Breast implants have been used for a relatively long time now. However, there is not enough research studies or discussions based on its effects which is why Breast Implant Illness (BII) is quite a new topic especially in the medical community and is not yet widely recognized. Because of the lack of information and awareness with regard to the long-term effects of breast implants, many women suffer from breast implant illness. In today’s episode, we’ll be talking about the different aspects of breast implant illness. When you have multiple things contributing to inflammation, it’s even more complicated. Breast implant illness is already challenging to treat on its own. And so, it’s already a given fact that when a person has multiple factors contributing to the inflammation, it makes everything more complicated including the diagnosis and treatment. Since experiences with breast implants vary, the symptoms also vary widely. Some people may experience only mild symptoms, while others may experience more severe symptoms that badly affect their way of living. Personally, I’ve done more than a thousand consultations regarding breast implants and they have helped me understand breast implant illness more comprehensively. There are those who suffer from memory problems, brain fog or mental health problems whereas some experience symptoms such as shortness of breath and palpitations. Other symptoms of Breast Implant Illness There is also a tendency that you’re going to experience problems in your gastrointestinal (GI) system. The common symptoms are acid reflux, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, overall swelling, and other digestive problems. And for some, they get aggressive skin symptoms like body acne and full body rashes. Usually, people have already gone to several healthcare providers or other specialists before they have found me. Their concerns generally boil down to the fact that no one knows what’s wrong since their blood tests, medical tests, and everything else look normal. At present, there is limited awareness of both allopathic and functional medicine practitioners but the good thing is that there is more work being done both at a basic science level and at clinical research levels to help expand our knowledge and understanding. The immune system plays a role in breast implant illness which is why we conduct some provocative tests to help the patients have a better understanding of their own immune system and how it relates to their illness. There’s a glutathione challenge with liposomal glutathione and more often than not, it's really enlightening to folks that something as simple as that can help them understand how they don't really detoxify well. Everything plays a role in breast implant illness – where we live, where we work, what we eat, what we drink, and the air we breathe. People are all at risk to have leaky gut, which further exacerbates this problem. There are many people at risk of having a leaky gut, which further exacerbates the problem. That’s why it is important to identify what stimulates your gastrointestinal tract. If you successfully accomplish that, you’ll be able to know your food sensitivities and everything else in relation to your digestive process. I’m sure we are all aware of the different kinds of diet from plant-based diets, keto, and others. However, these dietary lifestyles don’t work for others. Maybe that's just not what they're supposed to do because they don't have the correct enzymatic makeup genetically to handle those types of diets. My whole testing program involves functional genetics, total toxicity, inflammatory markers, and complete blood work including hormones. Once you add everything up, you'll be able to see the pattern of symptoms. And so what we want to do is to first identify the symptoms and correlate these to breast implant illness in order for us to provide the appropriate plans and treatment to get the patient