Parathyroid.com is the world's leading authority on parathyroid glands and parathyroid disease. Hyperparathyroidism, parathyroid mini-surgery, parathyroid tumors, parathyroid hormone problems, and high blood calcium are all discussed.
Hi Dr.! I’ve had 2 Parathyroid surgeries about 10 years apart. My last surgery was last November. I’m now down to one gland. My question is, do you recommend yearly testing for our other family members? My sister and Mother were diagnosed in the last year and have both had surgery and seem to be doing well.
I have the same case I am 27 and, the mibi scanne shows that the size of the Tomour is 35*22 mm almost 40 My pth is more than 2000 and calcium level is normal . my opération gonna be this Friday and am nervous I hope it goes well
My surgeon removed 2 glands put couldn’t find 1. I continue to get blood work and have had the pth at 50 on one of the labs although the calcium was below 10. Should I continue with labs or what do you recommend?
Thank you Dr. Mitchell for the successful surgery, healing me of parathyroid disease in 2018. I'm doing great!!! I am so grateful to God and to you and to the Norman Parathyroid Center.
Dear Doctor, thank you very much for the information. Parathormone: 88 Calcium: 9.2 Vitamin D: 40 Kidney and liver function tests are normal. Nothing abnormal was seen on USG. Is surgery necessary just because of high PTH? Or could this PTH elevation be a temporary condition?
I’d like to talk to you about a patient of mine who’s endured three failed parathyroid surgeries. Has one gland left and still hypercalcemic. She has PTSD from everything she’s been through. I’m in Seattle and my patient happens to be in Florida now.
Dr. Mitchell would love to reach out to you about this patient-- feel welcome to drop your email here for him to follow up, or email him directly at jmitchell@parathyroid.com
Yes we accept Medicare. If you fill out the new patient form on our website, a member of our team will reach out to you and verify all of your insurance info before going any further. Thanks!
The sestamibi parathyroid scan is a procedure in nuclear medicine which is performed to localize parathyroid adenoma, which causes Hyperparathyroidism. You can learn more about these scans, and why they are often incorrect, here: www.parathyroid.com/sestamibi.htm
Hello from KS 🌻 My PTH is 263 but my calcium is normal. My Dr finally referred me to an endocrinologist. I wish I could just fly there & have surgery. It’s out of network for my health ins. I’ve filled out the calcium pro app. My score is on the high side of possible. My thyroid ultrasound and Nuc med study were normal. What questions should I ask at my endocrine consult?
I practice in the Pacific Northwest. I refer hyper parathyroid patients to your offed only. Given the distance I’m asking my patients to travel, I want to be certain I’ve got the right dx. So I try to get three sets of labs with Ca and PTH. Sometimes the Ca will go back under 10, and I’m not so sure it’s hyper parathyroidism. Because of our location, I put most of my patients on high doses of D - 5000-10000 with most pts achieving a D level of 70-100. If Ca levels are >10, with PTH in normal range, how should I interpret this to avoid patients having to travel such a great distance unnecessarily?
Yes, our surgeons typically like to have three sets of labs to make a proper diagnosis. Vitamin D does play a role in our diagnosis as over supplementation can raise the blood Calcium levels a few points. We would take that into account when analyzing the patient’s labs. For your peace of mind, we do not put patients through our intake process without screening the labs you submit. We first qualify the labs and may ask for labs to be redrawn if we feel supplements (Calcium or Vit D) are playing a role in the patient’s results. We base our diagnosis on age related Calcium and PTH levels and we do not use additional diagnosis testing. We know “normal” lab values are often missed in a positive diagnosis. In these cases, we would use additional factors like a positive Dexa scan, kidney stones and symptoms related to hyperparathyroidism. We do ask a patient to travel here from that great distance unless we have made a proper positive diagnosis so please feel comfortable in referring patients to our website to complete our new patient form.
parathyroidectomy I an on Dialysis for 10.5 years. My PTH is 1288... I need that sergery. Will 1,2,3 or 3 1/2 of my parathyroid glands need to be removed. Share your experience so that i can be benifited.
