metal allergy

[moonrise47]

I'm very allegic to metal,,is a titanium gallbladder clip, metal? what kind of symtoms could I expect if I'm infected inside? It has already absessed and lanced,,antibiotics 10 days,and now reinfecting,,, could it be the metal in titanium clip?

[cmetryme]

i too have a severe reaction to metals like stainless steel and titanium.
i get a taser like shock from 15 feet away. in dec 2014 i had to have a lap band removed. my wife and i explained to the operating room staff and the doctor about the metal reaction. doctor said never heard of it, dont know how to treat it. we advised them NOT to put in staples. right after i woke up in recovery, i told them im getting lighting bolts where i was cut open and severe pain. that night when the doctor arrived in my room, my wife asked if  there were metal staples put in. doctor said no. when he left the room my wife wanted to see if there were staples. we could not see as it was covered with gauge and a band around my waste. there was know way to know. the next day my wife asked the doctor again about the staples. doctor said no.
they put me on pain meds with a button i could press. the lightning bolts only got worse and my energy was drained from my body. began passing out 10 mins at a time. the third night the doctor came in and told my wife that YES he did put in titanium staples and he was here to remove them. so he took them out. the passing out stopped.the pain was gone and i got my energy back. my doctor said i've never seen anything like it. said you cant be allergic to the titanium. he said i cant believe that he knew they were there as he could not see it and i told him over and over i didnt put them in. he did not know what to do other than remove them.  the passing out reaction continues to this day. i cant go on an elevator to the second floor or i pass out from the stainless. the grocery store shelves taser me and drain my energy. i pass out in my truck for sometimes 30 mins. we have talked to over 25 doctors here in the US. all told me never seen it, never heard of it and dont know how to treat it. they will not take me on as a patient. all tell me stay away from metal. like i can stay away from my truck or zipper on my pants.

please do you have any advise on this?

[Rodge2756]

Hey cmetryme - just checking to see how you have been doing. I hope better

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Allergic reaction to titanium is possible although rare and gall bladder clips can be of titanium. Titanium which is a bioactive metal is capable of tricking the body into believing that the implant is a bone.  Because of this the bone bonds to the implant. When the implant moves after it is placed, the body recognizes it as a foreign object and rejects it. This causes an allergic reaction to the implant.

Diagnosis is done by skin patch test or blood tests for allergy. MELISA (Memory Lymphocyte Immunostimulation Assay) test is a blood test that is confirmatory for metal allergy.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.