Gadolinium Contrast Agent

[Out-Of-Phase]

I have to have an MRI scan for the prostrate gland next week. My prostate is enlarged.

I have been reading horror stories from people who have been injected with Gadolinium contrast dye and still have symptoms years later.

Has anyone ever been injected with this stuff for an MRI scan? If you have, what are your experiences with it.

 

[Swerd]

Yes, I’ve had it every time I’ve had an. MRI. My first was in 2019 also to look for prostate cancer. It identified my case and in about a year I had it removed. Five years later, and still no more prostate cancer .

Nearly a year ago I was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. A head MRI in Nov 2023 found 4 spots of metastatic lung cancer in my brain . I had more MRIs as follow up, in Feb, July and another in a few weeks. Those 4 spots have vanished . The drug I take works!

All those MRIs used that same contrast agent you will get. I never had problems with it. So don’t believe everything you read on the internet. They may be true, but they are not common.

Some people are allergic to the contrast dye, so radiologists do have experience when it’s not used. From my own experience, I think you should get it. Ask about that. You probably don’t know if you are allergic to it, but ask anyway.

MRI scanners are SLOW and VERY LOUD. My brain scans take about 45 minutes! Definitely wear good ear plugs. Look on Amazon for Mack’s brand. I have the basic compressible foam kind. You will thank me later.

The scanner’s tunnel is close to you. I can’t remember during my prostate scan if my face was inside that tunnel, but it was inside it for brain scans. If you get antsy in close spaces, bring a sleep mask and wear it. Look on Amazon. I find I stay relaxed during those long & loud MRIs if wear ear plugs & a sleep mask. Again, you can thank me later.

Good luck! And let us know the results. Both I and others like TLS Guy have gone through prostate cancer, with success. I had surgery, he had proton radiation, and we’re both still here.

 

[Swerd]

I just thought of another good reason to get the contrast agent. It generates better diagnostic images.

In my case the radiologist was sure I had prostate cancer. But biopsy samples were needed to correctly stage the tumor … was it slow or was it aggressive? Need to know that to chose a suitable treatment.

Those biopsies are guided as they’re done by ultrasound imaging. The MRI image data can be overlaid on the ultrasound screen, showing the urologist exactly where to go. It’s worth it to have the best possible MRI image to work with.

 

[TLS Guy]

I have to have an MRI scan for the prostrate gland next week. My prostate is enlarged.

I have been reading horror stories from people who have been injected with Gadolinium contrast dye and still have symptoms years later.

Has anyone ever been injected with this stuff for an MRI scan? If you have, what are your experiences with it.

An MRI scan with gadolinium contrast found my prostate cancer.

MRIs use an intense magnetic field to produce those images. A toxic metal gadolinium is used to enhance the images. Gadolinium is a toxic metal. It is very slowly eliminated from the body. So the gadolinium is bound to a chelating agent, which causes the metal with its chelating agent to be eliminated from the body via the kidneys.
I think there is consensus to avoid gadolinium in patients with impaired renal function, because of impaired elimination of the chelated gadolinium.

It has been observed that not all gadolinium is excreted and MRI exams on patients who have had multiple MRI with magnetic contrast have shown persistence of some gadolinium in the brain.

This is an evolving story, but I think consensus is developing that the contrast be used when necessary, but to try and avoid receiving more than five exposures to the contrast.

However many patients needing MRI have, and are being followed for lethal diseases, especially cancer. In that case optimal treatment of the disease outweighs the risk of contrast toxicity.

There really are only tow ways of imaging the prostate, ultrasound and MRI with contrast. MRI is the better imaging modality.

The bottom line is that if you have a PSA above normal with a rising trend then you need an MRI with contrast.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

"This is an evolving story, but I think consensus is developing that the contrast be used when necessary, but to try and avoid receiving more than five exposures to the contrast."

However, my ongoing research has indicated that in many cases, it's far less than five exposures.

 

[Swerd]

"This is an evolving story, but I think consensus is developing that the contrast be used when necessary, but to try and avoid receiving more than five exposures to the contrast."

However, my ongoing research has indicated that in many cases, it's far less than five exposures.

Exercise extreme caution when it comes to self-diagnosis or choosing among various diagnostic or treatment methods. This includes both physicians and non-physicians. It's OK to look things up on the internet, as knowledge is better than ignorance. But it's not a good idea to base your decision on only that.

Radiologists are highly trained for a long time before they are trusted to do their thing on patients. It involves medical school, a 5-year radiology residency, plus 2-years more in a fellowship to specialize in one aspect of radiology. If I remember correctly, the guy who read my prostate MRI specialized in MRI scans of the lower abdomen. He had seen a lot of prostate MRIs.

Don't believe for a minute that your "ongoing research" can compete with 5-7 years of radiology training. When you read about things on the internet, they are only a snapshot of reality – a non-random biased snapshot. Most people who've had no problems with MRIs plus gadolinium contrast agent, don't post their experiences on the internet. So when you read reports of trouble on the internet, they can both inform and mislead.

