Hi,
Four weeks ago I went to the emergency room at night with abdominal pain and diarrhea. The doctor ordered a ct scan with contrast to check my bowels, and I was given a pitcher of liquid to drink. Once I finished the liquid and was wheeled to the scan room, I saw that they also planned to inject dye into my veins. I asked why I would need that in addition to the drink, and the technician said that the drink only has a small amount of dye in it. I was very reluctant to go through with the procedure, but did it anyways.
After the procedure was done, which found nothing, I was released. It was late and I was tired, so I just went to bed. The next day, I was very sick, with nausea and pain in my lower back. I drank some coffee in the morning, and didn’t drink water until about 12:30p.m. As time progressed, I began to have circulation problems in my hands and feet, with very visible veins. I even noticed some spider veins on my wrists. My heart races when I stand up too quickly or try to exercise. The veins in my feet are dark and threadlike.
So my question is: Can this be caused from the iv contrast combined with the fact that I wasn’t hydrated after receiving the injection? No one told me to drink water afterwards, but I have been reading online that you should drink water immediately after to flush it out. I know this sounds crazy, but I am very nervous about these emerging symptoms.
So why are you here rather than calling your doctor?
Moderator Action
Welcome to the SDMB, peachyjenny.
Questions seeking medical advice and opinions belong in our IMHO forum. I will move this thread for you.
As the forum name implies, any responses you receive there are just the opinions of some online folks and shouldn’t be considered the equivalent of professional medical advice.
Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.
Former x-ray tech here.
There are two types of intravenous contrast: one kind has iodine, the other doesn’t. The iodine kind is used more often because it is much cheaper.
Some people, especially those with thyroid problems, are sensitive to iodine. It can cause you to feel hyped up and wired, to shake, to have racing thoughts, and could cause nausea. So it’s possible the contrast was the problem.
You should certainly check with your doctor, though. You might even want to ask your doctor to run a thyroid function test, just to make sure that isn’t an issue. And if you ever need to have contrast again, let the doctor and the tech know you need the non-iodine kind. They’ll have it in stock, and it won’t be a problem for them to accommodate you.
I’m not a Dr. but it sounds like you are having a reaction. You need to get to one ASAP.
Call the Dr’s office you booked this all through (Now) and tell them of your symptoms and that you feel that you are having a reaction. They’ll direct you from there.
Good Luck!
Intravenous contrast for CT comes in several varieties, but all have iodine.
Your symptoms are not typical for iv contrast reaction. Even though some people can have unusual reactions, it would be rare to persist for a month.
IV contrast can affect the kidneys. This is not an allergic reaction. This is more likely to happen to people with poor kidney function to start with, but other things can affect the likelihood. Including dehydration, which is common in people with diarrhea. If you are retaining fluid due to renal insufficiency, this might explain the venous engorgement you describe. (This is why it is good to drink a lot after a scan.)
Lastly, this could be unrelated to the CT, even possibly related to your original illness. For example, liver disease could cause some of these symptoms.
You do need to get this checked out further.
The OP never stayed to get an answer. Or she’s slumped over the keyboard.
I got contrast dye for a cat scan once. Before it started I was asked if I was allergic to either shellfish or strawberries. I am not allergic to either but as soon as the dye hit my system I broke out in itchy hives all over my body. I would have to say that was rather unpleasant.