The idea that we may have Gadolinium Toxicity from a contrast MRI was news to all of us at one time, and most of us got rather panic stricken once we looked into Gadolinium and possibilities of NSF.  And we all are suffering in one way or the other, but we are getting through each day.  I had 8 contrast MRIs, and it has apparently affected my nerves as I have been diagnosed with Small Fiber Neuropathy, causing manageable pain in many parts of my body.  I am 67 and I walked 2 miles this AM, went to the gym for a couple hours yesterday, biked 10 miles on Saturday and played golf on Friday.  So life is good in spite of the negative effects of Gadolinium in me.

So what should you do. if anything.

1. Be calm.

2. Go to the Research section of this site and you will see many reference articles.  I suggest that you read the Overview of Gadolinium Toxicity, A Group Self-Study of Retained Gadolinium from Contrast MRIs, and Survey of the Chronic Effects of Retained Gadolinium, You can share these with your doctors to help them know that patients with good kidneys can be impacted by Gd from the contrast.

3. If your MRI was within the last week or if your kidney function was never tested, you should have your kidney function checked as soon as possible as your kidneys may be temporarily not working so well.  This is known as Acute Kidney Injury (AKI).

4. Then you might get a 24-hour urine test for Gadolinium to compare your results to those of others documented in File #3.  Your doctor can arrange for the 24-hour Urine test done by Mayo Labs.  Do not do anything less than a 24-hour test.  There are other ways to get a 24-hour urine test at an independent lab, but if you can get your doctor to do it at Mayo, it would keep the doctor in the loop.  Read more about testing on the Testing page in the Help section.

5. We suggest that you begin keeping a daily log of how you are feeling, any changes in medicines, changes in activities, doctors visits, etc.  Most of us at one time or another have looked back at the log and been able to put 2 and 2 together to better understand what was going on at some time.

And know that we are here to answer your questions and provide other support.  But the required disclaimer is that this is not medical advice, none of us are medically trained, and you may need to seek information from many sources before you make your medical decisions