聊视频渘asty body odor. A metallic, acidic stink, predominantly on the left side.91裸聊视频�

Even after a shower where she would scrub and scrub, she would come out and her boyfriend would notice that she would still 91裸聊视频渟tink.91裸聊视频�

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.

91裸聊视频淢y hip would wake me up 91裸聊视频� that91裸聊视频檚 not normal for a 26-year-old.91裸聊视频�

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.

91裸聊视频淚 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.91裸聊视频�

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 didn91裸聊视频檛 pay much attention, at least not at first.

91裸聊视频淗onestly, when I first heard that, I almost got offended. How would it be my implants?91裸聊视频�

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

91裸聊视频淚t was absolutely unbelievable, 91裸聊视频� word for word.91裸聊视频�

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 manufacturers91裸聊视频� own documentation and brochures, yet 91裸聊视频渢hese women are routinely told there91裸聊视频檚 nothing wrong with them, they91裸聊视频檙e perfectly fine and healthy, it91裸聊视频檚 all in their minds91裸聊视频�,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e often told breast implants are the most studied medical device ever and they have been definitely proven to be perfectly safe.91裸聊视频�

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 that91裸聊视频檚 because the scientists realize the study size required would be very large.

Related:

Pukas went ahead with her explant in April of this year 91裸聊视频� which involved removing the scar capsule as well as the implant 91裸聊视频� and describes the change as shockingly immediate. The whites of her eyes were suddenly white. The brain fog began to lift.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 been a night and day change with my health and how it91裸聊视频檚 turned around.91裸聊视频�

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

91裸聊视频淚t has nothing to do with who put that implant in, it91裸聊视频檚 how your body91裸聊视频檚 immune system reacts to that implant.91裸聊视频�

And she now feels great mentally.

91裸聊视频淭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, it91裸聊视频檚 healthy.91裸聊视频�

Her purpose in talking about her experience is not intended to incite panic or to point fingers. It91裸聊视频檚 for information, she emphasizes, calling herself pro-information, not anti-plastic surgery.

91裸聊视频淚 want women to be aware it is a possibility from implants91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 an important conversation. Often women91裸聊视频檚 health gets pushed aside.91裸聊视频�

Her story is spreading throughout the media, including Cosmopolitan, O (Oprah) Magazine, MSN.com and Yahoo.com. Her YouTube video, 91裸聊视频淭he Truth about Breast Implants - Breast Implant Illness,91裸聊视频� detailing her experience, has surpassed half a million views.

91裸聊视频淚 think it91裸聊视频檚 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. That91裸聊视频檚 what it91裸聊视频檚 for. It doesn91裸聊视频檛 matter what you look like. It91裸聊视频檚 a shell.91裸聊视频�

marthawickett@saobserver.net
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