Parathyroid??? Help.
Okay so my PCP did a blood test and she looked it over and thinks that my parathyroid may not be working correctly. Says there is to much calcium in my blood. Now mind you this problem didn't arise till now...4 months after surgery??
Could my parathyroid really not be working or my labs just be out of wack because of surgery? Any advice,help or info on this would be wonderful. Thanks
Could my parathyroid really not be working or my labs just be out of wack because of surgery? Any advice,help or info on this would be wonderful. Thanks
~ Be the change you want to see in the world 
Ashley 
Ashley 
Just having surgery would not make your parathyroid out of whack.
It might be that your parathyroid is not working right. However, it could also be a matter of not absorbing enough calcium.
What happens is (well, what happens when the parathyroid IS working right), is that if we aren't taking enough calcium, or if we are not taking the right kind that we can absorb (we need calcium citrate, not carbonate), or if our vitamin D level is too low (below 80), our parathyroid gland makes more parathyroid hormone, otherwise known as PTH. The extra PTH causes us to leach calcium out of our bones, which gives us more calcium in our blood. The reason it works that way is because if the calcium level in your blood gets too low, your muscles will not contract properly. Your heart is a muscle and if it cannot contract, or beat, you die.
So. How much calcium are you taking a day? And what kind? Did your PCP also test your vitamin D level? What was that?
It might be that your parathyroid is not working right. However, it could also be a matter of not absorbing enough calcium.
What happens is (well, what happens when the parathyroid IS working right), is that if we aren't taking enough calcium, or if we are not taking the right kind that we can absorb (we need calcium citrate, not carbonate), or if our vitamin D level is too low (below 80), our parathyroid gland makes more parathyroid hormone, otherwise known as PTH. The extra PTH causes us to leach calcium out of our bones, which gives us more calcium in our blood. The reason it works that way is because if the calcium level in your blood gets too low, your muscles will not contract properly. Your heart is a muscle and if it cannot contract, or beat, you die.
So. How much calcium are you taking a day? And what kind? Did your PCP also test your vitamin D level? What was that?
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
OK, you're getting the right kind and right amount of calcium. Your vitamin D is really low, though. I know your lab sheet says it's in the normal range. I think the problem is that there is more recent research showing it needs to be higher than that but for some reasons labs are not yet using the high range. If it's below 80, we don't absorb calcium well. This is according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.
So the problem may be as simple as having low vitamin D. You can easily fix that by taking some D3. That may not be the problem, but you still need to take some D3.
Of course there could be something else wrong with your parathyroid. What did your PCP suggest doing about it?
So the problem may be as simple as having low vitamin D. You can easily fix that by taking some D3. That may not be the problem, but you still need to take some D3.
Of course there could be something else wrong with your parathyroid. What did your PCP suggest doing about it?
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
She said that she was gonna do labs in 6 weeks and if it still wasn't right she was gonna send me to an endocrinologist (sp?). I am gonna get some vitamin d3 and take it religiously so I know for sure its not that. Thanks for your advice and help it is very much appreciated!
~ Be the change you want to see in the world Ashley
Ashley If you order the 50,000 IU D3 from vitalady.com, you can take it every other day or something like that and it should get your level up pretty fast. You won't find a dose that high in stores. I know it sounds like a really big dose and your PCP might worry that it's too much, but it's what many of us take. Some do it every day. Theoretically it's possible to get too much vitamin D, but yours could go up so much before you'd have to worry about it. Mine was 142 last time I had labs done and I don't really want it getting higher but I'm not worried about it at this level.
I hope the vitamin D solves the problem for you. You might want to ask your doc to check your vitamin D when she does labs in six weeks to see how much it's gone up.
Try not to worry about it too much right now, because it may be a simple thing to fix. Even if the vitamin D doesn't solve the problem, it could still be something pretty simple.
I hope the vitamin D solves the problem for you. You might want to ask your doc to check your vitamin D when she does labs in six weeks to see how much it's gone up.
Try not to worry about it too much right now, because it may be a simple thing to fix. Even if the vitamin D doesn't solve the problem, it could still be something pretty simple.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
There are a 2 types of hyperparathyroidism. Primary and secondary. Most of us get secondary due to vitamin D deficiency. Now, in order to get a true picture, I need to know the follow labs -
calcium
vitamin D
PTH
How much vitamin D are you taking and what type?
