Re: Parathyroid

I'm sorry... I feel like a downer telling you this.

According to the reliable site parathyroid.com, medications cannot stop hyperparathyroidism; meds for calcium control can actually lead to a worsening of the disease. These meds will not shrink the tumor that is causing an imbalance in your calcium and PTH levels. No doubt about it, when you have an elevated PTH + elevated calcium to pretty much any degree (meaning you don't need a calcium level of 12.5 to be considered a serious case, it can be as 'little' as 10.6) you have an extremely high chance of having this tumor. The tumor is what screws up these levels to start with. Removing this tumor, the diseased parathyroid gland that has now gone bad, will COMPLETEly cure you!

There is actually NO other cure besides tumor removal for this nasty illness. That is the difficult thing about it... but at the same time, the mini-surgery available is quick, less than one hour most of the time; it is much safer than traditional surgery and it is outpatient. The Norman center in Tampa specializes in this type of surgery. My advice to you, is to consult with your physician immediately about them consulting the doctors there to see if you are a potential patient.

So sadly no there is no alternative to surgery, but the surgery is not dangerous nowadays when you go to a SPECIALIST for this type of operation. Do not, I repeat, do NOT go to a regular thyroid surgeon if you need the surgery...they will probably make a very large 5-6 inch incision and might not even be able to remove the adenoma the first time. Your blood work indicates this is a must for you, to start researching which doctor to go to for this. The Norman center is great as I've said, but the consult is pricey for out of state residents. But in my opinion, it is worth every penny.

Good luck sweetie! Tweet