HYPERPARATHYROIDISM
Three months ago I had never heard of hyperparathyroidism or a parathyroidectomy .....fast forward to two weeks ago, and I was being rolled into surgery to have one of my parathyroid
glands removed. Somewhere along the way that particular gland had decided
to "go forth and multiply" and turned itself into an adenoma that pumped far
too much hormone into my blood (hyperparathyroidism), causing the calcium to get leached out of
my bones and into my bloodstream.
The only fix was surgery (a parathyroidectomy), and seeing that one in 50 women over 50 is likely to get hyperparathyroidism, I thought I'd do a brief overview of my
journey in case you ever have a blood test that shows an elevated PTH
(parathyroid hormone) level, or if you get diagnosed with high blood calcium or osteoporosis down
the track......
DIAGNOSIS
I wrote a post a couple of months ago about my journey to this point - the blood tests, the referral to an endocrinologist, the nuclear medicine scan, the CT scan, and the bone density scan. Feel free to click over to it if you want more info about hyperparathyroidism and I won't cover it all again and bore everyone to death!That part of the journey landed me in the surgeon's office, and after a discussion about the need to remove the offending gland, we booked a date for a month or so later (thankfully I now have full private health cover after needing it for my hip replacement last year - bad things can always have a silver lining!) My operation was supposed to be today, but I had a phone call from his rooms offering me an earlier date, and I figured I'd grab it and get things over and done with.
SURGERY
The surgery itself was quite straightforward - I was surprised to hear that it would take around 1½ hours (the same amount of time as my hip operation). I guess it takes a while because the access area is so small, and it's a fiddly procedure. I was advised that they'd aim for a "minimally invasive" approach, but might need to go bigger if the gland wasn't easily accessible. Fortunately, I woke up with a small incision and not the full "smile" that thyroid patients get.
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| image via: hyperparathyroidectomymd |
RECOVERY
To make it easier to be checked by the nurses regularly (for my airway and also a bit of heart arrhythmia from the anaesthetic), I was in a shared room right next to the nurses' station (hence the noise) with a lady who'd had the same operation as me. She and I had a very similar monitoring and recovery process and it was actually quite pleasant having someone to chat to while the hours passed by.
I was surprisingly pain free in my throat, although I had a cracking headache (probably due to the anaesthesia and the low blood pressure) that took a long time to resolve. Some pain meds for the headache also helped my sore throat, and I was in remarkably good shape and ready to go home first thing the next morning after a follow-up blood test.
HOME AND HAPPY
It was so pleasant to arrive home and to settle into my own comfortable
clothes and routine. I'd hoped that a shower would remove all the purple
line markings and pink steri wash that was all over my neck and chest, but
they were quite stubborn and it took three days for them to finally
disappear. Other than that, I've had no pain, no problems with breathing or
swallowing. I did have a bit of a cough reflex and a croaky voice if I
talked for more than a few minutes at a time. Both those cleared up over the
following days and recovery was a walk in the park.
Other than that, the surgeon told me to take calcium and Vit D supplements for a few weeks because my remaining parathyroid glands had been dormant (while the one with the tumour was overdoing everything). They needed to wake up and start working again, and in the meantime my blood calcium levels would be a bit low. I did notice night-time leg and foot cramps for a week or two - which I think were related to those lowered calcium levels, but they eventually went away as everything settled back to normal.
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| Day 3 and Day 7 post-op (and yes I like pink tee shirts 😄) |
So, I have a final follow up with my surgeon in a couple of days, but he
told me that my PTH had already dropped significantly after the operation,
so I'm hoping this will be the end of my hospital visits for the foreseeable
future. I'm not a great patient (patience is not my middle name!) and I much
prefer being healthy to being stuck in a hospital bed. So onwards and upwards
from here on, and if you've read this far.....thank you for your interest - and also to all who sent me good wishes and prayers, I was SO appreciative of
your care and support - my online community absolutely rocks!