Thank you I loved this video. My surgery is coming up soon I'm hoping it goes as seamless as this did. Question, can they do a muscle tissue biopsy at the same time as they remove the parathyroid tumors?
My husband had doctor after doctor for over decade see his high calcium. Finally he saw a doctor who saw high calcium and told him.about Dr. Norman. At surgery the PTH was 4000. Before the diagnosis he had prostrate cancer. The surgery was done by Norman in 13 minutes. His health, disposition and cognitive skills improved but finally stomach cancer with kidney failure and sepsis ended his life. Cause of death in my opinion was complications of parathyroid tumors not heart attack. High calcium is a killer just like diabetes with high sugar. Every blood test should check calcium and PTH.
From a nursing student: fantastic video! Straightforward explanation of the effects of hyperparathyroidism, and the animation is really helpful. Thank you!
I have had all these conditions/symptoms for the better part of 20 years. I have had to have bypass surgery, hernia surgeries failed because of the bypass incisions, have osteoporosis , brain fog, aches and pains, bone pain. I am just now becoming a patient and would not even know this with out my doctor doing the tests I asked for. Thank You for informing the public and associates that this is out there and there is a cure.
So very simplistic and helpful explanation. I discovered this problem in 2017, and am now moving towards treatment . Hoping my hair stops thinning and coming out.
Thank you for your service! I’m going to share this with my surgeon in Phoenix. I am scheduled for next Friday. I have waited almost 2 year for them to find it, then the pandemic hit! God willing, I feel as if I am in the eye of the storm! Thank you for telling us it cures this curse! I pray it doesn’t affect my voice. That is my only concern now. God Bless!
I have read that in is not uncommon for patients to have hyperparathyroidism with normal calcium levels. What are your thoughts? I ask because I presented with symptoms of hyperparathyroidism for several years and had a fall one year ago. I sustained a fall May 1, 2019 and It was assumed that I suffered an the L4-L5 herniation. I had an L4-L5 decompression with no benefits and had 2 post-operative MRIIs. The second post-operative MRI in a larger facility indicated bilateral sacral fractures. I have been living with bilateral sacral fractures for almost a year!! I was immediately scheduled for a bone scan and a bone density test. I am 5"3 ( lost 1/2 an inch) and 101 pounds at 58 years of age fitting the criteria for osteoporosis: small petite female frame, weight loss, fair skin, with a matriarch of women with fractured hips. The lowest T score in my bone density tests was -3.6. I resent having the symptoms I have endured over the last 6-7 years as somatic associated with mental illness and this association has contributed to a decline is psychological wellness. I wake up and I feel nauseous and take Dimenhydrinate 50mg several times a day. I eat because of nausea and I stop eating during a meal because of nausea. I've lost weight and feel ill and... my calcium levels are "normal". And to think... the answer for several healthcare providers was to prescribe Tecta: a proton pump inhibiter and that contributes to calcium loss and osteoporosis. I have been taking Teriparatide injections for approximately 3 weeks coupled with calcium and vitamin D supplementation and realize that I could be exacerbating the prevailing severe osteoporosis I am living with in taking these medications and supplementation if I do in fact have a hyper parathyroid. I am talking about the Canadian Health Care system in the Okanagan of British Columbia. I review my medical charts and see that Calcium serum and urine tests coupled with phosphorus levels all seem normal other than a renal reaction to Olmetec Plus leading to the conclusion that I have thin filtration membrane nephropathy. Perhaps I should have had my parathyroid hormone level tested before I paid for private pay lumbar decompression surgery. I need to request tests that measure the PTH and vitamin D level. Thank you for your informative video.
10.7 Calcium, PTH 89.5, Diagnosed with Bipolar 1 at age 49... Had to beg my PCP to test PTH. Finally seeing an Endocrinologist in two days. Praying he is not behind the times!
Just had the procedure done 3 days ago. I was in and out in about 5 hours. Went home with very minimal pain. Throat was sore a couple days from the oxygen tube but now it is back to normal. Doctor said mine was swollen to the size of a ping pong ball. Mine had been producing way to much calcium which led to dozens of kidney stones. Currently I feel great. Don’t do like I did and put this simple procedure off for several years. Get it taken care of.
