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CT Contrast and Barium Swallow

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Posted 11/22/2019 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
Has anyone here experienced a CT with contrast and/or a barium swallow test? How did consuming the heavy metals and other garbage affect you? Did they make you feel bad for a day or two, cause a relapse, do nothing?

Thanks for any advice or experience. I'd love to have the information these tests provide, but I dread the stuff that would be put into my body.

I checked the archives on this forum, but I didn't find posts from folks with Lyme about these tests, and also older threads seem less applicable, since the contrast media and barium formulas seem to change a lot from year to year.
Posted 11/22/2019 11:29 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I had a CT and an MRI with contrast and had no side effects from it that I noticed.


Hope all goes well for you if you choose to get the tests done.
Posted 11/23/2019 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
I had plenty of scans with contrast and no problems. I did have a chemically induced stress test that wiped me out pretty bad. Like 85% down to 20% and 2 years trying to get back . I would not recommend that.
Posted 11/23/2019 5:22 AM (GMT 0)
I’ve had a barium swallow X-ray and an IV contrast mri.

No issues that I know of.

Barium swallow was when I first got symptoms and I had a sensation of a lump in my throat and was choking on food.
They took an X-ray after I swallowed the contrast - not sure what the X-ray was called - but it showed the dye going the throat.

The contrast mri was to look at my pituitary gland - again early on when I was undiagnosed -
Posted 11/23/2019 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sure I had one or both of those when an esophagus tear was suspected. I don't remember any affects from it but can't say for sure because my symptoms were so up and down.
Posted 11/23/2019 7:20 PM (GMT 0)
Contrast iv for mri flared my bladder. Think it can be an issue for some with MCAS.

https://www.gordonmedical.com/mast-cell-activation-syndrome-mcas/#mcas-trigger
Posted 11/23/2019 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
I have had both a CT and MRI with
contrast and had reactions to both.
The MRI was a more severe reaction.
I agree that it is related to MCAS.
Posted 11/24/2019 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
MRI contrast (at least where I live) is gadolinium, a heavy metal that can be tough on the kidneys.

CT contrast is derived from shellfish and is iodine-based, so I have been told that people react to it if they have thyroid issues or shellfish allergies. (Correct me if this is not the case!)

Barium is another metal, and it mostly seems to cause constipation.

I have MCAS and react poorly to seemingly everything. I am so nervous about being given standard doses of these substances. If I weren't in severe pain, then I would not even consider these tests. It's so upsetting to me that my doctors will not even discuss what could be wrong with me, what's most likely, etc. without these invasive and potentially damaging procedures.
Posted 11/24/2019 3:51 PM (GMT 0)
After I had mine done (mri with contrast) I read about Chuck Norris’ wife illness from having a procedure with the contrast.
Posted 11/24/2019 7:03 PM (GMT 0)
I definitely had a reaction to the gadolinium for an MRI. I assumed it was the effect of it being a heavy metal. For me it brought out exaggerated symptoms very much like a herx. I experienced headache, burning pain and severe nausea. Took me several days to recover. I now think it may be more related to MCAS although I don’t handle heavy metals well.I too am very sensitive to everything since Lyme. Kidney function should ALWAYS be tested beforehand.
Posted 11/24/2019 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
I can't imagine being given a heavy metal intravenously and NOT feeling crappy afterward. I also can't imagine what it must be like to get procedures like this casually, like you just expect your body to be fine, and you trust the medical professionals will do right by you. How nice that must be.

My mother and grandmother both are very trusting of the mainstream medical system, but for them a CT or MRI is intolerably horrifying because of claustrophobia, even with anxiolytics beforehand. Sometimes they have had to return to the hospital on a different day because they just couldn't stand the enclosed feeling, and the techs were very kind and said that happens a lot. Oddly, they are not claustrophobic in other contexts. So I guess we all have our issues.
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