Dr. Robert Whitfield explains why breast implant illness causes fatigue. About 29% of explant specimens test positive for bacterial contamination, which he says triggers chronic immune activation. He covers diagnostic challenges and recommends sleep, diet, lifestyle changes, and targeted supplements.
In this video, we're going to get into one of the main symptoms my patients complain of, which is fatigue. In patients who are experiencing breast implant illness, we know that about 29% of the patients who undergo explant procedures where the scar tissue is removed and it is tested, you can find bacterial contamination in those specimens. Now, the bacteria that's associated with those specimens is in close association with the breast tissue. Now, it was always thought that those capsules really protected the tissues from the implants and subsequently what we're talking about is the bacteria, but they don't. They're all allowed to interact. That interaction causes another chemical reaction that leads to downstream immune system activation. It's that immune system activation, the constant activation of the system, the heightened activation of the system that leads to the symptoms of fatigue and pain and skin rashes, things that are once again difficult for the patients because they're experiencing it. And then the providers don't have answers because they actually don't understand what's going on. So that is a very negative loop that creates a lot of dissatisfaction on the patient side and frustration, I would say, on the provider side. So I often say when patients are interacting with me and they have breast implants and they're concerned about breast implant illness, many, many patients have went to a variety of providers. And I don't envy any provider sitting across from a patient with breast implants and breast implant illness, potentially trying to decipher and understand what they're experiencing, because the fatigue that they're experiencing is going to be very, very difficult to distinguish from a patient experiencing fatigue from an autoimmune disorder. Oshimoto's, something like that. So it becomes very, very confusing for them. So patients are experiencing significant fatigue and, and I have taken care of cancer patients and predominantly female patients my entire career. And they're extremely resilient. They're also extremely resourceful. They'll get medicated through whatever means necessary to carry out their work, their care for their families, and tolerate a lot of pain and discomfort and fatigue. And they'll, they'll use things like you would take for energy purposes. They'll, they'll do what is necessary for them to carry out activities of daily living, work, caring for children. And so I think first and foremost, what I always try to concentrate on, let people know, is like, if you can't sleep well enough and get the quantity and quality of sleep, then you're simply just being leading a problem. Your diet, your lifestyle, all those things contribute to much of the fatigue we see in patients with breast implants and breast implant illness. So if you're experiencing breast implant illness and have been worried about this because you have breast implants and you're experiencing inflammation, you don't exactly know where to turn or what to do. We curated supplements to treat this specific situation to lower your inflammation.
