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Need TKR and had positive allergy testing / Bone Cement and Metals
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Jun 7, 2023 | Replies (157)Comment receiving replies
@gardeningjunkie @montykona2 I think this is the lab in Chicago that you are speaking about.
https://www.orthopedicanalysis.com/
I had concerns and did their blood test for metal and implant allergies which was shipping in a warm blood sample so it stayed alive. I ran into resistance from a spine surgeon who would not authorize it saying it was not necessary, so I went to my GP and he authorized it. As patients we have to advocate for ourselves. One thing the test does is tell you what your immune response is right now before you are exposed to an implanted material (or for what is already in your body). That might change in time after exposure to a material and you can become allergic later even if a test had cleared you for an immune response. If you test positive, then you'll know what to avoid.
My test cleared me, and last year I broke my ankle and now have titanium plates and screws. After 6 months, I started having hives and have to stay on antihistamines. I also have some pain around the plates, so they will be removed. There are some other trace metals in the titanium, so it isn't pure, and those could be the culprits. The test was pricey, about $500, so I'm not going to repeat it now.
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Like you I am not allergic to titanium, but my ortho did say just what you did, that there are trace metals in titanium. I'm sorry about you are getting hives and although I have eczema I don't have hives. Can they do testing for hives like they do for eczema?
I also believe constant contact of a foreign object in or outside of our bodies can lead to allergies. What's in titanium probably is raising your histamine army trying to get rid of the titanium. At least you can have the plates removed if you have healed. I didn't get Allergic Contact Dermatitis until middle age. Our body, in time, believes these foreign substances are dangerous invaders and raise up our histamine armies to purge the rejected substance causing eczema and I am assuming hives also. I do believe I would have been a good prairie wife from a century ago- making my own soap from lye and lard without preservatives, wearing 100% cotton clothing, cleaning with natural products like vinegar and so on. I am free of all 3 types of my eczema today because of diligent research and blogging on several sites. We learn from each other.