Your vitamin D is borderline - it isn't considered deficient but it is still pretty low - ideally we want our levels to be around 80-100 but atleast 60, so you have a long way to go. I would get some Dry D3 from vitalady.com - 50,000 units and take it 2 times per week. This should bring down your PTH level.
The next question is why is your calcium level high. Depending on how high it is. Sometimes we get a high calcium levels because we actually aren't taking enough due to our malabsorbtion. It sounds backwards but what happens is that we are leaking the calcium out of bones and into our blood, causing the blood levels to increase. By leaking out of our bones, this puts us at risk for osteoporosis - also a reason for a high PTH. PTH is a guide for bone health and calcium, vitamin D metabolism.
If your calcium is only around 10.2 then you probably just need to increase your calcium to one more dose but if it is up around 10.6 or 10.8, then definitely don't increase it since that is a very high calcium level and needs to be evaluated by an Endocrinologist.
It is very common for us at the beginning to deal with PTH problems and they are almost always dealth with by increasing our calcium and vitamin D. I actually had these problems preop - I saw an Endocrinologists preop and she always tested me for these things then also, so I knew long before my surgery about all this.
Also be careful with your dosing - make sure you wait between your calcium, iron and thyroid medication. The norm is atleast 2 hours but for you, I would recommend 4 hours since you having trouble with your calcium levels - you want to make sure you are absorbing everything properly
calcium
vitamin D
PTH
How much vitamin D are you taking and what type?
Your vitamin D is borderline - it isn't considered deficient but it is still pretty low - ideally we want our levels to be around 80-100 but atleast 60, so you have a long way to go. I would get some Dry D3 from vitalady.com - 50,000 units and take it 2 times per week. This should bring down your PTH level.
The next question is why is your calcium level high. Depending on how high it is. Sometimes we get a high calcium levels because we actually aren't taking enough due to our malabsorbtion. It sounds backwards but what happens is that we are leaking the calcium out of bones and into our blood, causing the blood levels to increase. By leaking out of our bones, this puts us at risk for osteoporosis - also a reason for a high PTH. PTH is a guide for bone health and calcium, vitamin D metabolism.
If your calcium is only around 10.2 then you probably just need to increase your calcium to one more dose but if it is up around 10.6 or 10.8, then definitely don't increase it since that is a very high calcium level and needs to be evaluated by an Endocrinologist.
It is very common for us at the beginning to deal with PTH problems and they are almost always dealth with by increasing our calcium and vitamin D. I actually had these problems preop - I saw an Endocrinologists preop and she always tested me for these things then also, so I knew long before my surgery about all this.
Also be careful with your dosing - make sure you wait between your calcium, iron and thyroid medication. The norm is atleast 2 hours but for you, I would recommend 4 hours since you having trouble with your calcium levels - you want to make sure you are absorbing everything properly
I am sorry but your doctor doesn't know what she is talking about and scared you for nothing. Your calcium level is perfect. You can see from looking at your calcium level that you in no way have too much calcium in your blood. You have what I refered to earlier as secondary hyperparathyroidism and just barely. It is due to low vitamin D. As soon as you increase you vitamin D levels, your PTH level will go down drastically. I had this preop but my numbers were much worse. My PTH was 119 and my vitamin D was 16.
Now post op, my vitamin D is 105 and my PTH is 26. The actual range for vitamin D goes up to 100, not 80. We want our levels to be up between 80 and 100.
So, please get yourself some Dry D3 from vitalady.com - 50,000 units and take it 2 times per week and get retested. I bet you your vitamin D will go up and your PTH will go down.
Unfortunately, it will take about 10 days to get the Dry D3 from vitalady.com so in the meantime - go to a vitamin shoppe - and get some Dry D3 - 5,000 units (make sure they are capsules or the bottle says Dry) and take 3 per day - that is the same as taking the 50,000 units 2 times per week.
Now post op, my vitamin D is 105 and my PTH is 26. The actual range for vitamin D goes up to 100, not 80. We want our levels to be up between 80 and 100.
So, please get yourself some Dry D3 from vitalady.com - 50,000 units and take it 2 times per week and get retested. I bet you your vitamin D will go up and your PTH will go down.
Unfortunately, it will take about 10 days to get the Dry D3 from vitalady.com so in the meantime - go to a vitamin shoppe - and get some Dry D3 - 5,000 units (make sure they are capsules or the bottle says Dry) and take 3 per day - that is the same as taking the 50,000 units 2 times per week.
Most Active
Recent Topics