Patients claim that they developed gadolinium poisoning after MRIs, suggesting that gadolinium detoxification may not be as effective as once thought.

If you developed serious side effects after having an MRI in which gadolinium was used as a contrast agent, you may have a legal claim.

Gadolinium is a heavy metal that is sometimes used in MRIs. When a patient has an MRI, sometimes a gadolinium-based dye is injected into their veins so that their organs can be more easily viewed in the MRI images. It was long thought that after the gadolinium was injected, the body would naturally flush it out in gadolinium detoxification.

However, this may not be the case. Some patients have claimed that the gadolinium that they were injected with was not flushed out of their body in a few hours, as they were told, but stayed in their body for years. These patients claim that they developed a range of severe side effects from gadolinium.

Gadolinium side effects may include:

• 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
• Others

Additionally, the FDA has said that gadolinium poisoning can cause a rare but serious condition called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), which can also affect people’s organs. The condition most often occurs in patients with preexisting kidney problems, but the FDA has also received patient reports saying that people with normal kidney function developed the condition, and as a part of the condition, developed multi-organ system failure.

Experts say that gadolinium is coated in another agent when it is used as a contrast agent. This other substance prevents it from entering the system and allows it to be flushed out. However, some people claim that some drug companies choose a method of production that does not allow the gadolinium to be coated fully in the non-toxic substance, so the gadolinium cannot be flushed out of a person’s system. Instead, it remains in the patient’s body, potentially for months or even years.

Unfortunately, there is no known reliable method of gadolinium detoxification. The condition is serious and chronic, and there is not much information available about the condition. As the condition is rare, it can be hard to identify by doctors.

Despite the rarity, some patients who say that they have experienced gadolinium side effects are trying to spread the word about the condition.

Gena Norris, Chuck Norris’s wife, filed a lawsuit against three drug companies claiming that she developed gadolinium poisoning after the heavy metal was used as a contrast agent in an MRI. Norris filed the lawsuit in November 2017. She says that she has experienced cognitive impairment, burning pain in her whole body, kidney damage, loss of mobility, low energy, and difficulty breathing.

She says she hopes to bring awareness to the condition and aims to hold the drug companies accountable for exposing her and other patients to a dangerous drug.