OT hyperparathyroidism

[micky]

OT I just found out I have hyperparathyroidism.

I'm in the middle of scheduling surgery. But I still have quesitons.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Please post or email. To email remove NONONO.

[micky]

No. I've never had that.

But my calcium and parathyroid hormone are high on 2 or more blood tests.

[Stormin Mormon]

I'd suggest to go to a second doctor, and not tell him about the first. See if the second MD agrees. Before anything as invasive as surgery.

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

. .

[micky]

Thanks. I've been to a surgeon already and I noticed that he didnt' rely on the endorcrinologist. He went over the blood tests, Calcium, Parathyroid Hormone, and they are both too high, measured over 3 and 2 repetitions of the tests respectively. Plus the bone density scan is bad, the most likely problem that follows from this.

The disadvantage is that if I did nothing, I'd likely have lots of problems and I would die an average of 5 years earlier. The advantage is that after the bad gland or two (out of four) is removed, soon, some problems it causes (that I don't have) go away within hours or days, the bone density stops getting worse within minutes and reverses to some degree. (I'm already for a month now taking Fosamax, which was developed by Fossie Bear.)

One side effect is memory problems. It will be interesting to see if I stop saying "I don't remember" as often as I do, here and elsewhere. (I don't expect that, but we'll see.)

I've also read loads of webpages and since the bone density is bad and the blood tests are confrimed. there's no doubt the diagnosis is correct. An ultrasound seemed to find one bad gland, but I haven't seen the report or the image yet. (It used to be you had to finagle or lie to see reports and films. but now it's easy. There are checkboxes already on the form for image, report, and both. I think this is because of some new or rather new law** The first copy of the CD is free. (after someone pays 100 or 200 or 500 for them to take the picture.) **When I leave an office visit, I like it that they offer me, and I sometimes take it, a summary report of that days' office appointment, and the office manager said that was because of the Obamacare law.

It was about choosing a surgeon, both of whom are almost surely good, but there seem to be substantial differences in their procedures, and that's why I needed someone who'd been through this. General questions are not the issue here. (It's an uncommon problem, 20,000 cases a year maybe. but I was in a quandary so I asked here. It was worth a try. I'll go read the web for a few more hours.)

Yes, of course it's good to get a second opinion. Obamacare standards require paying for second opinions. Though there's no need to do that here. Even my brother, who's a radiologist and hasn't been in general medicine for 49 years, knew about the calcium, the hormone, the bone density and the remedy. He knew about coffee and coca-cola, both of which I came accross on the web. I know he's smart but I don't know how he knows all that.

[Retirednoguilt]

[big snip]

My advice is that you need to say to both surgeons you are considering, "I've also heard that there's an alternate procedure that involves doing ........ What are the advantages of what you're proposing instead, and how do the chances of success and the risks of complications compare between the two procedures?"

If either of the surgeons doesn't satisfy you with their answer (or with their attitude towards your question), I would strongly consider using the other surgeon. If both satisfy you, there's often more than one acceptable operation to treat a specific condition and then each surgeon's specific experience (# of cases treated and % of good outcomes) becomes quite relevant to your final decision. Sometimes, it's really a toss-up, in which case your decision which to use becomes almost irrelevant.

Personally, I would rather use a surgeon who was straightforward about risks and outcomes and would avoid using a surgeon who tries to overly reassure me or who tells me to "leave everything to me."