I have been without a period for 15 months now. Some of my symptoms were blamed on menopause. I have been taking an HRT for 11 months now. Below is part of my story and if I can help even one person........
For the past three years, I have done nothing but run between doctor appointments. I suffered horribly from fatigue, joint pain, bone pain, excessive urination (especially at night), heart palpitations, exercise induced tachycardia, shortness of breath with exertion, GERD, to name but a few of the horrible symptoms. I suffered from what my doctor labeled depression. I felt off! I was given Lexapro, Zoloft, Effexor XR! (You can see my posts from previous years on trying to get off those horrible antidepressants). My GP sent me to a cardiologist, a rheumatologist, an endocrinologist, an otolaryncologist, a neurologist, and a gastroenerologist! I had nuclear bone scans, ultrasounds, CT scans and more blood tests than you would believe. All of the specialists found "something" but NO ONE put 2 and 2 together. (ALL OF MY SYMPTOMS WERE SYMPTOMS OF HYPERPARATHYROIDISM). I had a heart monitor, NSAIDS for the joint and bone pain, and even started successfully on Synthroid to control the hypothyroidism (Hashimotos) that was found. Throughout all of this, my calcium levels came back in the 10's and higher. They bounced around all over the place. I hurt so bad that I was sure I had rheumatoid arthritis or lupus or maybe even fibromyalgia. The doctors kept saying my calcium levels were not the cause for my pain as they were not high enough.
One month ago, I travelled to Florida (across the country and self referred) and had TWO parathyroid adenomas (benign tumors) removed. From that moment on, my life has changed. ALL of the pain I felt for three long years disappeared! The heart palpitations disappeared! I don't get up in the middle of the night to pee! PLEASE EVERYONE on this board, do yourselves a very big favor. If I can help ONE person, it will be worth everything to me. Have your calcium levels checked. HUMANS DO NOT LIKE TO LIVE WITH CALCIUM LEVELS IN THE 10'S!! IF YOUR CALCIUM LEVEL IS IN THE 10'S. HAVE IT FOLLOWED UP WITH A PTH TEST. (Some doctors will say that you cannot have hyperparathyroidism with normal PTH levels...BUT I DID!) The pain and fatigue I felt truly ruined my life. It is at least worth checking! I hope this helps someone.
They did a thyroid biopsy at the same time as removing the two parathyroid adenomas so I now have a surgical Hashimotos diagnosis. Synthroid has that under control.
I read so many posts of people having symptoms similar to what I had so.....PLEASE have your calcium levels checked. It isn't ALWAYS JUST MENOPAUSE!
Hoppy