A FINAL UPDATE (3 WEEKS POST-SURGERY)
Two and half weeks after my op I went back to the surgeon for my final follow up appointment (after yet another blood test!) and he was pleased with how it all went. The parathyroid gland he removed was 10X its original size (which explains why I had so much parathyroid hormone pumping around). Now it's out, my body has to readjust - the other parathyroid glands need to wake up and start doing their job again - for some people that rebalancing takes a little time.
It turns out, I'm one of those people - so..... my bones are trying to get back as much calcium as they can - depleting my blood calcium levels and making my remaining parathyroids work harder. This is called secondary hyperparathyroidism (you learn something new every day). Fortunately the cure for this is to take calcium and Vitamin D supplements for 6 - 12 months and to have another blood test in 6 months to see if things have evened out. I figure that's pretty do-able and I'm okay with swallowing a few extra pills each morning if it keeps me on the road to a full recovery.
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional nor am I providing medical guidance. This post should not be taken as specific health advice, it relates only to my own health and parathyroidectomy. I advise you to speak to your own doctor or health professional if you want a professional opinion in regard to your own health.
SOME EXTRA READING
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Hi Leanne. I'm so glad you came through the surgery so well. What will your life be like now that you are completely retired and on the up-swing health wise? I can't wait to read more of your future posts to find out. Take care, my friend. xx Christina Daggett
ReplyDeleteHi Christina - I'm already sleeping better - less wakeful and less time awake during the night - that alone makes it worth going through. I'm looking forward to my check-in with the surgeon on Friday (final blood test done this morning) and hoping that I can put this away and start relaxing into whatever is next in my life. :)
DeleteSo glad you are ok! I am alerting my friends to this because I had never heard of it before. Thank you for publicizing this for us all!
ReplyDeleteHi Allison - I was amazed at how little I knew about all this until I was in the middle of it - and how little the medical world seems to know. They tend to fob it off and do a "wait and see" - but there is no cure, it just gets worse, so why not just say "you need surgery to get this gland out - then you can get on with living your life without worrying about osteoporosis and kidney stones" ? I'll be having my levels checked whenever I have a blood test in the future to make sure none of my other glands go the same way.
DeleteGlad to read that it’s all behind you unexpectedly early. Now you can get on with normal lovely life again. Enjoy x
ReplyDeleteHi Gillie - it was strange to think that I'd only be coming out of hospital today if I'd waited to my original date. It's good to have it behind me and to be improving and moving forward to whatever is next on the horizon (hopefully no more hospitals!)
DeleteSo glad your surgery and recovery went so well!
ReplyDeleteHi Jo - I'm so relieved it was as simple and straightforward as it turned out to be. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to go home rather than stay in a night - but better safe than sorry I guess. :)
DeleteSo glad you have recovered and all is well! Thanks for sharing the process.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda - it was so do-able that I thought it was worth taking some of the mystery away from an issue that women our age might not even be aware of. So many of the symptoms would be put down to "getting older" or menopause and in fact it's due to a misbehaving gland that can so easily be removed.
DeleteHi Leanne - Glad to know it all worked out well. And that the vitals are normal. With advancement in science and technology, we are getting to know about our body and functions in far greater detail. While we know what's going wrong, we also have modern medical procedures to ensure that the problems are corrected.
ReplyDeleteHi Pradeep - I'm also really grateful for the internet and the information that's so readily at hand. It can take you down a rabbit hole, but if you're wise and don't go over the top, it gives you some guidance as to what questions to ask and how to monitor your illness and your recovery.
DeleteHi, Leanne - I am so glad that your surgery and recovery have gone well. You have been through so much medically lately. Wishing you healthy and happy times ahead!
ReplyDeleteHi Donna - I don't think I'm at the end of it yet - just had my latest blood results back and they're saying "secondary hyperparathyroidism". Now I have to wait for my consult on Friday to figure out if there's more to this journey - or if I can take a pill or two to fix things....
