Hyperparathyroidism Support Group
Hyperparathyroidism is overactivity of the parathyroid glands resulting in excess production of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Increased PTH consequently leads to increased serum calcium (hypercalcemia) due to 1) increased bone resorption, allowing flow of calcium from bone to blood, 2) reduces renal clearance of calcium, and 3) increases intestinal calcium absorption.
Hello, all. I wanted to relate my recent experience.
First, I've progressed from "suspected" to "diagnosed" hyperparathyroidism. A carefully assembled history referencing bloodwork, symptoms, timelines, etc., seems to have helped my endocrinologist come to a quick conclusion. I'm being lined up for pre-op tests (sestamibi, ultrasound and more bloodwork, bone density scan) and hope to have things corrected in a month or so.
Meanwhile, as I'm sure many are, I live with symptoms that include palpitations, digestive disorders (ugh...especially in the early morning), anxiety, sleep disorders, depression & just about everything that seems possible from this thing.
The positive event centers around stress relief. My wife and I took a wonderful 10-day vacation. My everyday life includes a highly stressful job, and I wasn't sure how to separate the effects of that from the symptoms of HPT. Vacation seemed to indicate that although I maintained some symptoms, the stress relief made a huge difference in many of them. I slept better, had less anxiety, the metallic taste in my mouth all but disappeared (could've been a temporarily "normal" calcium level, there) and I thought more clearly. Sure enough, returning to work made my symptoms return to the more familiar, excessive level.
I'd thought all along that there was more than just high calcium affecting me. What I believe happens is that during high calcium episodes, where on a scale of 0-10 it might take a "3" to send me into anxiety, stress relief made me much more tolerant...maybe an "8" would become the trigger under low stress. My digestive system presented fewer problems, and I felt much better. Stress would seem to amplify any symptoms that HPT would present, and this makes sense given the close connection Calcium has to the Central Nervous System.
I'd certainly recommend any practical stress relief methods that might be available to you, whether that's taking a day (week!) off (if possible), meditation (if that works for you), or whatever fits your lifestyle.
It would be easy to mistake a "commonality" with a "causality", but stress relief seems the best explanation for my symptom relief.
I hope this helps others awaiting surgical relief.
First, I've progressed from "suspected" to "diagnosed" hyperparathyroidism. A carefully assembled history referencing bloodwork, symptoms, timelines, etc., seems to have helped my endocrinologist come to a quick conclusion. I'm being lined up for pre-op tests (sestamibi, ultrasound and more bloodwork, bone density scan) and hope to have things corrected in a month or so.
Meanwhile, as I'm sure many are, I live with symptoms that include palpitations, digestive disorders (ugh...especially in the early morning), anxiety, sleep disorders, depression & just about everything that seems possible from this thing.
The positive event centers around stress relief. My wife and I took a wonderful 10-day vacation. My everyday life includes a highly stressful job, and I wasn't sure how to separate the effects of that from the symptoms of HPT. Vacation seemed to indicate that although I maintained some symptoms, the stress relief made a huge difference in many of them. I slept better, had less anxiety, the metallic taste in my mouth all but disappeared (could've been a temporarily "normal" calcium level, there) and I thought more clearly. Sure enough, returning to work made my symptoms return to the more familiar, excessive level.
I'd thought all along that there was more than just high calcium affecting me. What I believe happens is that during high calcium episodes, where on a scale of 0-10 it might take a "3" to send me into anxiety, stress relief made me much more tolerant...maybe an "8" would become the trigger under low stress. My digestive system presented fewer problems, and I felt much better. Stress would seem to amplify any symptoms that HPT would present, and this makes sense given the close connection Calcium has to the Central Nervous System.
I'd certainly recommend any practical stress relief methods that might be available to you, whether that's taking a day (week!) off (if possible), meditation (if that works for you), or whatever fits your lifestyle.
It would be easy to mistake a "commonality" with a "causality", but stress relief seems the best explanation for my symptom relief.
I hope this helps others awaiting surgical relief.
Glad you got some relief!
Thanks for the interesting post. I've had this disease now for a couple of years. During that time, I've felt mostly awful, but there have been periods where I've felt somewhat better, and a few days here and there where I've actually felt normal.
This past summer I was feeling better -- so much better, in fact, that my surgery was cancelled. My pre-op calcium levels came back normal and my endo was on vacation. The covering doc recommended cancelling surgery so I did. Now levels are up again.
Stress? Maybe. Summer was definitely more mellow.
I agree that stress relief can help with anything, so it's definitely a good idea.
I also think that calcium levels fluctuate in the disease and that's one reason that they way people feel fluctuates. I think avoiding calcium-rich foods (however nuts that may seem in our calcium-obsessed culture) is probably helpful. Drinking a ton of water can also help keep calcium levels as low as possible, or so I hear. My endo told me to do that to help avoid kidney stones, too.
I think I read somewhere that physical activity can lower calcium levels.
All this may be total hearsay, but stress reduction, drinking lots of water, and exercising can't hurt! Avoiding calcium rich foods probably can't, either.
I find that acupuncture helps me somewhat, but it's possible that it does so because of the relaxation and stress-relief component.
I would love to hear others' experiences about what, if anything, has helped.
Missy