Gadolinium Side Effects
May 23, 2008
When asking about gadolinium side effects patients are more often than not referring to Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis symptoms, as the symptoms of NSF are essentially the side effects of gadolinium (used as a contrast agent during an MRI) combined with renal failure / poorly functioning kidneys that are unable to properly expel the gadolinium from the patient’s system.
Patients with renal dysfunction (bad kidneys) who get an MRI using gadolinium dye are at risk to develop all of the symptoms of NSF, including hard, shiny, darkened skin that tightens and becomes extremely painful, joint inflexibility, loss of movement, yellow-colored eyes, painful joints, and lung, heart and organ damage.
In general, whether or not you have kidney problems (as many people remain unaware of kidney damage), if you have received an MRI at some point and are experiencing any of the following side-effects, have your medical records checked to see if gadolinium dyes were used in your MRI: Burning, Itchy or Swollen skin, hardening / tightening of the skin, swelling of the joints, yellowish eyes or yellow spots on the whites of the eyes, red or darkish spots on the skin, stiff joints, loss of movement in the joints, deep pain in the hips or ribs and muscle weakness.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned doctors about the use of Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents and the potential side effects / health problems associated with gadolinium dye in patients with kidney problems. Doctors should be screening all patients for kidney health, regardless of medical history, if the patient is scheduled for an MRI.
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55 Responses to “Gadolinium Side Effects”
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I have all the gadolinium side effects / NSF symptoms described above, but as far as I know my kidneys are fine. Thanks for the info. Now I can go have my kidneys checked out to see if perhaps that is the issue. The MRI was only six months ago so hopefully no permanent damage has been done by the side effects of the gadolinum injection.
Danny, i also have the side effects after having back surgery 18 months ago. Dr.s don’t know why i have a numb left leg and very sharp pains in my knee along with my left hip. They have done more test, more mri’s and nothing is wrong? i have the symptons of the h/p also and never had a problem in the past? I have calls out to Dr’s on this now it’s the waiting game again … I called the hospitals to see if they use this dye. and YES they do, but now they do blood testing before the MRI, never did with me?…. keep me posted of your symptons, and your test and i’ll do the same.
i have about 7S mri.
dates back to 1981 till now
I had an MRI with gad just over 2 years ago. When I left the building to walk to my car, it was dark outside. I noticed that street lights, tail lights, oncoming traffic headlights, and even porch lights were severly blurred, beyond “halos.” I thought the MRI had damaged my contacts, so I replaced them when I got home.
Not only did that not help, but I noticed I was missing my lower left eye’s lashes! A strong burning odor oozed from my pores. The next day, my co-workers a few cubicles away complained of the burning smell – that’s how strong it was! I got cooked!
The girl at the front desk told me a few weeks later that patients complain about those same symptoms “all the time.” When the MRI manager confronted her about this, she denied saying this to me, afraid of losing her job. One of the radiologists that owned the company, who retired a few months later, insisted that it was impossible that I could be experiencing side effects.
I searched the internet for answers. A few months later, I saw a commercial for a class action lawsuit. As an employee of the radiology company, I waited until I found new employment before trying to join the lawsuit, but was told that my side effects were not part of the lawsuit. To this day, those same lights at night blind my ability to see curbs and anything in the area of those lights.
Does anyone else have these same side effects? Any idea how much longer I will have to live with this? As a night student, I have no choice but to drive.
I have muscle weakness, and total constipation, never had this before. I have joined a fitness center to see if I can get some muscle back and go daily to build up muscle. Have lost muscle and weight, now am in size 4-6, from 9-11 before the tests. 2 MRAs for pituitary adenoma apoplexy. Even with all this knowledge, the docs want me to have another MRA.
I have a MRI on june 6th, 2008 after that I was losing my hair and my skin is so dry and itchy. I am afraid of loose all my hair because I can’t comb it because it fall really bad. I am so scared and I do not know what to do. Does anyone else have this side effect?
I, too, began with symtpoms right after- eyes and skin.
There are some pretty good heavy metal cleanses on the market. I am doing one.
Because gadolinium is a heavy metal, I am hoping it will help. It is a month long program. I have been doing it one week so far. I will keep you posted.
