Hyperparathyroidism

Question: Hyperparathyroidism? I am a 14 year old girl. I have had lots of urinary tract infections, kidney infections, and 3 kidney stones. I have also had heartburn alot. I am also only 4'9". I know that kidney stones, heartburn, and decreased height are some of the symptoms of Hyperparathyroidism. Is there a possibility of me having Hyperparathyroidism?

Answer: I suggest you get tested. HPT (Hyperparathyroidism) is most often suspected when a high level of calcium is found in your blood on a routine blood test. The test results can help your family doctor make the diagnosis even before any problems start. This is one benefit of having regular blood tests. Further blood testing proves the diagnosis, usually by measuring the amount of PTH in your blood.

Question: What are the symptoms of hyperparathyroidism? Is it debilitating? Can it be cured? The parathyroid gland controls the amount of vitamin D and calcium in your bones.

Answer: The parathyroid glands control the absorbtion and secretion of calcium in the body. I dont know too much about it, but I know when you have a total thyroidectomy, the parathyroids are in the thyroid glands and have to be re implanted during the surgery to keep your calcium level up. Look up the word hypercalcemia and you will see how hyperparathyroidism works. I imagine since the word hyper starts the disease, its over secretion of calcium into the blood

Question: what are the effects of chronic secondary hyperparathyroidism? 50,000iu of vit d keeps it at 30 but PTH still at 185. This has ben going on for 18 months.

Answer: Secondary hyperparathyroidism is caused usually by renal failure but also by vitamin D deficiency. The blood picture is affected by the cause. Treatment is mainly with calcium and vitamin d (calcitriol) as you are having. It requires regular monitoring to get the balance right. There is a natural tendency to have high PTH values and low Vitamin D values. If the results are not improving with treatment you should have a chat with your doctor or an endocrinologist.

Question: Can hyperparathyroidism cause degenerative disc disease? i found out yesterday that i have hyperparathyroidism (where your at least one parathyroid has a tumor that causes it to take calcium from your bones) and i was wondering if it caused my degenerative disc disease the levels of calcium in your blood are higher because it is taking it from the bones i know that it causes ostioparosis but i cant find any conection to degenerative disc disease. i found out about my discs last april, but i still thinh it was caused by the hyperparathyroidism. i shouldnt have either one thow because i am only 18.

Answer: I would certainly think it is possible. Doctors might have diagnosed it as degenerative disc disease in the traditional sense. But, if not the cause, it most certainly would be a contributory factor. Check the link to the Mayo Clinic below. First complication listed is osteoporosis... bone loss. Best of luck to you. Watch out for development of kidney stones!

Question: Have you or anyone you know been diagnosed with hyperparathyroidism? If so what was your (or the person's) symptoms, what type of treatment did you (they) get, and did that treatment help?

Answer: hyperparathyroidism is due to overproduction of parathormone which is a natural hormone produced by parathyroid glands in our body. when excess quantity is secreated due to either increase in size of one or some of the total four glands present usually in our neck, behind the thyroid gland and on the side of our voice box or due to tumour formation ( benign-non cancer or cancer ) than it cause disturbance in calcium metabolism. normally the hormone is responsible for mobilization of calcium from the bone and increasing it's level in the blood. when this metabolic function starts playing at a much faster rate excess calcium is mobilized from our bones, the level of calcium in our blood rises and more of it is excreated in the urine, as kidnies try to maintain a normal body invironment by throwing our excess calcium. the symptoms of it are a group --" broken bones-fractures due to small forces, kidney stones-due to excess calcium in the urine getting supersaturated and cystellizing, abdominal grons-high levels of calcium in the blood causing our smooth muscle of the intestine to contract violently and causing abdominal spasmodic pain episodes, psychic mones-mood upsets again related to hight calcium in the blood. the treatment is identifing the exact location of the ofending parathyroid glands by various scans and then undergoing surgery to get rid of these ofending glands overproducing the parathormone. when the cause is delt with the results are bound to be good. i am a surgeon so i may be able to clear your query.

Question: What levels are considered to be hyperparathyroidism?

Answer: Hyperparathyroidism is relatively easy to detect because the parathyroid glands will be making an inappropriately large amount of parathyroid hormone in the face of an elevated serum calcium. This is straightforward and simple to measure. Another way to confirm this diagnosis is by measuring the amount of calcium in the urine over a 24-hour period of time. If the kidneys are functioning normally they will filter much of this calcium in an attempt to rid the body of calcium leading to an and an abnormally large amount of calcium in the urine. Measuring calcium in the urine, however, is an indirect measure of parathyroid activity and is only accurate in about 25 to 40 percent of the time. The most accurate and definitive way to diagnose primary hyperparathyroidism is by showing an elevated parathyroid hormone level in the face of an elevated serum calcium.

Question: what is the difference between hyperparathyroidism and hypercalcemia?

Answer: Hyperparathyroidism is an abnormal condition of the parathyroids. They release excessive amounts of PTH, parathyroid hormone, and this in turn pulls calcium from the bones and increases serum calcium levels (calcium in the blood). Hypercalcemia is a condition of high levels of calcium in the blood as a result of a disorder or malignancy of the parathyroids. The difference is that one causes the other.

Question: Is there an effective alternative to Sensipar in chronic renal failure/treatment of hyperparathyroidism? Any natural augmentation for the med; rx of sx nausea, or other meds I read about but not yet proven or approved in US? So far removal seems only treatment. Any info is appreciated.

Answer: Mainly surgery is the only alternative

Question: what is it like to live with hyperparathyroidism? i am doing a research project for my anatomy class and i have to describe how hyperparathyroidism changes your life and what its like to live with. if anyone who's had it or knows someone who's had it could give me some ideas or describe what its like, that would be greatly appreciated :]

Answer: alyssa! heres some info :D symptoms include: * "moans" (complaints of not feeling well) * "groans" (abdominal pain, gastroesophageal reflux) * "stones" (kidney) * "bones" (bone pain) * "psychiatric overtones" (lethargy, fatigue, depression, memory problems). ouch....what fun!

Question: Parathyroid disease or hyperparathyroidism? If anyone has been diagnosed with this and had the surgery, please help me and tell me some details!

Answer: HI, I had thyroid cancer and the doctors told me during surgery my parathyroid glands went into shock. I don't know if it's the same as having the disease, but my body no longer absorbs calcium because of this. I have to take a prescription drug called Calcitriol so that any calcium I put in my body gets absorbed. If I skip any days I start feeling weak and my lip will tremble, a nerve in my thigh will get a tic, my fingers cramp up like having a charlie horse...it's not fun, but as long as I take that pill and eat or drink something with calcium I have not had any problems. Hope this helps.