REVISIT THIS TOPIC LATER THIS
MONTH. A STORY WE'LL CONTINUE
TO FOLLOW BRIAN ENSUE.
JACQUELINE, THANK YOU.
UNEXPLAINED ILLNESSES HAVE
BROUGHT WOMEN FROM ALL OVER
THE WORLD TOGETHER AND AS THEY
SHARE THEIR STORIES, THEY SAY
THEY REALIZE WHAT'S MAKING
THEM SICK IS OFTENTIMES THE
CHOICE THAT THEY MADE YEARS
BEFORE.
NEWSIES EMILY LEONARD HAS
THIS STORY. ALL NEW TONIGHT.
LIKE SO MANY QUESTIONS
THESE DAYS. YOU TURN TO THE
INTERNET FOR ANSWERS AND
THAT'S WHERE THOUSANDS OF
WOMEN FOUND THEIR ANSWERS TO A
HOST OF DEBILITATING SYMPTOMS.
THEY'VE BEEN SUFFERING
THRILLED, ALTHOUGH THE MEDICAL
COMMUNITY HAS BEEN FULLY
RECOGNIZED IT. THEY CALL IT
IMPLANT ILLNESS.
YOU'RE SEEING HOW THE UGLY
LIKE I WOULD DANCE ON THE BAR
LIKE I'M CLOSE AROUND AND
EVERYTHING. BUT WE HAVE
ROUTINES. WE DID. WE DANCE AND
ART WORK FOR WAS A DECADE AGO
TODAY. JESSICA, WITH THE IS A
WIFE, MOM OF 2 IN A REALTOR
LIVING IN GRAND HAVEN SHE
BLAMES THE DECISION SHE MADE
DURING THOSE BAR DANCING DAYS
IN TEXAS FOR THE PAIN SHE
LIVES WITH TODAY. I. HAD
ALWAYS BEEN IN A CUP WAS
ALWAYS SMALL BUT A DEAL WITH A
DOCTOR THAT GAVE BREAKS TO
THOSE WHO USE THEIR BODIES TO
MAKE MONEY HAD JESSICA JUMPING
AT THE CHANCE TO LEAVE HER A
COP BEHIND BY TIME I HEALED, I
WAS 32 TRIPLE D TOUGH AND
ABROAD THAT'S JAIN OR MISS 4,
5, 2, AND I WAS LIKE A 100
POUNDS AT THE TIME. I WAS NOT
HAPPY WITH HOW BIG THEY WERE
RIGHT OFF THE BAT. BUT IT WAS
ALL IT IS WHAT IT IS. YOU
KNOW, I'VE GOT A MIKE. I CHOSE
THIS.
WHAT JESSICA CHOSE WERE,
WHAT'S COMMONLY REFER TO AS
THE GUMMY BEAR IN PLANT. WHAT
SHE DIDN'T CHOOSE IS WHAT CAME
NEXT. I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THEN
WHAT I COULD.
THE FEELING NOW IT NEVER
LIVE AND WORTH IT BECAUSE THE
CANINE IN DAILY LIKE I'M
LOOKING AT A FIRE MILES. IT.
DIAGNOSIS. I DON'T WANT THAT.
YOU KNOW, NOBODY WANTS THAT WE
INTRODUCE YOU TO BECKY RICHARD
NEARLY 4 YEARS AGO. A HAIR
STYLIST FROM GRAND RAPIDS.
SHE DISCOVERED SHE HAD
CANCER AFTER A CLIENT URGED
HER TO GET A MAMMOGRAM. WE
SPOKE WITH HER THE DAY BEFORE
THAT SURGERY. AND WITH THE
AGGRESSIVE FORM THAT I MY
SURGEON SAID, I I REALLY DON'T
SEE THIS TYPE IN A STAGE ONE.
IT'S USUALLY A 3 OR 4 BY THE
TIME.
BY THE TIME I SO THIS IS
IT'S JUST YOU'RE SO LUCKY.