I have an MRI with contrast every 6 months to monitor for NF-2 related changes in my brain and spinal cord. Two weeks ago, the MRI tech did an in-house kidney function check before the scan, which was the first time in over 4 years that this test was done, and pronounced me to be fine for use of the contrast. I’ve had blood pressure spikes, headaches, hair loss on lower legs, occasional facial flushing (mostly in the evening), intermittent pain under and around my left side ribs (often feeling like a diaphragm ache and/or back ache) and down toward my upper left hip, and sometimes sharper (lung?) pains when I inhale (mostly left side, but occasionally on the right). Very recently, I noticed high blood pressure trends on my home monitor, and it has remained high for over a week (about 20-40 points higher than normal), without abating, and my head feels as if it’s under internal pressure during these times of elevated BP. Many of these symptoms have been present for several years, to various degrees, and have appeared sporadically. Having essentially eliminated dietary issues as the potential cause, it occurred to me to research this on the web, and I was quite surprised to find that gadolinium can produce symptoms quite similar to these, except low BP is generally listed, and I don’t have that. Assuming that my kidney function is fine, might I be suspicious that these symptoms become more pronounced after each scan due to gadolinium toxicity? Should I ask my doctor to discontinue the use of contrast? Can gadolinium cause high BP? What other non-NSF symptoms might I look for? Any other advice?
I was wondering if anyone got diabetes from an mri or symptoms?
i had an mri not to long ago and now i have a very bad red,itchy,rash that will not go away and has spread all over my legs from my waist down and still spreading into my upper body.i have tried every thing and now iam seeing a dermatolgest at texas tech of Lubbock tx. we have tried many thing and not a thing is working someone please help me
I’ve had mri’s with contrast . They made me sick with a burning sensation upon injection muscle weakness in right side, yellow spots on eyes which used to be crystal clear, lung problems too. Detoxification is the
way to go I thought I was dieing at the beginning of this year but I used detox through the feet with foot pads. They really work and help to cleanse. I still have muscle problems in my right arm and I use magnesium malate and alfalfa for muscle function.
My daughter had an MRI w/gadloinium a week and a half ago. Tonight I noticed that she is missing a HUGE chunk of hair on the top of her head. Completely bald on top in one day. She said it was burning and itching badly yesterday. Could it be from this dye? Has anyone else had hair loss? Will it stop or continue? What should we do? She is 9.
Had contrast in 2002. Hair fell out. tooth decay at gumline.Headachs , deep bone pain , skin diorder on feet and groin, heart . lung ,blood pressure , diabetis problems. gall bladder failure. I have been ill for 6 years , why didn’t they notify us. Any body else having these problems? Please share
I had an MRI using this dye on Nov 14, 2008. Within afew days, I started experiencing pain in my right eye. Upon closer inspection of the eye, I noticed what looks like for lack of a better term, blister on the white of my eye. I called the opthamologist and he said it was probably an allergic reaction to something. After more than a month, the stabbing eye pain continues and the “blister” is still present. There is also a new darkened spot on the side of my neck the size of a dime? Just appeared out of the blue. I have been trying to figure out what is causing this problem, and from what I can deduce, it has to be the dye. It is the only thing that is different. Can anyone tell me how to be sure this is a side effect? Is there atest that can determine this? Has anyone else had similar problems?
stevie scott, on Your comment is awaiting moderation. January 12th, 2009 9:42 pm stevie scott,march of 2006,i had an MRA done with a die contrast,one and half weeks latter i got dizzy,weak,sweating and my back ,arms and neck started burning. it felt like i was on fire . I went to the ermergency room and tried different meds. nothing helped the pain it lasted about 8hrs.off &on.i still have these symptomsand have seen four diffrent doctors. they didn’t know want was going on.I’m now taking medication that puts a bandaid on it, but the symptoms are still there. it didn’t occur to me that it may be the contrast given to me until I seen the commercial on tv. Then I started researching the side effects of it.
Is it possible that it may be side effects of the dye?