DeleteThank you for the follow up, Leanne. I was wondering how it all went. I think I mentioned to you that I'd had bloodwork recently that hinted at a possible parathyroid issue. Right now I am on thyroid medication, but as you pointed out, if it is the parathyroid, surgery is the only answer. I'll be curious to hear how the secondary hyperparathyroidism plays out for you. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Christie - there's quite a big difference between a thyroid and the parathyroids - they seem to deal with different functions. From everything I've read it appears medication helps with thyroids, but not with parathyroid tumours.....the only solution is surgery. But now I'm finding that there are still issues for some of us with the other parathyroid glands mucking around while they figure out how to do their job properly again. I'm hoping the surgeon has a simple answer tomorrow - fingers crossed that I just need some extra Vit D. Keep me posted on how yours goes. x
DeleteSo glad your recovery is going well and you already feel better post surgery! Continue to enjoy your retirement!
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie - I'm hoping that my recovery keeps going too - my hormones are still a bit high, so I'll be interested to hear what the surgeon has to say tomorrow. I really want to tick this off and get on with cruising through this new, relaxing retirement.
DeleteIt is a bit scary to be told something inside you is not behaving as it should and then to know how it will be resolved...and now it has been...and you are OK. Yay. It was great to see you link up a post this week for Wednesdays Words and Pics on Denyse Whelan Blogs to Connect. Thank you so much and I hope to see you next week too. Denyse.
ReplyDeleteHi Denyse - yes it's good to have it all behind me and to be able to manage the remainder of my recovery. No more surgery in my forseeable future - Yay!
DeleteGlad to hear you are on the mend, Leanne.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shari - it's good to be on the other side of it all.
DeleteYou are the bionic woman, Leanne! It is so important to catch things early and take care of them. You look great. I was a little worried when I saw the purple markings. I thought they were cuts. Glad to know it was only marker. :) Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteHi Marsha - I couldn't believe it when the lines didn't wipe off - I looked like X marks the spot for a few days! But it was also amazing to see how small the actual incision was and to have the problem sorted - hopefully no more hospital rooms!
DeleteHi Leanne, I'm so pleased that this operation is behind you are you have recovered quickly so you can get on with your lovely life. Thanks for writing about it as I was not aware of this procedure.
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth - I thought I was pretty clued in to head and neck stuff from my years as a Dental Hygenist, but I'd never heard of parathyroids and what they control until this happened - or how common it was for one to go haywire.
DeleteHi Leanne, I'm glad that your surgery and recovery have gone so well. Wishing you a healthy and happy retirement ahead. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie - it's been a good learning tool - that life is short, that we never know what's around the corner, and to enjoy every minute we have left. I intend to make this retirement one that I look forward to every day.
DeleteGlad it's gone well - you look great and it seems like a very quick recovery (given how you look in the photos) Amazing. That's a big cut in the top one and then nothing at the bottom photo. Astounding. #Weekendcoffeeshare
ReplyDeleteHi Lydia - I was very relieved not to wake up with the ear to ear "smile" cut - the inch long one I have now is quite unremarkable and not something that would noticed without a good eye. They do amazing stuff these days.
DeleteGlad to know that you're doing better and that your follow up visit was quite positive. Thank you for blogging about this journey to bring awareness to us all. Stay well, Leanne.
ReplyDeleteHi Corinne - it's good to have ticked it off the list and to know that it was successful, and that I'm not heading into older age with fragile bones or kidney stones!
DeleteGlad to read of your successful surgery and complete recovery. Of the surgeries I have had, this one was the easiest for me. It was my 3rd neck surgery so the surgeon just accessed the same incision and actually neaten it up quite well. My scar is straighter and prettier. My calcium has remained below 10, thank goodness, so I think I am healed.
ReplyDeleteHi Leslie - after my hip replacement last year, this was a walk in the park. The worst part was the overnight stay in hospital (the noise etc drove me crazy!) And yes, my PTH was down to 3, but has crept up to 10 due my bones being greedy to get their calcium back. Taking a couple of calcium tablets each day should sort things out - and I'll feel better when I have that blood test at the end of the year - hopefully my PTH will drop below 9 - which would make me very happy.
DeleteOh goodness..yes, a. hospital is NOT a relaxing place..I need quiet to sleep as well. I'm glad the surgery went well. I never got around to commenting last week so I'm catching up before I comment on most recent posts..lol. I'm so far behind.
ReplyDelete