OMG.OMG.OMG!

I'm at the surgeon's office getting pre-registered for parathyroid surgery! Hopefully, next Friday, if they can rearrange their surgery schedule. In not next Friday, they'll do it the Friday after Thanksgiving! Looks like my DS is on. Yay!

Woohoo!! Congrats! I know you were worried about the timing! Glad that it's all working out!!

That's awesome, hope it all goes smoothly for you.

Yaaaaay! Awesome news!!

Yep, Friday Nov 22 @ 10:30.  Awesome with Awesome Sauce!

Not quite as flashy and fun as Kermit (above), but  YAY! YAY! YAY!!!!!!!!

Can I ask you your history leading up to this?  I haven't seen your earlier posts.  I've been diagnosed with secondary hyperparathyroidism.  Right now we're just trying medadoses of calcium, but I am getting so sick (literally) of swallowing those horse pills.  I've even gotten some chewables but they are just disgusting.  I'd be interested in what happened to cause your need for surgery and how the doc thinks it will help.

 

Thanks!

My endocrinologist has been following my calcium and vitamin D levels for at least 2 years. Originally, i went to him because of a suspected thyroid issue. Indeed, i do have a couple of small benign nodules on the thyroid and he has been watching those every 6 months. My calcium levels have been floating between 10.0 & 10.5, which is actually just a little  high, but they always go back down so we've never had to do anything about it. Parathyroid glands control the calcium in your blood. If there is a little tumor in one or more, they can't control the calcium anymore and the calcium rises. This can lead to bone loss, kidney stones and heart arrhythmias if left untreated.  

The calcium and parathyroid hormone levels were drawn as part of the initial labs ordered by my WLS in September.  I had an appointment with my endo shortly after that and I showed him the labs. When he looked them over, the calcium was 11.2 and the PTH was 84, both in the high range,though not extremely high. The endo said I probably needed to get the parathyroid out but it could wait until after the holidays. I have had no symptoms or anything worrisome going on.

The trouble began when i mentioned it to my WL surgeon. My WLS was already scheduled for Dec 18. I thought maybe i could get this parathyroid done a week or so before the WLS. I've already met all my out-of-pocket deductibles, after all.  Stupid plan. The surgeon decided that he wanted the parathyroid done BEFORE the WLS. Even though my endo called him and told him that it wasn't an  urgent situation and could wait until after the first of the year However, the surgeon has made his decision and he is not budging from it. So he wants the parathyroid out, 2 weeks recovery, blood drawn, and do the WLS a week after that.   A total of 3 weeks between surgeries.

The whole BIG problem here is that my insurance is dropping their bariatric coverage Jan 1. So it's now or never.I have 43 days left to get this WLS done. The surgeon only does his DSs once or twice a week. At this point they are thinking of pushing it back to Dec 31.  If I had had any idea that this would have endangered my WLS I would have NEVER said anything to the surgeon. In fact, he had the blood drawn Sep 26 and until I pointed out the numbers, neither he nor any of his medical staff even gave it a second thought until I said something

So....that is the story of my parathyroid and how it tried to deep-six my WLS.  That surgery is this Friday. I will talk with the coordinator and see if we can keep the original date, Dec. 18 since that would be 3-1/2 weeks post parathyroid surgery.

Thanks. I also have elevated PTH with normal calcium.  I do take thyroid hormone, so I know my regular thyroid isn't functioning, but I don't know if I have any parathyroid tumors or not.  I do, however, have the symptoms of hyperparathyroidism.  VERY sore joints and bones, heart arrhythmias, extreme fatigue, etc.  I'm supposed to wait until December for my next blood test.  The calcium has stayed normal, but the PTH continues to rise.  First time they caught it, it was 87, last time it was 94.  I'm also anemic.  If I need those little buggers out, I wish they'd do it before the end of the year, as I'm at my out-of-pocket maximum too and don't want to start that all over next year.

 

Thanks for sharing your info and best of luck to you!

Linda, don't just ask them to take the parathyroid    out, make sure they scan first to find the tumor. The only reason to ever take out the parathyroids is a tumor. There can be other things that can cause a high parathyroid hormone levels. Low vitamin D will do it, not enough calcium citrate in conjunction with Vitamin D and Vitamin K2. Once your parathyroid is out you then will have to suplement with heavy doses of Calcium citrate to keep a normal amount in your blood going into your bones.

Taking out a parathyroid does not always make things easier for that person. I've gone through it myself and it's not easier after the removal.