I have had way too many MRIs to count. Today during injection, the tech slipped, or something. He missed where to inject and loaded into the arm. It felt like a long administered bee-sting or scorpion bite or a pressing cigarette burn. Later the bruise, the size of a “normal” injection bruise. Yet swelling is big. No stinkey smell, but I felt so tired right after it happened. I had the nausea real bad, did not throw up. I haden’t eaten breakfast anyway. I felt like I was going to pass out. My whole self gave up, like a drop without a passout because otherwise, I thought that fighting the sensation of tingley passout sensation would be more detrimental than giving into it. After about 5 minutes passed from initial stomach and passing out feeling. I felt much revived, but the swelling continues and the bruise. I went home and slept for a good 4 hours. Usually am 8 hrs every night, no sleep during the day. Perfect that way. Today, after the incident, it was so necessary for extra sleep or it felt like more problems would come.
I had an MRI recently. I didn’t have any problems afterward.
If you have a high bilirubin, but no other liver problems and your kidneys are working fine are you at risk of NSF?
I am terrified I have contracted NSF after MRI with contrast, my legs have been bothering me and I have a raised spot on the white of my eye. I also have high blood pressure, about 120/80. Thank you for any information you can give me.
I have a subarachnoid interhemispheric brain cyst. I was born with this condition. I was treated for this 4 yrs ago by 4 brain surgeries in one year and subsequently have had over 15 mri’s-8 of them with contrast, one with iodine. I’ve had several kidney infections prior to testing and currently have a cyst in my kidney. No one ever asked me about my kidneys. About 2 yrs ago, I suddenly found myself unable to walk due to severe pain in my left thigh. (I also have left sided hemiparesis due to my brain cyst). However, I had already had 4 operations up to the day in question with no real pain to speak of. I now have constant pain on my entire left side of body so much so that no one can touch me even lightly without causing pain. The past couple of months I’ve noticed it harder to breathe and have a constant pain in the center of my chest. I also have had detiortated (sp?) vision. The bluriness comes and goes. When it comes on, it stays for hours and is so bad I can only make up images no details at all. It’s very scary for me to admit because I’m a single parent and I don’t want the doctors bringing up questions concerning my ability as a parent. They look over my shoulders anyway because of the brain issue.
Anyone is free to contact me at royalyn2@yahoo.com for further discussion regarding this.
Thank you,
Royalyn
left hip pain….. terry’s nails ,..nails turned white super dizzy not “myself” gallbladder pain.
no previous kidney problems that im aware of.. I smell like ammonia and the white nails indicate kidney faiures…dry skin..
using cilantro and chlorella as heavy metal detox dont feel better
I have had what could be described as excruciating pain in my hips with a severe itcing sensation, that does not seem to be related to my back. My hands also havea burning sensation. My blood pressure is labile (but that might be due to any number of things), and I am much more tired than I have ever been.
I had a bad back with anterolithesis (sp) of L4-L5. I had some steroid injections in my back last spring. I had MRI’s after that with gadolineum contrast.
But the severe burning and debilitating itching and pain that came with it came after those MRI’s.
I have only one kidney and my glomerular filtration rate is low, but my creatinine clearance was borderline alright. (These tests are indicators of kidney functionI guess the problem occurs when the gadolineum does not get out of the system quick enough and stays there from what I was told. The gadolineum is supposed to clear out of the system fast enough if your kidneys are functioning properly.
I have contacted an attorney, but they cannot tell me where a tissue sample is supposed to be sent to diagnose this problem. It has been six months and I have had to be on narcotics because the pain and itching is so severe. I am contacting a toxicologist in Seattle to find out more about this. I don’t know what else to do. I have talked to my dermatologist and an internal medicine environmental specialist (MD) who has not heard of this yet.
I am afraid that there will be more people with this problem unless the doctors are told about it. The doctors I have been going to have not been real helpful. I think that when doctors do not know what is wrong with you, they think your crazy… But this is something different, and I have been suffering more than anyone knows.
Please let me know if you guys have any other information.
I’m scheduled to have an MRI with this Gadolinium dye on Wed., Feb. 11 because my right ear feels full and prior to this I had sudden hearing loss, but my hearing has now returned, but my right ear just feels plugged up and has been like that since 12/1/08. I thank all of you for sharing your comments. After reading about the dangers of this dye, I will cancel this MRI. I’d rather live with my right ear being plugged up, than experience any of these harmful side effects. I’ll cancel my appointment on Monday. Thank you and good luck to all of you. I think all of you should research and try and detox to get this metal toxin out of your body. I think I’ll go alternative and see an acupuncturist for my ear. Maybe that will help. It’s better than all the horrible side effects you’ve described. Thank you for helping me to cancel just in time. Liz
I posted above, in August. It is now Feb 2009 and I am worse.
