MRI Scan - bad reaction?

Posted , 34 users are following.

Has anyone suffered a bad reaction following a spinal MRI scan?

I suffered (and am suffering) terrible muscle pain and muscle weakness following an MRI scan one month ago.

My scan was standard (i.e. without a contrast dye being injected into the blood - I know the dye sometimes causes problems) and I have so far found two people who have suffered a similar reaction.

It feels as if the scan has "stirred up" my immune system to produce inflammation in muscle and joints in my right leg and right arm.

I'd be grateful to know if you have any similar experience.

7 likes, 42 replies

42 Replies

Prev
  • Posted

    I had an MRI scan on my foot yesterday (no contrast injection) and have been in agony ever since with deep pain in the back of my thigh on one leg and extreme tenderness to the skin. I also have slight tenderness on the other leg. It's so bad I can hardly sit in a seat. Ibuprofen gel helps a bit and paracetamol has a short term effect.

  • Posted

    so i went in for my mri 5th one this year every one of them went fine until this last one they were taking a scan of my shoulders and they have this clamp like thing they put over your shoulder before they send you in well im a big guy standing 6'3" and 300 lbs so i dont fit in the machines that well so the radiologist hooks my arm up and hands me my panic ball and sends me in but befor i go im like r u gonna ppl ut the padding in on my right side hes like no u should be fine about 7min in i start to feel my arm heating up where its touching the machines inner wall about 10 min in i tell the radiologist that the machine is burning my arm he replies can u handle it i replied thats what im trying to do but it burns he says ok then im just gonna continue about 13 min in i tell him its really bad i cant do it you gotta do something he comes into the room and then i see two other techs rush into the room and im like whats going on the female tech asured me its nothing and they lay me back down on the table and this time struggle to get me back into the machine this time with a bad protecting my arm from the inner wall of the machine from there the scan went fine i left the apt and my arm felt like i had a sunburn i didnt think anything of it but the next bay the whole back side of my arm felt like it was bruised dose anyone know what this could be

  • Posted

    I had an MRI done yesterday with contrast. after it was done while i was driving home, i suddenly got Vertigo and got real dizzy ..it wouldn't go away and my ears have been blocked since i had it...i ended up in ER to get medicine for the vertigo. today my ears are still completely blocked.

  • Posted

    i just got an mri on my brain 4 days ago with contrast. immediately after i experienced dizziness and then the symptoms persisted and felt like a heavy weight on my head, hard to keep my head up without having it supported with a pillow behind it and then i experience extreme muscle fatigue . symptoms haven't gotten a little better since first day but its still there and now reading all these stories i am extremely worried . did any of you guys manage to completely get over these symptoms and did any of you check if your kidney was working normally afterwards ?

  • Posted

    ive just had an mri scan an hour ago had no dye and im feeling very nauseous also a weird side effect i had was my teeth had a weird sensation almost as if it felt like they would fall out has anyone got any tips to stop the nausea or any clue why i feel so sick i was in the mri for an hour

  • Edited

    i had a wrist MRI done yesterday with no ink, at 8am . Had this done due to a 20 year old scaphoid injury that's persisting.

    Strange because i felt i knew not to have this done beforehand, though went ahead anyway incase i was just being paranoid.

    They put me into a tunnel, which seemed odd considering it was only for my wrist, and i was in there for 20mins.

    During, my body got hot whilst my heart rate sped up, then strange tingling occurred in my hips that went on and on with the pulsing sounds of the machine. It was definitely electromagnetic feelings and didn't feel good for me.

    Now it's 4o clock in the morning 20hrs later, can't sleep and I've got serious achiness in the same location of my hips, hence reading up on MRI side effects. I've also got a blocked nose and wired. I feel that my immune system is run down.

    Noting this, i had another MRI 7 years ago and then a couple of years after was diagnosed with Hashimotos autoimmune disease, which is a thyroid issues, which could be linked, though maybe not of course... Am feeling very suspicious about MRIs on finding this post and the feelings i got during and after.

    Hopefully my hips will go back to normal!

    I think an MRI is a huge microwave oven, hence feeling bad.

  • Edited

    wanted to add that i slept a couple of hours more and have been so dehydrated and drunk 2 litres of water overnight. my hips feel better though will report back here if there's a change.

