If you have undergone a gadolinium scan and now suffer health consequences, you’re not alone.

After receiving several reports of patients who were otherwise healthy suffering from gadolinium scan side effects, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety alert in December 2017. Some patients who receive an MRI with a gadolinium-based contrast dye might retain some of the heavy metal in their bodies and even in their brains.

The FDA previously only warned patients who had pre-existing kidney issues to avoid a gadolinium scan because well-functioning kidneys are needed to expel gadolinium from the body through the urine. Patients with poorly functioning kidneys are at serious risk of a rare side effect known as nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF).

The FDA has reportedly received reports of patients with normal-functioning kidneys experiencing multi-organ system problems.

Possible Gadolinium Scan Side Effects

Patients have reported suffering from gadolinium scan side effects months or years after having an MRI with contrast dye.

Social media sites dedicated to people who claim they developed serious health issues after undergoing an MRI with dye seem to indicate similar side effects. Among the most commonly mentioned health issues are:

• Pain and burning sensation in the arms, legs, and torso
• Cognitive difficulties or “brain fog”
• Headaches
• Memory impairment
• Bone and joint pain
• Spongy or rubbery skin
• Thickened and painful ligaments
• Tightness in the hands and feet

These symptoms and a potential link to a gadolinium scan were brought to the forefront when the wife of actor and martial arts expert Chuck Norris filed a lawsuit alleging she was poisoned by the MRI contrast dye.

Gena Norris says she developed serious health problems five years after she received multiple MRIs that included a gadolinium-based contrast agent. Her complaint says she suffers from cognitive impairment, burning body pain, kidney problems, mobility issues, weakness, lack of energy and breathing difficulties. She is seeking damages of $10 million for what has been deemed gadolinium deposition disease.

According to an article on the Imaging Technology News website, some doctors who attended the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) last November rejected calling the health issues a “disease” because research has not been able to pinpoint a causality between the gadolinium contrast dye and any adverse health effects.

Still, doctors started questioning gadolinium’s safety profile when a 2014 study indicated a certain level of heavy metal deposits can remain in the brain.

Agreeing that more research is needed, the FDA has asked the makers of gadolinium contrast dyes to conduct new animal studies and clinical trials to review their safety.

Gadolinium-based contrast dyes are used in MRIs because the heavy metal allows a clearer view of the internal abnormalities or diseases a doctor is trying to find. Organs, tissues and blood vessels appear with greater definition when gadolinium is used.

The MRI works by allowing an electric current to pass through wire coils that create a magnetic field in the patient’s body. A receiver within the device enables radio waves to be sent and received, which create a digital image of the scanned part of the body. When the MRI is complete, the magnetic field ceases. The patient allegedly usually excretes the gadolinium out the urine within 24 hours.