posted
I've had my fair share of freaking out about MRIs. I've had four or five with contrast since I got Lyme. The contrast sometimes increases my heart rate momentarily, but I've never suffered any bad side effects from the contrast.
I actually cancelled one of my MRIs twice because I was so worried about the contrast. I finally bit the bullet and went. My Lyme infection is tremendous, and I was still OK.
No substance is completely benign, but the vast majority of people seem to do fine with MRI contrast.
Posts: 748 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2015
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bluelyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
The doc i went to before asked what do i hope to learn from the mri...?..it was hypoperfusion white matter lesions in t1 and t2 flairs..."likely of early ms or vasculitis" was there reading but it very common with lyme brain.
..one neuro even try to say it was age related...i opted without contrast ..they wanted ct scan with contrast i cancelled. .like i need radioactive dye unless it kills lyme...
-------------------- Blue Posts: 1539 | From southwest | Registered: Dec 2015
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posted
Radioactive! great and I thought heavy metals was a concern. Guess that will stay in my body for a gazillion years.
Posts: 26 | From - | Registered: Mar 2016
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Find out exactly what it is that you will be taking into your body. Then do some cross searching on it with good educational websites.
Some tests use radioactive substances but some do not.
If you have a naturaopathic doctor, they could best guide you.
If your kidneys are in good shape, you may be fine. Immediately after the test though, if you do contrast, I'd drink some organic carrot juice, with some ginger added. And I'd start some good liver / kidney support. AFTER the test, not before as before could diminish the effectiveness of the contrast agent.
If your kidneys are not in good shape, I'd opt out of the contrast.
Ibuprofen should also be avoided, before, during, after . . . ever. See reason why in links below. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
LIVER & KIDNEY SUPPORT & and several HERXHEIMER support links, too. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Now, I'm going to say something unexpected. I would not get the brain MRI unless absolutely something so very puzzling that an excellent ILADS LLMD or LL ND would not connect your symptoms to lyme, or other tick-borne / stealth infection.
Why? Hearing. And vestibular health / balance / cognition (as the inner ear must be in good shape to think)
that can be damage from the absolutely humanly abuse degree of sound from the MRI huge magnet clanking.
There are many ways to determine what is going on and why and you may not need an MRI. There are also other kinds of brain scans that are nearly quiet: PET, SPECT, CT
See ototoxic detail here and also how sound can damage. If you do, at the very least be sure to have the special MRI approved decibel rated ear muffs. Plugs are not enough. Muffs may not be, either, though, as sound travels through our nasal passages, our bones. But take the utmost protections.
Topic: TINNITUS: Ringing Between The Ears; Vestibular, Balance, Hearing with compiled links - including HYPERACUSIS -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
It's not radioactive. Doesn't mean it's good stuff or anything, but it's not radioactive. The PET scan contrast and gallium scan contrast are radioactive, but not CT and MRI contrast.
I've have the PET and gallium scans too. They take the syringe that injects you out of a very special-looking protective case because it's radioactive...
Posts: 748 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2015
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dbpei
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 33574
posted
I have had a number of MRI's with contrast due to neuro-sensory hearing loss. When trying to figure out if I had an acoustic neuroma, they discovered a lesion, which now is being monitored. Seems to be the same from year to year, so likely a venous malformation and not related to Lyme.
But not absolutely sure. So they keep on testing me. Also have abnormal brain spect scan, Pet scan and EEG!
FYI, I have a hard time getting the gadolinium out of my body, as it shows up as very high in my heavy metal testing. I would ask your LLMD if there is anything you could take before and after the MRI to help chelate this stuff out of your body. The last MRI I had, I took charcoal soon after. Not sure if it helped, but I sure hope so. Good luck to you!
Posts: 2386 | From New England | Registered: Aug 2011
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posted
I've had a few brain MRIs with contrast. I too was worried about what the contrast would do. It did absolutely nothing. I had no problem with it at all and I was at my absolute worst with this disease.
Posts: 478 | From Third Coast | Registered: Feb 2011
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bluelyme
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posted
Galium is radioactive ,galadnium is not i guess..isovue is weird iodine so idk about thyroid... http://www.drugs.com/pro/isovue.html i think if your kidneys can clear it ....
-------------------- Blue Posts: 1539 | From southwest | Registered: Dec 2015
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posted
Supposedly, the CT contrast is worse than the MRI contrast. I did OK with the MRI contrast, but I would refuse any future contrasts unless they thought I had a brain tumor maybe.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
I had an MRI done last December and it indicated some bleeding and an AVM. After 4 days in the hospital for further imaging they told me the AVM was a birth defect and they couldn't explain or find the source of the bleed.
At that time they also said the bleed was in a benign area and also on the wrong side of my brain to be causing the muscle wasting, numbness and tight leg muscles that I'm experiencing. I was told a brain injury would need to be on opposite side of brain.
Since they could not determine the source of the bleed and it was shrinking in size they down played the whole thing and told me to come back in a couple months for a follow-up
3 weeks ago I went in for a follow-up and one look at my physical condition the neurosurgeon now thinks my brain is the cause of all my muscle atrophy and tight leg muscles.
Now he's thinking the bleed can be causing pressure elsewhere pushing on other parts of the brain against the skull. so even if the bleed is on the same side of my body numbness, the pressure in my skull can be effecting other parts of the brain/ body.
I explained to the neurosurgeon that I have since tested positive for lyme disease, but here in Canada they don't understand or treat lyme. So he simple shrugged his shoulders.
He told me he wanted to do imaging asap and get me in for surgery if required.
I was sent for a CT that day to see if things had indeed worsened and if immediate care was required.
Its been 3 weeks since the CT scan and I only just heard back from them for the follow-up MRI booking, so since it's been a couple weeks I'm thinking nothing serious came up on my CT or else they would have had me back in asap.
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dbpei
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posted
That must have been so scary, Rodeodancer! I am glad that things seem to be okay. Please keep us posted on things.
Posts: 2386 | From New England | Registered: Aug 2011
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bluelyme
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Member # 47170
posted
Rodeo...a surgeon will cut , a doc will prescribe ,and we trust them but do not let them tinker with your noggin...bleeding in vessels is likely a infectious cause of the endothelial lining.
.this could be coinfection of bartonella,c pnumoniae, mycoplasma and or rocky mountain spotted fever...remind me of what antibiotics you have tried?
-------------------- Blue Posts: 1539 | From southwest | Registered: Dec 2015
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Rumigirl
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Member # 15091
posted
Rode dancer,
I hope that you have found a good Tick-Borne Disease doctor. Many people from Canada come to the US to see LLMD's here. But there are 1 or 2 or so in Canada.
Your symptoms that you mentioned sound worrisome. Not that that is unusual for Lyme patients, but still . . . bad enough that you need the best care that you can get and tolerate.
Posts: 3771 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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