MRI with/without contrast anyone?

[Skypony]

Hello friends

I hope you’re doing well!

I’m booked to have a liver MRI ‘with contrast’ which I’m fairly sure uses Gadolinium as the contrast medium, at an NHS hospital. The purpose is to provide more info about my PBC, since I’ve had some fairly significant variation in imaging over a few years. My bloods are good though, so there’s not lots of concern.

My question please - has anyone had an MRI *without* contrast, and did it yield useful information?

I’m probably going to request that mine is done without contrast because I have a concern about Gadolinium.

Grateful for any comments please.

Best wishes x

[moo196]

my understanding is that there is no "without" contrast

[Skypony in reply to moo196]

Thank you moo. With PBC it may be that the contrast is particularly helpful.

[Cascade35]

I have had two MRI scans 18 months apart since my PBC diagnosis without the contrast. I’m allergic to it. The specialist said with the contrast they can see more but he still got all the information he needed from my images without the contrast.

[Skypony in reply to Cascade35]

Kind of you to explain that, Cascade. Very helpful

[dtol]

I’ve had numerous MRIs over the years, never with contrast. I have had a couple of CT scans also - these always with contrast.

[Skypony in reply to dtol]

Ok thank you, really appreciate your response

[Candy12]

I’ve had MRI both with and without contrast, i have to say normally its been without, so I think it may depend on what there looking at or for.

Have a word with the radiographer they’ll advise you if it’s important or not.

[Skypony in reply to Candy12]

Thanks so much Candy, I’m definitely going to ask a bit more. But basically it’s for ‘where I’m at with my PBC’ which was triggered as much by me saying I felt uncertain.

[Cressy]

I had an appointment for an MRI with contrast for a possible blocked bile duct/gallstone but the contrast did not happen and when I mentioned it they sent me back for some more scans but no contrast. It did not seem to matter to my hepatologist.

[butterflyEi]

There is quite a good article which may help you decide (you may already have seen it but if not hope its useful). It seems that you may be given the opportunity to discuss it with the radiologist. Hope all goes well.

guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/heal...

[DonnaBoll Administrator in reply to butterflyEi]

Thanks for sharing this article with us... always welcome any articles about the many aspects of our health care with PBC.

[Skypony in reply to butterflyEi]

Thank you butterfly, I hadn’t seen the article actually and it’s very useful. No information came with my scan appointment letter, it’s just marked ‘contrast’, so I googled it a bit, which is either a good or a bad thing!

[EBears8]

I am having one this weekend without contrast and my doctor said it will be just fine. I have so many allergies to contrasts and such that she is the one that recommended it.

If I had to do it with contrast I was given the option of premedicating with an allergy meds.

[Skypony in reply to EBears8]

Hi EBears, that’s really useful to know, thank you. Hope that goes well, and maybe you could you let us know when you have the results.

[EBears8 in reply to Skypony]

I will share when I get those results.

[gwillistexas]

mine have been with contrast. It gives a more accurate image of the organs.

[Skypony in reply to gwillistexas]

Thank you, yes I would assume it does.

[Aussielouise]

hi. I’m a retired radiographer (due to health issues, not age) it depends on the type of scan, what they are looking for etc whether it requires contrast or not. Please note MRI contrast is not the same as CT contrast. The doctor doesn’t order contrast unless it would give the best results for what they are looking for. There can be big differences between the images with and without contrast and often scans are untaken pre and post contrast for this very reason. Obviously if you are allergic to contrast then it would not be given anyway. The best advice i can give is explain clearly to the tech what your concerns are and listen carefully to the answers. No one would be giving you any scans or agents without weighing up the pros and cons first. I remember patients who protested that they didn’t want contrast because they were concerned about the substance who in the end had a sub optimal examination for really no good reason. Thats not to say that certain medical conditions such as allergies etc are a perfectly legitimate reason not to have contrast, but they are rare. Best person to talk to is your consultant

[Skypony in reply to Aussielouise]

Thanks so much for your comprehensive response Aussielouise, kind of you to take the time and given me more to think about. I was planning to try to speak to the consultant but this is not always easy.

[PBC2014]

every 6 months my MRI’s are with/ and without contrast. Yes I believe the reading is more clear with both. So if it says with/without it will definitely have contrast! Good luck. I have had about 14 now since I was first diagnosed. Other than the “breathe in/breathe out, hold your breath part” I feel like I could ALMOST nap in them now. 👍