Elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH): How is it treated?

Thank you, yes, I am also experiencing all of that and i am so ready to feel better! I will check into it.

Good Luck! I hope you can experience what we did!

My wife just got her 9 months after surgery blood tests done and calcium was normal and her PTH was 48. She's very happy to put this disease behind her.

How high was her PTH before surgery? Was her calcium high as well? Did she have osteoporosis? How long was her PTH before surgery?

PTH was 213 and was even higher, calcium was 10.6. She had this since 2012 and her Dr. said we''ll watch it. That was wrong. She got osteopenia. Her surgery was in 2020. Her surgeon in Milwaukee told her she had 1 tumor and was only going to take that one out and not check the other 3. I knew then they didn't have a clue what was going on. She had 3 tumors removed.

I had parathyroidism. Possibly the weirdest medical experience to this point in my life. Unless something has changed there is only one cure. Remove the glands. One or both. They removed both of mine. Out patient surgery. Zero problems. All symptoms gone after, at the longest, 2 days. Unbelievable but true. All literature highly recommended having a surgeon has done this surgery many times. Tip: i always took a friend to all doctor appointments. One major symptom for me was impaired memory. My friend took notes and asked questions of the doctor. By far the most astounding aspect of the entire process was having all symptoms disappear immediately after surgery.

Thanks for this info. My PTH numbers (137 in June 2021) and situation is very less severe. Calcium never high, bones still good, vitamin D was low, now corrected. Monitoring for now.

Hello @anncgrl,

You are so right about hyperparathyroidism being a "weird medical experience." I've had the same problem for many years now. While I've had elevated parathyroid hormone tests and elevated calcium scores and osteopenia, multiple nuclear scans and neck ultrasounds have shown no problem and some endocrinologists have been very dismissive of me. However, I've had the symptoms associated with this disorder so I changed my endocrinologist and she did neck ultrasounds every six months and it was finally found!

Originally on the neck ultrasounds, it was thought to be a thyroid cyst but most recently found to be a parathyroid adenoma. I'm thrilled to know this. Not because I really want surgery but because I now have a name for all of these weird symptoms that you mentioned.

Your post about your successful surgery and the help it has given you is very encouraging. How did you find an experienced surgeon?

First, my hat is off to you! How have you endured the symptoms for so long? Choosing a specialist fell into my lap. It turns out that the woman I was referred to, as a natural progression of referrals between doctors, had done many parathyroid surgeries.
At the time there was a very active clinic in Florida providing the surgery.
If I had not been so fortunate I would have fallen back on my old standbys...research and word of mouth.
I don't know where you live but I hope you are in the United States. I was in chat groups where many of the people suffering so much with parathyroidism were in other countries where the surgery was not available for quite some time and doctors were prescribing one medication after the other for treatment. I read enough to understand that the only cure is removal of the glands and that the reversal of symptoms occurs almost instantaneously following removal of the gland/glands. It seems particularly cruel to leave people in medical distress when the cure is so simple.
I wish you the best and hope that you will keep us informed here so that we can celebrate with you when you are free of all those nasty little symptoms.
P.S. I encourage you not to pay attention to anecdotal stories of any extreme regarding this condition. The only truth is that the symptoms disappear as if by magic. I was stunned. I could not even remember the symptoms within a very short time.

That is very good to hear, @anncgrl. Yes, I am in the U.S. and within driving distance of the University of Michigan, Cleveland Clinic, and a plane ride to Mayo Clinic. So, I've got some good choices. I would probably be considered high risk because I have a paralyzed vocal cord which puts me at risk if the other vocal cord is harmed during the surgery, so I will seek out a very, very experienced surgeon who is willing to take it on.

Yes, I've endured the symptoms for a long time and persisted in seeking an answer. It appears like the answer is around the corner now.

I appreciate the encouragement you offered to me and others!