EP21 - Spinal Fusion Nightmare: Titanium & Nickel Allergy + Surgical Clips

Christian hails from Michigan and is a young Italian man, working as an engineer, who has a passion for soccer, being Italian and heavy metal music.. He describes himself as a formerly “happy-go-lucky” guy until spine surgery and metal allergies turned his life upside down. After the sudden onset of back trouble and searing pain, Christian worked through the traditional medical routes, until it was decided that he would need a spinal fusion.After surgery,  Christian knew immediately that something wasn’t right, waking with searing, intractable pain and a litany of symptoms:  rashes, insomnia, an ulcerated tongue, vision, cardiac issues and more. After numerous consults and research,, he came to the hypothesis that he could be allergic to his spinal fusion hardware. Christian obtained blood metal lymphocyte transformation testing from Orthopedic Analysis, where testing determined he was severely allergic to the titanium alloy. Christian was able to gain the confidence of a surgeon and was able to have this fusion revised with stainless steel hardware, which contained components he did not test allergic to. All of his symptoms went away immediately with revision, then returned within months, almost as bad as the first go. Christian re-tested with Orthopedic Analysis and the new test came back showing him reactive to the new hardware. After fusion occurred the supporting hardware was removed and like the prior time, Christian experienced a large resolution of his symptoms….until slowly they returned. Christian discovered that the surgeons had utilized a large number of titanium surgical clips in the revision surgery. He is still fighting a battle to have them removed to this day. 

In this episode you will learn:

• Systemic reactions to titanium exist & can cause havoc throughout the body. 

• Hypersensitivities to a given metal don’t always present until an exposure occurs. 

• Why self-advocacy is important - surgeons can still make mistakes. 

• Grace is needed for cutting-edge providers trying to offer assistance. 

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***Many WONDERFUL, supportive special-interest communities exist for metal allergies and diet, hardware issues, medical devices, etc., online and on social media. They have many resources and often act as a collective think-tank. I owe many parts of my recovery to knowledge obtained in such groups. Search keywords to join these groups and find your tribe!***