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Parathyroid disease or thyroid disease?

From: Tamra - 1 year 14 weeks ago

Hello, all. I'm new and I've been struggling with an illness for nearly a year, maybe longer. My endocrinologist found three nodules in my thyroid/parathyroid area. They look benign, but she is doing a biopsy in a few weeks. In the meantime, I have neck pain/tenderness, scaly skin, migraines, heartburn, GERD, nerve pain that runs down my neck and through my body, fatigue, depression and kidney stones.

The doc thinks it has something to do with my thyroid glands, maybe goiter. So why is my parathyroid hormone a 71 one day and a 40 the next? And why does my calcium vary between a 10.4 and a 9.4? I've also had problems keeping my Vitamin D levels up. This sounds like a parathyroid problem, so I guess my question is, can a thyroid issue cause parathyroid disease symptoms?

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Please do check out... by Kourtenay
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Yes, I have been to parathyroid.com. I visit there almost daily. I have printed out many articles from that site to give to my endo. Thanks so much!

Tamra

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I had three of my parathryoids removed when I had a thryoidectomy. I experienced tingling, loss of appetite, migraines, severe nausea and vomiting, and extremely low vitamin b and d levels. My calcium was also extremely low - leading to tingling, and hot and cold flashes. The biopsy tells all. All i can say is from my experience.

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Please do check out www.parathyroid.com I had the same symptoms and struggles even with a misdiagnosis, but went to see Dr. Norman with my gut feeling. I would put off any biopsy until you read his website! The thyroid and the parathyroid are not related. They are just close to each other. Don't hesitate to feel better!

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Kourtenay, my endo would not refer me to Dr. Norman without a biopsy on those thyroid nodules. This endo was my third. The first two just wanted to load me up on Vitamin D, which made the migraines worse. My new endo finally did refer me to Dr. Norman a few weeks ago, and I'm waiting for Dr. Norman or Dr. Politz to call me. I hope they take me, but my highest PTH has only been a 71 and my highest calcium has only been a 10.4. Believe me, though, I'm sick. The migraines, fatigue and GERD are the worst for me. It all seems to worsen with this sunshine.

Thanks!
T.

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Kales, I'm not doctor, but did your surgeon give you calcium after removing the parathyroid glands? Why did the surgeon remove the parathyroid glands?

T.

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I have nodules on my thyroid also, but they did not seem concerned because it is not uncommon. Dr. Norman was unfazed about my nodules - but did suggest to keep an eye on them each year. FYI They will call you back - I think that they usually are in vacation in July. I was not able to get in until August last year.

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Kourtenay, I do hope Dr. Norman takes me and that he removes these nodules. I'd rather have them out because the one on the right feels like it's pinching sometimes. Anyway, he called me last week. None of my endos ordered the right calcium tests, so he sent me to a lab to get the tests done. Luckily (or unluckily) I was feeling awful when I had my first test done, so I'm thinking my CA and PTH were high. I have been having the worst gastro problems. My heartburn and GERD have been unreal. I'm taking two 40 mg Nexium, two Zantac and three Gas-X daily.

The next test is this Tuesday and then I'm hoping to hear back from Dr. Norman later this week. Fingers crossed!

Thanks for all of your advice!
Tamra

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im a 50 year old female i have been having mass kidney stones sence 16 i have bone pain, high bp,low vitamin d, hair thinning, loss of energy, cant concentrate, depression, osteoporosis, cant sleep, memory loss, heart palpitations, gastric acid, headaches, i have 5 fractures in right foot that wont heal, i also have myasthenia gravis, my pth intact calcium is 10.6 my vitamin d is 9.9 and my calcium level 10.7 my doc. tells me everything is fine tamra you said your doc. ordered the wrong calcium test please tell me the right calcium test.

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http://www.parathyroid.com/mini-surgery.htm is a website that has a LOT of information, including common mistakes that doctors make regarding tests and hyperparathyroid disease. I have high calcium, very low vit D and high parathyroid results. I am waiting to get a bone scan and complete a particular type of urine test. It looks like I have hyper-parathyroid disease. I know it is absolutely best to go to a specialist who is very familiar with this problem and a surgeon who does the surgery at least WEEKLY (which I will do). If I have surgery, it will be the mini-parathyroid surgery that is outpatient and much safer. It seems the regular parathyroid surgery is much higher in risk and lower in effectiveness from what I have read. Good luck. Hope this helps.

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Hi, I have just been diagnosed Hyperparathyroidism. I have a pth of 132.9, a calcium level of 10.4 and a vitamin d level of 18. I go today to get a sestamibi scan and ultrsound of my neck. I have stomach pain, depression, Hiatal hernia (very bad heartburn), bone aches and nausea. I have been on parathyroid.com and the issue I am having is that in all of this they say I possibly have Chrohns disease as well... According to Dr Norman. I should not get parathroid surgery if I have Chrohns disease. WHY? The depression alone is enough to kill me... If anyone can help I would appreciate it..

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We teach patients how to eat a little better and reduce their risk of heart disease at the drug addiction treatment in san francisco center i volunteer at their diet and eating habits we try and help with as well.

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This long of a time later I hope that someone informed you that it is serum & ionized calcium that they should be checking. Additionally, it is your PTH intact level that should be checked.

I am now two weeks postoperative from Dr. Norman's MIRP surgery and so far, I would like to kiss the ground he walks on (sorry for ending in a preposition - Ha).

Please don't ever let ANYONE tell you that a calcium level in the ten (10) range is okay. It IS your parathyroid making you sick.

Please also don't let someone on this site tell you that the thyroid and para-thyroid are not interrelated!

Would love to hear of your outcome!

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I pray you have learned by now that you do not need a referral to contact Dr. James Norman. I am a recent patient of his who "self-diagnosed" and within three to four weeks of my initial contact with him I was on a plane to Tampa for my MIRP surgery.

Would like to hear from you, Tamra, and possibly include some of your information in a book I am writing.

Thanks!

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Angelrae,

I, also, would like to know why Dr. Norman said you should not get the parathyroid surgery if you have Chrohns. I mean, obviously, calcium absorption as it relates to our bowel function is absolutely necessary. I hope you will get an answer directly from Dr. Norman since he is very responsive to emails and then post his reply here. I am extremely interested in possibly including this in a section of a book I am presently writing on parathyroid disease. With your permission, of course!

Anxious to hear your reply!

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Very useful info. Hope to see more posts soon!

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I work at as a pain suffering settlements office and I have had clients with this particular issue due to medical malpractice. Have you had any prior surgery or have taken medications for your condition? But I do agree that a second opinion would be best at this point.

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Hi, I have just been diagnosed Hyperparathyroidism. I have a pth of 132.9, a calcium level of 10.4 and a vitamin d level of 18. I go today to get a sestamibi scan and ultrsound of my neck. I have stomach pain, depression, Hiatal hernia (very bad heartburn), bone aches and nausea. I have been on parathyroid.com and the issue I am having is that in all of this they say I possibly have Chrohns disease as well..

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hello everybody,

Diseases of the thyroid and parathyroid include thyroid cancer, benign thyroid nodules, and hyperparathyroidism.

Both the thyroid and the parathyroid are glands in the endocrine system, however, their functions are unrelated. The thyroid helps control metabolism, while the parathyroid regulates the amount of calcium in the body.

Thyroid nodules occur commonly, with the vast majority being benign (non-cancerous) growths.

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