As a radiographer, I just wanted to add information about metformin & xray dyes. The most recent standard that my hospital holds to is that metformin need only be stopped for exams requiring intravenouse injection of iodine dye. That means exams that require the iodine dye to be injected directly into the blood stream. This includes some CT (aka CAT or Computed Tomography) exams, IVP for urinary tract studies,and angiogram studies of the heart, veins, arteries etc. However, there are some exams that use iodine dye, but not in the blood stream & therefore are not an issue according to my hospitals stance. The HSG falls into this catagory because the dye is allowed to flow into the uterus backwards through the cervix (like a reverse period). The majority of the dye then comes back out through the vagina. Also in cholangiograms the dye is injected directly into the bile duct system which is part of the intestinal system. Most of it passes through the intestines & released that way. MRI exams do not use iodine as they involve magnets rather than xrays.
My hospitals policy is patients may take their metformin prior to the exam & then must stop taking it until they get a new creatnine test done. This test checks kidney function and must be done 24-48 hours from the time the iodine dye is injected into the system.
Many physicians are unclear about hospital policy, so I would reccommended anyone with questions about a specific hospital or test contact that radiology department directly as they are the ones who set up the guidelines to be followed.
Also, while I am medically trained, I am not a doctor. My opinions are my own and are intended only to be informational.
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