    Am surprised we are not told that drinking plenty of water is very important after being zapped to help recovery of pretentiously damaged cells.

  • Edited

    So I had an MRI in the wee hours of the morning (this is not my first MRI image but it has been many years since my last one) The technician advised me that it would be unusually a long time to perform because of it was two exams being performed at the same time. She also advised that I could request a break if needed. I did not think it necessary as I said I had completed the procedure at a different time of my life and experienced nothing out of the ordinary. Although they were the shorter version of an exam I had had both with and without contrast I thought nothing different of this one. I do not suffer from claustrophobia nor anxiety and was not stressed in any way about the test being performed. All that being said my experience was less than familiar in that during the first series I began to feel very heavy...VERY. I was laying in a restful position but started to feet like I had a weighted blanket applied to me. I did not have feelings of nausea or dizziness, just a heavy pressure that seemed internal. I did not complain as it was not painful. The technician warned me that the first one was done and she would be starting the second. I said I was fine to continue. The pressure gradually increased for the next 25 minutes and I began to get hotter. I was thinking to myself how I was happy I had removed a fleece pyjama jacket beforehand and only had my cooler tank top on. When the test was completed she removed me from the cylinder and I tried to sit up. I was heavy and my joints were sore. She told me to take my time and asked if I was dizzy. I was not but my back was soaked. She commented of the sheet I was laying on was dampened. I knelt to tie my shoes and could barely lift myself to stand up. I walked so slowly down the hall and away from the building where I got to my car. I got in and was exhausted from that walk. I sat a few minutes prior to driving away. I was confused with what I was feeling. I was alert enough and would never have driven otherwise but I was purely exhausted from the walk to the car. I drove home and because there was another 2 hours before I would be required to get up for my usual day at work. I laid down. I was immediately out. One would commonly say I passed out or crashed because that it exactly what I did! I slept through the alarm that I had set and woke 4 hours later. It was a great deep sleep but I was still tired. When I got to work I it was everything I could do to climb the stairs to my office. Every step felt heavier than the last. I am so achy. I thought how unusual this was considering I did not ever recall this occurring before. I took Tylenol and Advil and decided I would review Google for this issue. Everything referred to reaction to the contrast given but I did not have any. It was then that this post caught my eye and the reference being Ankylosing Spondylitis because that is my diagnosis and the very reason for the MRI. It is required to determine my level of biologics for treatment. I am still feeling like my head is in a fog and I am achy in my wrists, hips and ankles. My hips being the very worse. I hope that if this is a flare-up triggered by the MRI that it will not last the "weeks" that you speak of. I will definitely be bringing it up to my Rheumatologist when we have a follow-up appointment after she receives the results of both tests. I will definitely also recall this incident if ever there is another request for an MRI. Thank you for your post and I hope to hear back from others that may have a similar experience.

  • Posted

    Hi I just had an mri on Monday one on my next and one on my mid back. both no contrast. I left feeling weak disoriented nauseous and had a headache. here we are Wednesday and it still feel the same symptoms as I did that day but I'm not sure what to do about it because whatever I call somebody and let him know what's going on and that it happened following them are a people look at me like I'm crazy play sure you I did not feel this way prior to the m r i

  • Edited

    Hello,

    I just had an MRI scan on my spine, while in the tube, I could feel something going through me, the feeling went from my lower back to the base of my skull, I also felt it through my wrists and I had my hands together placed on my stomach.

    As the feeling travelled through me, at certain points there became parts that ached and stopped when they noise stopped. I could feel my blood rushing through my body, up to my head, where I could feel like my head was expanding.

    I came out of the room feeling dizzy and nauseous, as well as aching muscles which has not left after three hours after having the scan done.

    I took an EMF reading of myself and showing 0.91 ut

  • Posted

    while I was getting an MRI today of my knee, I started feeling aching on top of my knee, and then it started radiating throughout my leg. It got so uncomfortable. I almost push the button to move but I just wanted to get it over with so I could find out what’s wrong with my leg. Then my leg started feeling extra heavy extra numb and started hurting places where did not her previously. When I went to the dressing room to change into my clothes, I saw that my knee and part of my leg was red and very warm to the touch. Now I am having consistent, heaviness throbbing and it’s a numb type of feeling at the same time if that makes any sense.

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.