Pain in joints has reduced activity level by 75%.
Burning not so bad now, but the pain in muscles and joints is terrible.
I did lots of detox, but I developed heart arrythmias.
I am working on other detoxing methods, but I can see this is long term.
I am not flat on my back at present, so I am hopeful that I can get on top of this. But I am distressed that I can no longer run,e tc.
I will update. I hope otehrs choose to update so we can keep track of who gets better and how many do not.
Has anyone contacted a lawyer?
i had 3 mri’s in the past year 2 recently 1 with dye now i feel weird alot eyes get blurried and have a patch of hair missing on my head my joints are bad and my right hand swells so much it cracks my skin. i went to the doc. he thought i was crazy and said hair loss patches was normal i believed it untill i see the commercials
I have had severe joint problems since my first MRI with the die. Can anyone recommend a heavy metal detox that has worked for them? I would like to see if it helps.
My wife is a cancer patient. Small cell lung cancer. The cancer metasticised to her brain last year and was discovered early. She has been subjected to many MRI’s and CT scans over the past 2 years. Also PET scans and bone scans. The side effect she has is svere muscle weakness. She has had physical therapy off and on for a year with no progress noted. When we return to the cancer center I plan to raise the question about these contrast medications. Nothing we have tried has improved her strength issues. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?
By the way her cancer is currently inactive, “Praise God”.
I’ve had three MRI’s in the last few years. The first was in October 2005, the second was in 2007, and the last one was done the first of this year. The first two MRI’s were ordered by my doctor to get a clear picture of tumors on my neck, and the third was ordered to get a look at my pituitary gland. The tumors were not cancerous; although, the largest was removed on my doctor’s advice. Several hours after the first MRI was done in October 2005 I noticed a large, bright red rash on my right inner thigh that burned and itched. I went immediately to the emergency room for help. The doctor that examined me said that he had no idea what caused the rash and prescribed benadryl, and prednizone. I asked if it could be some reaction to the contrast dye used earlier that day for my MRI, and he told me that he was not sure and that he had never seen a reaction to contrast dye like that before. The rash cleared up after about two weeks, and I didn’t seem to have any other problems. I took a picture of the rash and kept it just in case I ever had to have another MRI. A year or two later I had another MRI performed, and, even worse than before, several hours later a large bright red rash appeared on my right and left inner thighs and rear lower abdoman. This time it took almost a month for the rash to clear up. When my last MRI was ordered, I requested that no contrast dye be used due to my reactions with it in the past, and I did not have any rash afterwards. For the last year I’ve noticed that my vision has gradually gotten a little blurred, just enough to be annoying. I’ve been noticing quite a few TV advertisements for attorneys lately concerning Gadolinium contrast dye, and I’m starting to get concerned. I’m not sure what I should do first, or even if I am at risk of developing a serious illness. I’ve got an appointment with my doctor in a couple of months, and I think I’ll bring it up to her then, and maybe even show her the picture I took of the rash when it happened. Are there any specific blood tests that screen for problems related to Gadolinium? I had all the routine blood tests (colesterol, diabetes, prostrate, etc…) in January of this year, and so far, everything is normal, except my testosterone levels. I saw a specialist for that and I’m now doing the testosterone replacement therapy every day. The specialist told me that my pituitary gland has quit functioning properly and as a result, my body does not produce enough testosterone anymore. I’m 52 years old and in fairly good health otherwise. Any advise on what to do next?
In 2005 I had gadolinium injected during an MRI on my back. I had previous lower lumbar surgery and the doctor ordered the contrast dye. Within 24 hrs. I had severe pain and heat in the arm that was injected with the dye. The pain eventually travelled to my neck and down the other arm. 2 trips to the emergency room within the next 3 days produced no reason for the severe pain. I was written off as high anxiety. I continued to have pain in my arms and unreasonable pain and swelling in my hand joints for a few months. I feel like it precipitated an arthritic-like reaction in my hands which continues today. Even my ring sizes had to be changed due to the swelling. I sensed this was a dye reaction but no doctors, no radiologists, and no internet research would confirm my thoughts. Seeing the class action suit vindicated that there are contrast dye side effects out there. My heart goes out to those with more severe and permanent reactions. Now I will be visiting my doctor with more definite information and checking on possible kidney complications.
