topic Re: Hyperparathyroidism in Wellness

Hyperparathyroidism

hyacinth003 — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 23:57:15 GMT

I know this is not the most common disorder.

My husband has high levels of blood calcium, and he has been referred to an Endocrinologist to see if he has this.

His mother had it, and had surgery for it some years ago. Since he has rheumatoid arthritis, I am wondering about some things that may be related (dental problems, osteoporosis with stress fractures). It is a bit confusing, since steroid treatment for the RA can cause this also!

He has had some mood changes, fatigue, and what he has called "bone pain" more recently.

Hyacinth

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

Gooday — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 00:25:31 GMT

I was diagnosed with this when I was admitted to the hospital for a UTI and severe dehydration. My blood calcium was elevated and had a nuclear medicine scan of my parathyroid. 3 of the 4 lit up. My cause was due to...get This.. diuretic meds. It threw everything out of whack. I was referred to an ENT who said, leave it alone, recheck my blood work and return as needed
I also worked in a hospital for 25 years and knew all the doctors.
Incidentally, I was also diagnosed with atrial fib at the same time!
Depression and anxiety are symptoms of hyperparathyroidism. Thank goodness after a medication adjustment, I was discharged from the Endocrinologist.

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

hyacinth003 — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 00:39:31 GMT

@Gooday wrote:
I was diagnosed with this when I was admitted to the hospital for a UTI and severe dehydration. My blood calcium was elevated and had a nuclear medicine scan of my parathyroid. 3 of the 4 lit up. My cause was due to...get This.. diuretic meds. It threw everything out of whack. I was referred to an ENT who said, leave it alone, recheck my blood work and return as needed
I also worked in a hospital for 25 years and knew all the doctors.
Incidentally, I was also diagnosed with atrial fib at the same time!
Depression and anxiety are symptoms of hyperparathyroidism. Thank goodness after a medication adjustment, I was discharged from the Endocrinologist.

He takes a combination med for blood pressure with hydrochlorothiazide in it. It's a very low dose, but you never know. That would be nice if it were the case. His mother had 2 of 4 removed.

I have read that certain diuretics can cause this. Glad yours turned out okay!

Hyacinth

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

Gizmp — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 01:08:12 GMT

I had my thyroid removed, and 3 l/2 parathyroid glands removed 6 years ago. All 4 of the parathyroid glands were bad but they had to leave 1/2. If you google parathyroid, you will find a list of symptoms and some of those you listed are on that list. My calcium levels were slightly elevated for several years, but not terribly high, so my family dr. dismissed. my symptoms. I also have fibromyalgia, so my dr. told me I was under stress, going through the change, etc.

A lot of the symptoms are so general that they aren't taken seriously. When I was finally referred to an endocrinologist, they did a biopsy of the thyroid and I was referred to a surgeon. I was fortunate to talk to a neighbor, and her husband just had 2 parathyroid glands removed and he recommended a surgeon that specialized in only thyroid surgeries.

I am glad you were referred to a specialist and hope the best for your husband. If it is anything like I felt, he probably never feels good. Take care.

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

Coquille — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 01:25:12 GMT

Hi. I have had this condition for 45 years. I had all 4 parathyroid removed (surgery nothing). I have had more than 30 kidney stones. Please make sure your husband drinks a lot of water and especially water with lemon in it (for the stones). This condition can certainly be hereditary. Make sure he sees a very good Endocronologist. There are tests that can rule things out. These days, it is more common than you think. The last 10 years, they have found sooo many ways to work with and around these problems. Good luck.

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

OnlyShopsOnline — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 05:26:31 GMT

I had a surgery 5 weeks ago for papillary thyroid cancer and a parathyroid adenoma. Three doctors ignored my concerns about my serum calcium levels. A large parathyroid adenoma was found.

Parathyroid.com is an excellent website and it has a wealth of information. It was because of this website that I sought out a doctor that finally diagnosed the condition.

A parathyroid adenoma will slowly destroy your health.

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

Annabellethecat66 — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 04:53:00 GMT

I had my entire thyroid removed 2 years ago. I must take a thyroid supplement every day or I will die. A good functioning thyroid is important in life. Make sure he takes care.

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

LilacTree — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 15:48:49 GMT

@hyacinth003 wrote:
I know this is not the most common disorder.

My husband has high levels of blood calcium, and he has been referred to an Endocrinologist to see if he has this.

His mother had it, and had surgery for it some years ago. Since he has rheumatoid arthritis, I am wondering about some things that may be related (dental problems, osteoporosis with stress fractures). It is a bit confusing, since steroid treatment for the RA can cause this also!

He has had some mood changes, fatigue, and what he has called "bone pain" more recently.

Hyacinth

@hyacinth003

I have all of this. 10+ vertebral compression fractures, severe osteoporosis . . . (and you're correct, prednisone also causes this, so double whammy). I also have Sjogren's, scleroderma, autoimmune hepatitis (early stages), SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth), fibromyalgia, CFS, chronic UTIs, and, of course, hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's) which started all of this. However, that is kept pretty much in check with Synthroid. So far I am lucky that the parathyroid glands behind the thyroid seem stable.