You don't sound like one of those people who think their opinions are as good as a board certified radiologist. If you don't trust the radiologist, find another at an academic teaching hospital that you can trust. Probably all of them will be board certified radiologists. Where are you located?

 

[adk highlander]

Had many MRI's with contrast and never an issue. I was never warned of any side effects.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

"Gadolinium stays in the body more after Omniscan or Optimark than after Eovist, Magnevist, or MultiHance. Gadolinium stays in the body the least after Dotarem, Gadavist, or ProHance."

Group I Agents associated with the greatest number of NSF cases:
Gadodiamide (Omniscan®)
Gadopentetate dimeglumine (Magnevist®)
Gadoversetamide (OptiMARK®)

Group II Agents associated with few, if any, unconfounded cases of NSF:
Gadobenate dimeglumine (MultiHance®)
Gadoteridol (ProHance®)
Gadobutrol (Gadavist®)
Gadoterate acid (Dotarem®)

Group III Agents for which data remains limited regarding NSF risk:
Gadoxetic acid (Eovist®)

I will ask the radiologist which one they use.

 

[Swerd]

"Gadolinium stays in the body more after Omniscan or Optimark than after Eovist, Magnevist, or MultiHance. Gadolinium stays in the body the least after Dotarem, Gadavist, or ProHance."

Group I Agents associated with the greatest number of NSF cases:
Gadodiamide (Omniscan®)
Gadopentetate dimeglumine (Magnevist®)
Gadoversetamide (OptiMARK®)

Group II Agents associated with few, if any, unconfounded cases of NSF:
Gadobenate dimeglumine (MultiHance®)
Gadoteridol (ProHance®)
Gadobutrol (Gadavist®)
Gadoterate acid (Dotarem®)

Group III Agents for which data remains limited regarding NSF risk:
Gadoxetic acid (Eovist®)

I will ask the radiologist which one they use.

Yesterday I had another brain MRI. It was standard follow-up after my diagnosis with metastatic lung cancer last November. I had 4 spots in November, but they were gone in February, July, and yesterday too.

All MRIs used the contrast agent Gadoterate acid (Dotarem®), 20 mL injected IV. I didn't have any side effects from it.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...

All MRIs used the contrast agent Gadoterate acid (Dotarem®), 20 mL injected IV. I didn't have any side effects from it.

After all those injections you are immune to it.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

"All MRIs used the contrast agent Gadoterate acid (Dotarem®), 20 mL injected IV. I didn't have any side effects from it."

Group II Agent

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

MRI Prostate Scan Results: No prostate cancer

Yup, I'm happy.

 

[Swerd]

MRI Prostate Scan Results: No prostate cancer

Yup, I'm happy.

I'm glad to hear that very good news.

With that enlarged prostate you will probably have to monitor it closely with yearly exams and blood tests for prostate specific antigen (PSA), possibly more MRIs, or even biopsies in the future.

Do you remember what your PSA level was?

 

[j_garcia]

Congrats on no cancer.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

Thank you j_garcia

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

I'm glad to hear that very good news.

With that enlarged prostate you will probably have to monitor it closely with yearly exams and blood tests for prostate specific antigen (PSA), possibly more MRIs, or even biopsies in the future.

Do you remember what your PSA level was?

Hello Swerd, yes, the PSA level was 7.3. I was diagnosed with BPH, with moderate enlargement. The doctor wants to get another blood test 6 months from now.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hello Swerd, yes, the PSA level was 7.3. I was diagnosed with BPH, with moderate enlargement. The doctor wants to get another blood test 6 months from now.

That is good care. MRI is the best we have, but it misses about 20% of prostate cancers. If it does not rise over 10, I would not be overly concerned.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

Thanks TLS Guy. They told me that 4.0 is as high as you can go. Anything over that needs to be looked at.

 

[Swerd]

Hello Swerd, yes, the PSA level was 7.3. I was diagnosed with BPH, with moderate enlargement. The doctor wants to get another blood test 6 months from now.

I was told years ago that PSA levels of 5 or below were OK. Remember that PSA is an easy (non-invasive) blood test, but high PSA levels are not a direct indicator of prostate cancer. Various non-cancer conditions can also elevate PSA. That's where the opinion of a good urologist comes in.

Over the years, mine slowly rose to about 5 to 5.5. That caused me to go to a urologist, and get a biopsy. It was negative. He said to keep monitoring the PSA levels. If they stayed the same, I was probably OK. But if it kept rising, come back and see him.

My PSA hovered in that range for a number of years (5?) until 2019, when it shot up to 9 to 10. That brought me back to the urologist, leading to an MRI, biopsy, and a cancer diagnosis. It was a slow growing tumor and had not yet spread beyond the prostate. I had surgery about a year later. I was lucky that it was found early when surgery, cryo-therapy, or radiation are highly effective. I still get my PSA checked yearly. It's always been undetectable at <0.1.

If your PSA remains in the 7 range, I wouldn't worry too much – that is if your case is similar to mine. Your urologist wants you back in 6 months for another PSA test, sooner than the standard once yearly test. So it seems like you're getting good care.

Good luck!

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

Thanks Swerd. I appreciate your information and encouragement.