I keep seeing people have written comments about hair loss, but no one has answered as to what can be done about the hair loss? Has anyone found out what to do? Who reads any of this stuff? Who can help us?
My Father had a MRi on March 25th 2009 when he went into the emergency room. I am checking into this more. He could not walk for several days and ha the Red dark Blotches. He has a severe problem with constipation, he never did before. He has Tremendous muscle weaknes. I am trying to detox him with Fresh Juices and Flor-essence tea.
My husband’s orthopedic surgeon ordered a hip MRI with Gadolinium contrast dye (Magnevist brand). This was back in April — that afternoon, he came home and went to sleep for 4 straight hours. Then, I forced him to wake up and eat something (and he did) but he was totally out of it and was slurring his speech. He was no better the next day, lumbering around like Frankenstein or something, and I called the doctor’s office. They said to go to the ER because it might be an allergic reaction.
We went to the ER and that’s what they concluded: an “acute allergic reaction to contrast dye.” They gave him a Presidone and Benadryl drip, took a million blood tests, prescribed medicine, and then sent him home once his blood work came back normal.
But, he literally hasn’t been the same every since. He has severe muscle weakness, trouble walking (disequilibrium), slurs his speech a bit when he’s tired, is easily fatigued, feels un-alert and unlike himself. He has NEVER had any of these symptoms before the hip MRI — in fact, he only had the hip exam because he felt some discomfort (no pain or numbness) when he exercised. He is seeing a neurologist, just in case, but I am really concerned that these symptoms were brought on by the dye.
However, he does not have a lot of the “usual” symptoms listed — i.e., skin rash, pain, nausea, eye problems, etc.
Ugh, what to do???
Oh, and he also has severe constipation.
Did he have the contrast injected in the vein of the arm? I recently had an mri with contrast 5 weeks. Since then I had pain all over my body and my veins on my arms and legs bulge out more than usually. I think the contrast had something to do with it since I had not had any major health problems. I also have muscle weakness on my legs.
@ Sang H: No, he had it injected into his lower pelvis — near the hip.
I have had 2 or 3 contrast dye procedures, one when I had a mylogram on my Spine, Than again after I had a lamanectomy on my lower spine. I also had contrast dye when I had an Mri done on my knees. I have Arthritis. But after my back surgery I had severe Pain in my groins, and thighs. and hips. I could not walk a block without sitting down and am experiencing these symtoms today My Surgery was in 2005 on my lower spine, In 2005 My right Knee had ultra scopic surgery to trim a maniscus and I also had bracitis scraped and Arthritis scraped on my right shoulder, that was cut open and I had stiches on that shourlder. My left shoulder had shoulder replacement in March of 2008. I get very flushed on my neck and face at various time. I am in such pain that I can hardly walk . I would like to know if this has been caused by the contrast dye. I am miserable.
I have had two mri in the last couple of years plus a very recent one and because I refused the gadoliciaum injection they feel I have to have another mri whidh would inlude the injection. All aI wanted to know is if the tumor had grown. I had a lot of bad effects from the shot before and asked if I had to take it at which point they said ‘no’ . So I dhose not to and plan to continue to say no according to a lot of your reports. One of the doctors told me it’s easy to read the mri without the shot but not as clear. as it would be with the shot.
I too have had hair loss. im currently going through chelation. will the hair loss ever stop? what can we do.
Wow…after reading all these horrid symptoms of the MRI with dye….I’m really concerned. I had at least 2 or more Mri’s done with dye one in my arm and another in my spine(at different times). Both hurt greatly. The nurse told me the pain would go away. I was diagnoised with Spinal Stenosis. I just attributed the systoms I have experienced to it. I have horrible eye sight now and it seems to be getting worse, I went to an eye doctor and he said there was something on my eye but didn’t say what. I have pain in my eye..redness(as if I got hit in it) and swolleness that lasts for days. It just happens, no triggers needed. I also have this thing going on with my feet, never paid much attention to it…but my feet gets knots on the bottom of them and it hurts to walk, my feet seem to be peeling also. My skin on my face seem to be drier, it use to be really oily. I dont know how my kidneys are but i have smelled the amnonia scent. My hip still hurts when I move. It hurts if I sit too long. Sad part is ..it seems to be more pressure in my head now than ever. What should I do? Money is an issue with the economy like this.
