Not good news...

mrblanche

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DW (Dottie) went to the doctor yesterday. They checked her blood, and her calcium level has been slowly going up. The doctor's conclusion? She may have hyperparathyroidism.

Now, this is pretty easliy solved with surgery. But the standard procedure is a long (as much as 10 inches!) incision on the side of the neck to find the bad parathyroid gland and remove it. You have four, two on each side, so if they don't find it on the first try, they have to cut on the other side.

There IS a minimally invasive procedure, but doctors who do it are rare.

And the most common complication is damage to the larynx nerves, affecting speech. Dottie is a teacher. Imagine what that would do to her!
 

snake_lady

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oh my gosh. I am so sorry to hear this. Is there no testing or anything that can be done to find out which gland is the bad one?

My thoughts are definately with you both, and lots of that if Dottie has to have surgery, that they find it on the first try.

 

zoeysmom

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

Dottie is a teacher. Imagine what that would do to her!
One of my collegues last year had some sort of cancer and they had to do major surgery on her. Her vocal cords/larynx were damanged and when she came back to work, she did not have much of a voice (loud whisper). However, she was still able to teach with an FM system (microphone hooked up to speakers). I left the school, so I'm not sure what happened, but last I heard, she had found out that there were some repair options so that her voice could be at least partially recovered.

that whatever happens, your wife recovers fully.
 
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mrblanche

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There are no medications that will solve the problem on a long-term basis. The problem is that the bad parathyroid gland will keep on raising the calcium level, stealing calcium from bones and depositing it in the urine, causing kidney stones.

The minimal surgery has the surgeon giving the patient a radioactive pill. That points out which one is bad. Then they make a small incision and remove the bad one.
 

rockcat

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My prayers are with you and Dottie.

Can you buy any time with some sort of temporary treatment while you are looking for a doctor who can do the preferred method?
 

strange_wings

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No other permanent treatment? Did the doctor not tell the two of you about radioactive iodine?
It's a more common treatment than surgery. Surgery is used more for if there is a "hot nodule" to remove that part - your doctor doesn't even know if that's the problem yet so suggesting surgery is crazy.

IMO, you need to have her get more thyroid and other tests before setting your sights on getting a surgical procedure.
 

clixpix

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

No other permanent treatment? Did the doctor not tell the two of you about radioactive iodine?
It's a more common treatment than surgery. Surgery is used more for if there is a "hot nodule" to remove that part - your doctor doesn't even know if that's the problem yet so suggesting surgery is crazy.

IMO, you need to have her get more thyroid and other tests before setting your sights on getting a surgical procedure.
A second opinion is always good advice, but saying the doctor is "crazy" for suggesting surgery is going too far. You do not know her history, or what's been investigated. You are not her doctor.

Anyway, lots of vibes for you and Dottie, and that her treatment or surgery goes smoothly, and that she has a speedy recovery!
 

trouts mom

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Oh good grief
I am sending many healthful vibes for her. I have no experience in the area and therefore no advice though
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by clixpix

A second opinion is always good advice, but saying the doctor is "crazy" for suggesting surgery is going too far. You do not know her history, or what's been investigated. You are not her doctor.
It is if it's just calcium they're going by - it could be something else causing it to build up in the body. Unless they've done other tests, that's jumping the gun a good bit.
 

jcat

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Lots of for Dottie. A second opinion would be a good idea. Surely there's somebody in Houston who does the less invasive surgery? I've always heard there are great medical centers in Houston.
 

lsulover

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

DW (Dottie) went to the doctor yesterday. They checked her blood, and her calcium level has been slowly going up. The doctor's conclusion? She may have hyperparathyroidism.

Now, this is pretty easliy solved with surgery. But the standard procedure is a long (as much as 10 inches!) incision on the side of the neck to find the bad parathyroid gland and remove it. You have four, two on each side, so if they don't find it on the first try, they have to cut on the other side.

There IS a minimally invasive procedure, but doctors who do it are rare.

And the most common complication is damage to the larynx nerves, affecting speech. Dottie is a teacher. Imagine what that would do to her!
I am sending prayers from Mississippi to you and Dottie and the rest of your family, I hope that everything goes ok. Please keep us updated on what is going on.
 

pookie-poo

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Radioactive iodine is one of the treatments for hyperthyroidism. Hyperparathyroidism is an entirely different medical condition. Surgery is the treatment of choice for hyperparathyroidism.

HYPERPARATHYROIDIM

HYPERTHYROIDISM



This is the website for the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons.
http://www.endocrinesurgery.org/

A membership list:
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ENDOCRINE SURGEONS

The AAES position statement on the diagnosis and management of Primary Parahyperthyriodism:
http://www.endocrinesurgery.org/test...arathyroid.pdf

One of the surgeons that I work with, is a member of the AAES. He does three or four minimally invasive parathyroidectomies a month. He uses intraoperative nerve monitoring for every case, and has not experienced any problems with post-op nerve damage. He also does intraoperative blood draws to monitor serum calcium levels, and circulating levels of intact PTH, which helps determine which glands are suspect.

I will certainly keep you and Dottie in my prayers.
 

darkmavis

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Yeesh, that is not good news at all! I hope your wife gets all the care she needs without complications to get better really soon!!
 

catmom2wires

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First off, ALWAYS get a second opinion. You can't "uncut" anything.

Second, if you are in Dallas, I'm sure you can find a doctor to do the min invasive surgery. Get on some health related message boards and ask around, google like crazy, etc.

Third, best wishes to Dottie.
 
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