Parathyroid issues: does anybody know anything useful?

[MariJo7]

A close relative of mine has beed diagnosed with hyperparathyroidism (I hope I got the term right) which means one or more of her parathyroid glands produce too much parathyroid hormone.

This causes too high calsium levels in the blood and also osteoporosis. She already has osteoporosis . They are still going to do more tests. If the condition is severe they will probably operate her (remove one or more glands). Otherwise they will just follow up and give her osteoporosis medication.

I have found a lot of information about thyroid issues on the internet but there is hardly anything to be found about parathyroid malfunction. I wonder if anybody here happens to know anything useful such as dietary recommendations, supplements, herbs, anything.

[sweetpeasmommy]

Surgery is nearly always needed from what I've read. DH had high calcium several tests in a row so I've read a little. hyper parathyroidism is a known side effect of one of his meds, but he didn't follow up with the Dr and now his calcium is better so and


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[ArmsOfLove]

I was treated for hyperparathyroid and I will try to share what I can remember.

Do you know if they have primary or secondary??? This is a description of both with information http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...n/con-20022086

I had low levels of calcium and dangerously low levels of vitamin D.

The first thing they did was tell me to increase my calcium, but also put me on a protocol of, iirc, 50,000 IU of vitamin D daily for two weeks (?) and then had me stop and waited a certain amount of time and then tested again.

I ended up firing my first endo and demanded a second opinion from my insurance. LOVED my second endo (I cannot overemphasize the need for loving your doctor if you have a serious issue -- they need to listen to you and actually care about your well being).

My second endo had me on 50,000 IU's of vitamin D a day before the levels stayed up where she was comfortable. She wanted it closer to 100. (even recently when testing showed my levels down in the 30's I could fee the exhaustion and when I added in vitamin D3 I started feeling MUCH better).

Basically in secondary hyperparathyroidism the levels of D3 are needed so that you are absorbing calcium from your diet and not from your bones/intestines. When the calcium levels aren't high enough the parathyroid kicks out MORE hormone and your body starts using your own bones for required calcium. When you increase the D levels the calcium levels from your diet increase and you don't need to have it stripped from your bones.

If it's primary then it's due to an enlarged parathyroid gland and that has to be treated differently. The link I included has info on both if you scroll through

[MariJo7]

Thank you very much, both of you! It is the primary type. It is my mom and she has been diagnosed with this "hypercalcemia" (too much calcium in her blood and osteoporosis). She has been advised to take extra vitamin D but to stop with taking extra calcium. She will have more tests done in a couple of months.

I'm really grateful for every grain of information.

[MamaSam]

I was recently diagnosed with secondary hyperparathyroidism..I had never heard of it I guess it's got something to do with my kidney disease. The dr didn't test my vitamin d levels...calcium was fine...parathyroid hormone was pretty high. I was put on a vitamin d supplement I don't understand though because my calcium level was normal. If you learn anything or anyone else understands...I would appreciate the info!!

[MariJo7]

Originally Posted by MamaSam

I was recently diagnosed with secondary hyperparathyroidism..I had never heard of it I guess it's got something to do with my kidney disease. The dr didn't test my vitamin d levels...calcium was fine...parathyroid hormone was pretty high. I was put on a vitamin d supplement I don't understand though because my calcium level was normal. If you learn anything or anyone else understands...I would appreciate the info!!

I'll keep my eyes and ears open!

As far as for now, I have learned that primary HT is mostly caused by a benign tumor called Adenoma. It causes one or more of the parathyroid glands to produce too much parathyroid hormone.

And secondary HT is caused by another disease or dysfunction. That's why they call it secondary. The calcium levels are mostly normal but there is often a lack of vitamine D.
Vitamine D is needed to get the calcium where it belongs, with other words, the bones . If your calsium level in the blood is normal it does not guarantee the calsium sticks to the bones.
I once heard, log ago as a school kid, that if you compare the calsium and the phosphor to the bricks in a wall, vitamine D would be like the cement that glues the bricks together. You may have enough bricks to build the "wall of your skeleton" but still have not enough cement. That's why you need the vitamine D .

And these

[ArmsOfLove]

Originally Posted by MamaSam

I was recently diagnosed with secondary hyperparathyroidism..I had never heard of it I guess it's got something to do with my kidney disease. The dr didn't test my vitamin d levels...calcium was fine...parathyroid hormone was pretty high. I was put on a vitamin d supplement I don't understand though because my calcium level was normal. If you learn anything or anyone else understands...I would appreciate the info!!

The link I posted addresses that I believe