I also stay tired …I have tried so more for energy sake. I have had the swelling that is talked about with the rash. The swelling still comes and goes. Never had a problem with any of this stuff. I just read about the bp being low. Wow I had an incident where my bp was so low…my doctors and everyone in the office freaked, He said I could just walk and drop dead. He had no explanantion for it. Today it still stays below normal, I don’t take meds for it though. We just monitor it.
I was given Magnevist by injection before a MRI scan in June, 09. The doctors told me it would be out of my body in 6 hours. In August 09 I had a detox foot bath. The water turned orange/yellow which indicates liver, kidney, toxins. The technician had never seen Orange/Yellow water before although it is on their list of colors. My throat had been very sore since the MRI. Now the throat is much better. I have had numerous detox footbaths but have never had Orange/Yellow dirty water before. I suspect that Magnevist is still in my system. I could find no Magnevist data to indicate how long it stays in the body. No one at the hospital can quote any research on how long Magnevist stays in the body. They just state this “six hour” rule.
I have had several MRIs over the past four years due to an accident and spinal surgeries and now more recently a breast MRI AND an MRI of my liver/abdomen. I asked each time about the side effects of Gadolinium and each time was reassured that it’s the patients who have kidney/renal failure who are in danger, as it is hard for the kidneys to release the toxins after administration of Gadolinium. Something like 95%-97% of the Gadolinium is released with in hours and that by drinking lots of water after your scan will help speed up the process. This is for people with normal functioning kidneys. I had recent blood tests showing normal creatine levels and normal kidney function, so the radiologist and tech said I had nothing to worry about. However, I am frightened as well and have had some weird side effects, but none of the above-mentioned. Anyone with kidney problems should definitely speak with a radiologist before having an MRI with Gadolinium. MRI without the contrast is safe. If you have kidney problems, you still may be a candidate for an MRI, but if you need or are on dialysis or your kidneys are not functioning normally, it is not a good idea to have an MRI with contrast (Gadolinium)!
To RORI: Were these actually MRIs you had? When you say one in your spine, they do not usually inject there with Gadolinium when you’re having an MRI, however, there are other scans wherein they inject dye into the spine. I had a spinal where they injected DYE, but not Gadolinium. The dye is different and does not cause NSF. Just curious. I think that a lot of people are scared but also misinformed. Anyone who is experiencing these side effects, should immediately contact their physician (Internist) just to rule out or at least call the radiologist at the center where you had the scans to get some peace of mind. Just last month I spoke to someone about it and was told it’s specific to patients with renal/kidney failure and that’s when NSF is an issue and not always. So make sure you’re not letting your mind get carried away. I’d be curious to know how some of you are doing. Please e-mail me if you’d care to share: anewleef@aol.com.
I had an MRI with contrast on Dec. 22,2007 and they said I had lesions on my pancreas then they repeated the MRI with gadolinium on January 7th,2008 only two weeks later. The second test showed no lesions. But since having these tests I have been very ill. My muscles , tendons, bones hurt so bad and my thinking is terrible and my skin hurts and feels to tight ,my eyesight is failing. My left foot feels like it was shot full of novacaineespecially the big toe. They thought I might have fibromyalgia but now believe I have MS. I am awaiting results from two weeks ago where they did another MRI with iodine. Is there anyone with these sort of effects? Oh and severe depression!!! If so please contact me at angel13059@yahoo.com
I have also retained an attorney for a lawsuit against the makers of Gadolinium and also the doctor that ordered the tests
[...] of the Vein: Gadolinium injection can cause pain and burning at the injection site and irritation of the vein leading to [...]