Once you have one autoimmune disease, you get them all if you live long enough.

Fingers crossed your husband will not have this disease. It is more prevalent in women, as are all autoimmune diseases, so that's in his favor. Good luck to him.

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

LilacTree — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 15:51:53 GMT

@OnlyShopsOnline wrote:
I had a surgery 5 weeks ago for papillary thyroid cancer and a parathyroid adenoma. Three doctors ignored my concerns about my serum calcium levels. A large parathyroid adenoma was found.

Parathyroid.com is an excellent website and it has a wealth of information. It was because of this website that I sought out a doctor that finally diagnosed the condition.

A parathyroid adenoma will slowly destroy your health.

@OnlyShopsOnline

And people get mocked for online research. It obviously saved your life. Kudos to you!! We are all ultimately responsible for ourselves.

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

hyacinth003 — Sat, 17 Jun 2017 23:56:59 GMT

Apparently calcium levels should get LOWER as we age.

He has had a lot of blood testing, but only recently have they mentioned his calcium being high. Then they repeated it, so more delay. The articles say this is common, and ONE high calcium level should be considered suspicious. And that ANY calcium above "normal" range is just as bad as it being higher. Higher levels don't necessarily correlate with how bad it is.

He has had lots of physical complaints, but he has ever since getting rheumatoid arthritis! That has actually stayed very stable, based on any testing he's had (x-ray and ultrasound of joints). He has lately been rather lethargic and moody (more crabby and just not nice). He has wanted to nap all the time and is doing way less. I have asked him why he's being a jerk and so angry. He has said he just didn't know - I guess that's a truthful answer!

We've spent thousands of dollars on dental work as his dentist told him he's losing bone. I'd love to see that improved so he doesn't lose all his teeth. It happened to his mother over the years as I recall. If too much calcium is in your bloodstream, it's not in the teeth and bones where it should be.

So, I'm glad we know and hope it helps him feel better when it gets treated.

Hyacinth

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

hyacinth003 — Sun, 18 Jun 2017 00:01:16 GMT

@OnlyShopsOnline wrote:
I had a surgery 5 weeks ago for papillary thyroid cancer and a parathyroid adenoma. Three doctors ignored my concerns about my serum calcium levels. A large parathyroid adenoma was found.

Parathyroid.com is an excellent website and it has a wealth of information. It was because of this website that I sought out a doctor that finally diagnosed the condition.

A parathyroid adenoma will slowly destroy your health.

Glad they found it and you're better. I came across that website, and it IS excellent. I think back about his mother, and she probably suffered way longer than she had to. Unlike my husband, she wasn't getting all the lab work he has had for something else.

It is surely amazing how many problems it causes. Calcium is a very important mineral in the body. Scary connection to stroke and heart disease for some.

Hyacinth

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

hyacinth003 — Sun, 18 Jun 2017 00:04:22 GMT

@Annabellethecat66 wrote:
I had my entire thyroid removed 2 years ago. I must take a thyroid supplement every day or I will die. A good functioning thyroid is important in life. Make sure he takes care.

I found out I have hypothyroidism several years ago. I started taking medication, and within 6-8 weeks, I could not believe how much better I was. Before, I found I couldn't stay awake past 8pm, which for me (a night owl) was crazy.

My daughter and others I know have it, and they don't feel any different on medication than before! Go figure, but I sure did. Not overnight, but several weeks.

Yes, with no thyroid, you have to take medication for the rest of your life.

Hyacinth

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

hyacinth003 — Sun, 18 Jun 2017 00:05:35 GMT

@LilacTree wrote:
@OnlyShopsOnline wrote:
I had a surgery 5 weeks ago for papillary thyroid cancer and a parathyroid adenoma. Three doctors ignored my concerns about my serum calcium levels. A large parathyroid adenoma was found.

Parathyroid.com is an excellent website and it has a wealth of information. It was because of this website that I sought out a doctor that finally diagnosed the condition.

A parathyroid adenoma will slowly destroy your health.
@OnlyShopsOnline
And people get mocked for online research. It obviously saved your life. Kudos to you!! We are all ultimately responsible for ourselves.

Yes, the internet can be a very bad thing sometimes! But on occasion, it can save someone!

Hyacinth

Re: Hyperparathyroidism

LilacTree — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 16:08:05 GMT

@hyacinth003 wrote:
@Annabellethecat66 wrote:
I had my entire thyroid removed 2 years ago. I must take a thyroid supplement every day or I will die. A good functioning thyroid is important in life. Make sure he takes care.
I found out I have hypothyroidism several years ago. I started taking medication, and within 6-8 weeks, I could not believe how much better I was. Before, I found I couldn't stay awake past 8pm, which for me (a night owl) was crazy.

My daughter and others I know have it, and they don't feel any different on medication than before! Go figure, but I sure did. Not overnight, but several weeks.

Yes, with no thyroid, you have to take medication for the rest of your life.

Hyacinth

@hyacinth003

So true. I have been taking Synthroid since age 50 and menopause. That is now almost 30 years, and I expect to continue taking it every morning until the end. Mine has always been easy to manage, the numbers have never changed, nor the dosage. I am very lucky.