Recently someone on the celiac.com forums suggested that I get checked for Hyperparathyroidism. I hadn't really considered it before, especially since I had seen an endocrinologist back in April; I just assumed he had checked for it, or that whatever bloodwork he ran didn't give any indication of it. But upon reading the symptoms, I have quite a lot of them:
weakness and fatigue, depression, bone pain, muscle soreness (myalgias), feelings of nausea and vomiting, constipation, frequent urination, and cognitive impairment.So I went back over the bloodwork I had done earlier this year, and found that my Calcium level was 10.5mg/dl. This is at the very top end of the normal range, according to the lab. This site suggests that a Calcium level that high is worth investigating. Unfortunately I don't think I have ever had my PTH level tested, or at least if it was, I was never given a copy of it.
What prompted the suggestion to investigate hyperparathyroidism is the fact that I had a low Vitamin D level, and that I initially felt better (dramatically better) for a few days on Vitamin D supplements. Fatigue, pain, dizziness, memory- all of it was way better. This improvement only lasted about 3 days, and then I went back to my status quo. One interesting thing I noticed during those good 3 days, was that when I woke up in the morning and got out of bed, my feet felt strange. It took me a few seconds to figure it out, but eventually I realized that for the first time in years my feet actually didn't hurt. It was a pain that I had grown so accustomed to that I no longer even noticed it until it was (briefly) gone!
So I'm neither a doctor nor a scientist, but I can't help wondering if perhaps the Vitamin D therapy initially helped me feel better until my Calcium levels went too high, causing my body to protect itself by tamping down on the available Vitamin D. This site says that's what the body does in the presence of excess Calcium, potentially caused by Hyperparathyroidism.
But to be somewhat skeptical, I get the impression that Hyperparathyroidism isn't terribly common. At least, there aren't a whole lot of support sites out there like there are for Celiac. This leads me to believe that it's somewhat rare, and perhaps I'm just heading down yet another rathole. Well, it can't hurt to ask for a blood test. I have a new doctor appointment coming up in a week. This guy is an internist/rheumatologist who specializes in long term chronic-fatigue type patients. I'll be sure to ask him what he thinks about it.
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Do you have the symptoms from this page? http://thecandidadiet.com/candidasymptoms.htm
ReplyDeleteYou might have a Candida Overgrowth.
nice to see another post from you :)
ReplyDeletei recommend you post a link to your blog to the site of http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=421 together with a short summary of what the problem is and what you did so far.
paul jaminet (owner of the blog) is an extremely bright and knowledgeable guy who speaks from his own experience to overcome similar health problems. for example, increased calcium can be a symptom of increased 1,25 vitamin D (the activated form of D), which in turn can be a symptom of a chronic infection or even sarcoidosis. did you have your 1,25 D level tested once in the past as well?
i also have low vitamin D levels and elevated 1,25 D, so there are some similarities in this picture. i also found out that i have food allergies to about 25 foods, which turned out to play a big part of my lack in energy and drive. most of the foods i always ate up to recently make me dizzy and weak. you are only able to recognize this when you go back to square one and begin with a minimalistic elimination diet that is save (like salmon and rice or something similar), and go from there day by day and build up "safe foods" and leave out everything that make you tired.
I had hyperparatyhroidism. One of my parathyroids was the size of a large grape instead of a grain of rice. It was surgically removed and I went home the next day.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problems I saw from it was a kidney stone and gout. I later found out that I was starting to have osteoporosis at age 32.
Anyway, it's pretty easy to figure out if you have it. Just have your PTH level checked.
Create a [ n=1 ] clinical trial.
ReplyDeletelike this ...
http://www.kk.org/quantifiedself/2010/09/the-inspiring-story-of-sophia.php
methodology:
http://curetogether.com/blog/2010/03/12/how-to-run-a-successful-self-experiment/
Since it was suggested that you check for Hyperparathyroidism, do not miss checking out www.parathyroid.com!! The best no nonsense information, written with straight talk and humor and questions you must ask of the MD! The Endocrinologist you choose is VERY, VERY IMPORTANT! He/she must have the experience of having done "no less than 50 hyperparathyroid surgeries a year, of the latest type, MIRP, taking 16-20 minutes with 1.5 - 2hrs recovery, then go home....or find another doc who has!" Good luck...hope this helps. I signed as Anon. because I didn't get the other choices....not enough of a geek! Mare
ReplyDelete