I had an MRI of my head done two months ago. I had been having recent balance problems and have been extremely fatigued for 5 years. I don’t know what brand of dye they used or the dosage. When the technician tried to find a vein she had a hard time which was very unusual. She asked if I had been drinking enough water and I said no and that I might be a little dehydrated. I didn’t think at the time about having had a severe case of the runs and the flu the day before. When I left the clinic I was surprised to see that it was starting to get dark at 4pm and that everything was very blurry. I got in the car and soon my vision cleared enough to drive home. The next day I saw my doctor about a sore throat and complained about the skin on my face burning. She said it was “just the mri dye.” When I got home I took off my shirt and I was covered with red blotches everywhere. All over my body except on my face. I was very tired.Next day it had subsided but was still there. The blotches stayed for weeks but the burning didn’t. Since then my vision has stayed very blurry and my eyes are always irritated. I have lost all the hair on the lower half of my lower legs. The area is all discolored with light and dark blotches. If I bend over and use my arms (like when untangling a hose) I sometimes get a sharp pain in my ribs which feels like a muscle spasm and is extremely painful. Every physical problem I had before the test has gotten worse. Looks like lawyers don’t want to talk to you if you don’t have NSF. But they obviously have a case judging by the money spent on finding gad victims.
Yes I have had many tests CT scans and the dyes with it. I have blured vision ,my kidneys hurt badly on my left side, depresion, feel crankey. Burning in my museles and they hurt badly. I feel also verry tired.
I just found this site. My husband died in May 2009 and one of the reasons for death listed Nephrogenic Fibrosis. I am so angry that the last months of his life he was in terrible pain due to gadolinium poisoning. I am trying to educate everyone I come in contact with about the risks of getting NSF. I wish there is more I can do, but don’t know what that might be.
My best to all and if anyone wants to e-mail me please do.
June
i had an mr arthrogram done on my left shoulder, with the gadolinium dye. my dr told me there would be some muscle weakness but i never expected it to be this bad. i compete in bench press meets. i weigh roughly 220lbs and am more than capable of bench pressing 515lbs, after having the MR done i could not bench press more than 405lbs in my last meet. i’m just wondering how long the weakness is supposed to last. the MR was done on the 11th of september and my meet was on the 26th of september
I had three MRI’s back to back yesterday mid-morning, which in itself was grueling. I found out recently that I have Pseudotumor Cerebri, amoungst a couple other neurological things and needed to have the MRI’s, one of the MRI’s called for contrast dye. I had been through an MRI with contrast before so I wasn’t worried this time. After speaking with the tech about how the dye made me feel funny (like I was peeing), he said this was a different dye (Gadolinium) and assured me that this dye would not do that. After all the MRI’s were finished my husband took me home and I’ve been sick with diarrhea and feeling feverish. I called the radiology department where I had the MRI’s done and the tech assured me that this was not a side effect of the Gadolinium, but after reading all these stories I’m not so sure now. Nothing in my diet, nor my medications have changed either. I’m certainly open to any other ideas or suggestions too!
Thanks,
Angela
I have had a blue tatoo where the dye was injected from the mri and the veins are bluer. Has anyone else had this? Can you do anything to remove the tatoo?
I had an MRI conducted with a gadolinium injection in the Spring 2008. Shortly thereafter, I experienced an incredible pain in my left hip. Subsequent x-rays did not indicate anything, but the deep hip pain continues to this day. It is only the left hip so it is a mystery to me and the doctors as to what the problem is. I have seen orthopedists, neurologist, neuro surgeon and more. No luck,
Hi, I had a MRI with contrast last month on the 22th. It was OK, no big pain when the dye was injected on my right arm, but after a week start having pain in that arm. So it started last Friday, got better the weekend , yesterday got worst – but today is getting really bad!
Don’t know if that can be caused by the dye ( have no idea what they inject), and after a week (?)
Even if I don’t move my arm, still feel painful, and when I move it, I can scream…!
I had a mri with gadolinium dye on 10-20-09 and my hair has been falling out and breaking. It has also gotten thinner in texture. My eyes have become bloodshot and I have developed a cyst on my upper lid. My skin on my face and hand has also become drier. I asked the when it was set up if there was a dye involved and she said it was only a saline solution. When I was preparing for the test she told me about the dye. I can’t go back but I reget it every day as I am losing self esteem because of the hair loss. There is not much left!
My son is almost 5 years old and has never had an MRI but he has high levels of gadolinium showing up in heavy metal hair analysis. He doesn’t have any skin problems but he does have a lot of stiffness he also has autism. I can’t figure out where he is coming in contact with the element. Does anybody know? Could he have gotten it from vaccines?