I've Got A New Lease on Life!
I’ve been MIA for a while. I've been on the mend, I’m finally back on the torch, and it sure feels good! (Here is a picture of one of the latest beads)
I am posting this for awareness purposes:
After almost seven years of a “mystery” illness, I was finally diagnosed with Primary Hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). I traveled almost 1,000 miles to The Norman Parathyroid Center in Tampa, Florida for surgery. They are the experts with the most experience, and since this is not very common, I wanted to go to the best! They removed a tumor and one of my parathyroid glands, and the restoration of my health has been remarkable! I am so grateful to Dr. Politz and Dr. Norman for giving me a new lease on life. I feel AMAZING!
Best Source of Information: http://www.parathyroid.com/
Parathyroids have nothing to do with the thyroid. Hyperparathyroidism is not very common, and therefore, often goes undiagnosed and/or misdiagnosed. Most doctors know about HPT, but do not know it well.
From the Norman Website: The ONLY purpose of the parathyroid glands is to regulate the calcium level in our bodies within a very narrow range so that the nervous and muscular systems can function properly. This is all they do. They measure the amount of calcium in the blood every minute of every day... and if the calcium levels go down a little bit, the parathyroid glands recognize it and make parathyroid hormone (PTH) which goes to the bones and takes some calcium out (makes a withdrawal from the calcium vault) and puts it into the blood. When the calcium in the blood is high enough, then the parathyroids shut down and stop making PTH.
Hyperparathyroidism occurs when one (or more) of the four parathyroid glands grows into a tumor and behaves inappropriately by constantly making excess parathyroid hormone regardless of the level of calcium. In other words, one of the parathyroid glands has lost its control mechanism and continues to make large amounts of parathyroid hormone without paying attention to how high the blood calcium is. Thus, even when the calcium level is high--when the parathyroids should not be making any hormone at all--one of the glands keeps making hormone. Why? Because one of the parathyroid glands developed a benign tumor and lost its inhibitions and controls.
Inappropriate blood calcium levels can make you sick and very symptomatic. For the past six years (especially the last two), I had many of the symptoms. In October, my body lost the ability to regulate my blood pressure. My BP was very erratic, spiking to 222/116 and dropping to 95/55. These swings often made me feel like I was going to pass out. This is what took me back to the doctor.
Once the lab results were in, I again heard high calcium, and again it was dismissed. I did some research on my own, and found Dr. Norman’s website. It is so informative, and I became educated. I could not believe what I was reading… only EVERYTHING I had been telling my doctor for years! I emailed my labs to Dr. Norman, and they confirmed that my numbers warranted pursuing PHPT as a possible diagnosis. I then did a self referral, had a consultation with Dr. Politz and surgery was scheduled.
Again, I am sharing this for awareness purposes. It is a shame that this went undiagnosed for so many years. Not only does this disease make you feel sick, it MAKES you sick. It causes kidney stones (which I had almost two weeks after surgery), will cause osteoperosis 100% of the time as it leaches the calcium from your bones, has been linked to breast and prostrate cancer, decreases your life expectancy by years, and many other things...
A bit of advice: If you are having ongoing, unresolved issues, do your own research! You need to take an active part, along with your doctor, in your healthcare.