Literally nobody told me the MRI gadolinium-based contrast I was about to have could screw up my health for years... or even permanently!

By Dr Catriona Walsh
Photo by Ken Treloar on Unsplash
(I couldn't find a free picture of an MRI scanner, so here's a Ct scanner instead)

Wednesday 9th November 2016: That was the day my life changed. That was the day I had my first, and only gadolinium-enhanced MRI scan. I will never have another one. That was the day I realised that the conventional medical system is desperately flawed, and that unless I research every single investigation and treatment offered to me, I won't understand all of the implications of that treatment, because informed consent is just an illusion. Doctors seldom have the knowledge to advise patients about the true risks and benefits of the treatments, surgeries, and investigations they are offering. They don't have the time to search the literature, and even if they do have the time, seldom do they have the skills to critically appraise those studies, nor do they have access to unpublished trial results which are often where the majority of information on risks is to be found. They also usually cannot spot where there are enormous gaps in the research, which is critically important, because often what is not being said is just as important as what is being marketed by these industry-funded studies.

Let me tell you about gadolinium-based contrast agents, so that you don't find yourself in a similar situation to me. I now know many people who have had similar experiences as a result of having one or more gadolinium-enhanced MRI scans. In fact, despite being able to personally identify with all of the symptoms I describe below and more, I count myself luckier than most of the patients in the gadolinium toxicity groups, because at least I have been improving. Many of them are suffering from heart-breaking gradual deterioration over periods of months or years. Some of them are no longer with us.

Gadolinium is a rare earth element. It is a toxic heavy metal, and also the most potent calcium channel blocker ever identified. It is known to be toxic to mitochondria, cells, tissues, particularly connective tissue, liver, kidneys, and the nervous system. In humans gadolinium accumulates in bone in particular, but can also accumulate in skin, brain, kidneys, liver, joints and other tissues and organs. It causes oxidative damage, inflammation, cell death, and studies indicate that it probably causes malignant transformation. 

It is rarely found in nature, so exposure should usually be minimal under normal circumstances. However, gadolinium is used in the contrast agents injected into patients during MRI scans with contrast. The contrast agents are drugs based on chelating agents, also not found in nature. A chelating agent is a drug which is capable of grabbing on to a metal and holding on to it. Chelating agents can also come unattached from the metal they bind (in this case gadolinium) in the vial they are stored in, in the human body, and in the environment after they have been passed out in the urine. Free chelating agents are also biologically active compounds, and are not in fact inert. Some of the chelating agents, like the one that is used in the gadolinium based contrast agent, Prohance, have been shown to cause brain toxicity, even when they are not bound to gadolinium. DTPA, the basic chemical used for all the contrast agents, has been shown to deplete essential nutrients including zinc and calcium, and is not licensed for use during pregnancy, because of concerns about safety, even when it is not bound to the toxic element, gadolinium. 

Gadolinium based contrast agents have been proven to cause an often fatal connective tissue disorder in the only group of people who have been studied long term: renal patients. No other patient population has been studied extensively to determine the true long term effects of exposure to gadolinium, however patient support groups and cohort studies have identified constellations of symptoms that are commonly described by many patients following gadolinium exposure. Pain, brain fog, joint and muscle problems, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, fatigue, gut symptoms, skin disorders and other inflammatory conditions are very common chronic problems lasting for months and years, as would be expected following exposure to an inflammatory, mitochondrial toxic, calcium channel blocking drug. Acute and immediate complications of gadolinium based contrast agents are better described, and include death, shock, and organ failure. 

Patients who present to their doctors with symptoms following exposure to gadolinium via MRI scans are almost never investigated for retention of gadolinium or consideration of gadolinium toxicity. They are much more likely to receive further gadolinium enhanced scans to look for the cause of new symptoms and deterioration, and then to suffer from worsening symptoms. 

As yet the environmental effects of gadolinium based contrast agents on aquatic life and on fields irrigated with water containing increasing levels of gadolinium pollutants have not been fully elucidated. However, preliminary studies are extremely worrying. 

Have you received a gadolinium contrast agent in an MRI? 

Were you warned that there are no long term safety studies on how it will affect you, or what the possibility of you transferring it to your offspring (the offspring of pregnant women injected with gadolinium are more likely to be stillborn, and inflammatory skin and joint condition are more common in surviving children)? 

Do you worry about cumulative toxin exposure from our environment, or about the effects on plants, animals and fungi of combined toxin exposure from multi sources, including waste water from medical procedures? You can get in touch with me through my website, or find me in some of the gadolinium toxicity groups on facebook. Comment below if you would like to share your own experiences and frustrations. Know that you are not alone.