AFTER A DOUBLE MASTECTOMY
AND TREATMENT FOR THE CANCER
BECKY UNDERWENT SURGERY TO
RECONSTRUCT HER. I HEARD THESE
KNOW 5TH GENERATION, SILICONE
IMPLANTS ARE VERY SAFE. AND
MILLIONS OF WOMEN HAVE THEM
AND IT'S VERY ROUTINE SURGERY
AND BASICALLY THE RISK THAT I
HEARD WAS THE RISK OF
INFECTION FROM SURGERY BUT NOT
UNLIKE JESSICA BECKY TO
STARTED FEELING SICK. I HAD
GASTROINTESTINAL ISSUES THAT
GOT REALLY BAD. I HAVE BACK
PAIN ALL THE TIME. I COULDN'T
DIGEST FOOD. I WAS HAVING OUR
REACTIONS TO FOOD. IT WAS
GETTING SO BAD THAT I'D WAKE
UP IN TEARS. TERRIBLE JOINT
PAIN. AND I WASN'T ON ANY
CONTINUED MEDICATION THAT
WOULD CAUSE JOINT PAIN. SO. IT
WAS CAN A MYSTERY. WHERE DOES
ONE GO TO SOLVE THE MEDICAL
MYSTERY A DOCTOR AND BOTH
WOMEN SAY THEY SAW ANY DOCTOR
S I GASTRO DAK. I SAW
GYNECOLOGIST. I SAW A
RHEUMATOLOGIST. I SAW
OPHTHALMOLOGIST EISAI EMT FOR
MY HEARING. AMAZINGLY FROM A
LOT OF THOSE FACTORS. I JUST
HEARD THIS MIGHT BE YOUR NEW
NORMAL AT THE LEVEL OF PAIN
AND HAVING HE SAID I CAN'T
EXPLAIN IT. BUT NONE OF THE
SCANS CAME BACK WITH ANY KIND
OF EVIDENCE. NOTHING SHOWING
NO SPARTA FROM SPURS. NO
TEARS, NOTHING.
THEY CAN SEE AS JUST A KIND
GRAND HAVEN AND BECKY IN GRAND
RAPIDS. WE'RE COMING TO TERMS
WITH THEIR NEW NORMAL. THE
INTERNET AND THE POWER OF
SOCIAL MEDIA STEPPED IN.
ARTICLES TESTIMONIALS
INFORMATION THAT EVENTUALLY
LED THEM TO DOCTOR SHARK ON
SEE THIS IS AN INTERNET
PHENOMENON, A SOCIAL MEDIA
PHENOMENON AND WE BEING IN THE
70'S AND 80'S WE WOULD NOT BE
TALKING RIGHT NOW. NEARLY
3,000 WOMEN BELONG TO DOCTOR
KHAN'S IMPLANT ILLNESS SUPPORT
GROUP FACEBOOK PAGE. HE
BELIEVES WHAT JESSICA AND
BECKY ARE DEALING WITH HAS A
VERY REAL CAUSE. THE IMPLANTS
INSIDE THEIR BODIES.
WE LOOK AT COLLEGE OR
PORTS. SEE THE CHRONIC
INFLAMMATION BASILICA MIX THE
MANY OTHERS. BUT THERE IS A
GIANT CELL REACTION OF FOREIGN
BODY REACTION CLEAR THESE WHAT
IS IMPLANT ILLNESS IMPLANT
ILLNESS WITH A LIST OF
SYMPTOMS. A MILE LONG
AFFECTING DIFFERENT WOMEN
DIFFERENTLY FROM HEAD TO TOE.
AND THERE WHERE ALL OF MY
SYMPTOMS RIGHT THERE IN FRONT
ME.
AND I JUST I JUST CRIED AND
BECAUSE I I KNEW THAT. THIS
MIGHT BE SOME HOPE FOR ME.
