Symptoms and Worries

[ob53]

I am a 56 year old male who was in very good physical condition up until a couple of weeks ago. I have been experiencing brain fog (hard to concentrate, confusion, stay on task, remember things), anxiety, dizziness, headaches especially around the temples, fatigue in the afternoon/evening, muscle tension, funny taste in mouth, more frequent urination which tends to be foamy, occasional right-side around kidney area pain, uneven blood pressure readings (130/90 to 108/80 to 150/100), my temperature has been at 96.6 all week, blood tests reveal calcium at 10.6 and PTH at 90. I have been taking propanolol 40 mg twice a day for the past 2 or 3 weeks. I had my gall bladder removed almost 3 years ago and had irradiation therapy for tonsillitis at age 3 yrs old.
I am seeing my primary care doctor on Tuesday but he seems to be uninterested in imaging/endocrinology consult.
Any thoughts or things I may ask him/urge him to look for?
Thank you.

[stella5349]

You should read the site Tamara offered. Can't ask for more information on parathyroid and you will be armed with a ton of information when you go to the doctor of your choice.

[stella5349]

Yes - I lean toward that myself... parathyroids. Especially gall bladder history - that's and the calcium is a total warning sign.

[ob53]

Thank you for your note- it is what I suspected and have an appt with my GP tomorrow. Fortuntaley, we have some great surgeons in teh Boston area (esp Mass Eye and Ear for ENT problems).
Thanks again.

[TamraW]

Ah, ha! This sounds like parathyroid disease, easily remedied by a simple surgery to take out the bad gland. Your calcium, though some labs will say is normal, is high. Good calcium should average in the nines. Mine is a steady 9.6. PTH should be below 65. Mine averages 30-32 from week to week.

If you were to get blood tests, (serum and ionized calcium and PTH) weekly for three weeks, and you notice your calcium and PTH  jump around or just stay in the high range, that would be a definite indicator of hyperparathyroidism.

The kidney/bladder issues is probably kidney stones. The parathyroid glands are four little glands next to the thyroid lobes. Don't confuse the two. One does not control the other. When a parathryoid goes bad  it turns to a parathyroid tumor (not cancer or your PTH would be MUCH higher). This takes too much calcium from the bones and dumps it in the bloodstream, causing kidney stones, constipation, heartburn, GERD, you name it! It is not a fun disease, but out of all the endocrine problems, it is the ONE to get, because a simple surgery fixes it.

DO NOT LET A DOCTOR TELL YOU TO WAIT AND SEE!!! WAITING CAUSES OSTEOPEROSIS AND A HOST OF OTHER ISSUES! Do not just take vitamin D or calcium meds. More calcium actually makes the stones, etc worse. It doesn't matter how much calcium you take, the bad parathyroid will just suck it out of the bones and dump it back into the blood.

Take care of it now, and if you want the BEST doctor, go to Dr. Norman in Tampa. The procedure is less than 20 minutes. You are eating dinner that night with your family. Heck, make a Disney World trip out of it.

Here's his website: www.parathyroid.com

I have a friend who did not go to Dr. Norman. She went to a general surgeon, and her vocal cord was damaged. She has to get therapy, etc.

You will also get TONS of info on parathyroid disease from Dr. Norman's website, because most endos treat diabetes, not parathyroid, and they are clueless.

Best of luck!

:) Tamra