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF
PLASTIC SURGEONS REPORTS
NEARLY 314,000 WOMEN HAD
AUGMENTATION SURGERY IN 2018.
NEARLY DOUBLING THE NUMBERS
FROM 20 YEARS AGO. MORE THAN
29,000 WOMEN HAD THEIRS
REMOVED. DOCTOR KHAN SAYS HE
STARTED NOTICING THE SAME
WOMEN HE SAW COMING IN FOR
IMPLANTS DURING HIS TIME IN
MEDICAL SCHOOL AND RESIDENCY
WOULD EVENTUALLY COME BACK TO
X PLANT PROCEDURE. HE NOW DOES
SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK IN HIS,
YOU KNOW, BY CLINIC, WHAT.
ME IS ME IS THE FACT THAT
WE HAVE A SOLUTION.
WHICH IS EXPLOITATION. BUT
THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY STILL
FOR LAGGING BEHIND IN REGARDS
TO RECOGNIZING EVEN
CONSIDERING IT AS A
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS.
WOMEN ARE WAITING FOR THE
MEDICAL COMMUNITY TO CATCH UP.
THEY'RE COMING FROM AROUND THE
WORLD TO HAVE THEIR IMPLANTS.
X PLANTED WITH DOCTOR KHAN.
WE HAVE ENOUGH DATA JUST
FROM THE PATIENT'S FEEDBACK
THAT THIS IS AND THERE'S A
REAL PROBLEM AND THERE'S A
REAL SOLUTION TOOK.
LAST AUGUST. THE FDA
PROVIDED AN UPDATE ON WHAT IT
CALLS ADVERSE EVENTS RELATED
TO IMPLANTS SAYING IN PART,
WHILE THERE IS LIMITED USE OF
THE TERM IMPLANT ILLNESS AND
MEDICAL LITERATURE SYMPTOMS
SUCH AS FATIGUE MEMORY LOSS,
RASH, BRAIN FOG AND JOINT PAIN
MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH
IMPLANTS AND SOME PATIENTS AND
CLINICIANS MAY USE THE TERM
IMPLANT ILLNESS TO DESCRIBE
THE SYMPTOMS OR USE. THESE
TERMS WERE REPORTING THEM TO
THE FDA WHILE THE FDA DOESN'T
HAVE DEFINITIVE EVIDENCE
DEMONSTRATING IMPLANTS CAUSE
THE SYMPTOMS. THE CURRENT
EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THAT SOME
PATIENTS EXPERIENCE SYSTEMIC
SYMPTOMS THAT MAY RESOLVED
WHEN THEIR IMPLANTS ARE
REMOVED. THE FDA IS COMMITTED
TO COMMUNICATING INFORMATION.
THE AGENCY RECEIVES ABOUT
SYSTEMIC SYMPTOMS REPORTED BY
PATIENTS WITH IMPLANTS. ITS.
THOUSANDS OF WOMEN WHO ARE
SAYING I GOT MY NOW IN JUST
GOT BETTER. I GOT MINE OUT AND
THIS AND THIS AND THIS GOT
BETTER. I GOT MY NOW AND LOOK
AT MY FACE LIKE OUR EYES ARE
BLOODSHOT AND PUFFY AND JUST
LOOKS HOW QUICKLY DID YOU KNOW
THAT YOU WANTED TO GET THEM
OUT. I KNEW RIGHT AWAY.
ON THE IMPLANT REMOVAL PAGE
OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF
PLASTIC SURGEONS. THE
ORGANIZATION SAYS IMPLANTS ARE
NOT LIFELONG DEVICES AND IT'S
IMPORTANT TO HAVE THEM
EXCHANGED OR REMOVED
APPROXIMATELY EVERY 10 TO 15
YEARS BY A BOARD CERTIFIED
PLASTIC SURGEON. THIS DECISION
IS TYPICALLY BASED ON THE
INDIVIDUAL AND THE PATIENTS
NEEDS AND DESIRES BOTH JESSICA