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Karina1 · 04-19-2010, 05:45 PM

Hi everyone. My mom (59 yrs. old) has been dealing with thyroid, gout and sarcoidosis for years now, and at the doctor today, her blood levels showed she had high potassium and calcium levels.

As per her doctor's recommendation several months ago, she stopped eating dairy and anything else that would have high levels of calcium or potassium, but still continue to show high in her blood.

My mom doesn't have insurance or enough money to go to another doctor for a 2nd opinion, so I'm hoping someone here has gone through a similar situation and has cured or reduced their levels.

Her gout is causing painful crystal formations in her fingers and she is complaining of kidney pain, but doesn't want to go to the doctor and pay, to find out it's nothing too serious.

Thank you for your help.

javelina · 04-19-2010, 06:19 PM

Your mother should get her parathyroid hormone tested (PTH). High calcium is often from hyperparathyroidism and this is a serious condition that should be evaluated.

Kelsey4 · 04-19-2010, 09:24 PM

Hi..
Even my mother is also suffering from Thyroid disease..
can anybody let me know how to cure this disease..
Anyways take care of your mother my dear..

writeleft · 04-19-2010, 10:07 PM

I can speak to the gout, as I have suffered with that with my kidney failure...not suggesting your mom has kidney failure, but women rarely have gout, and it is very painful. For the gout, I take a medication called Allopuirnol. Uric acid cause the crystals, and I get it as a result of taking certain medication. Without seeing a doctor though, it would be hard to treat.

The thyroid issues are similar...there is very effective medication to control it, but also needs a doctor to regulate it.

I am sorry your mother is going through this...

javelina · 04-20-2010, 08:00 AM

Kelsey, there isn't a cure for hypothyroidism unless it is a result of low iodine levels that can be corrected. It can be effectively managed though. There are many posts here about how others are managing their disease so take a little time to read up on this subject as much as you can (and encourage your mother to as well) so you both can become well informed.

Karina, without insurance or adequate funds to purchase labs online your mother is stuck and this is not good. She must find a way to either get some coverage through the state or other methods and get all the testing she needs. PTH is just one and she also needs to get her ferritin and a good iron panel done (TIBC, serum iron, transferrin saturation). If she hasn't had her thyroid properly tested then she needs free T3, free T4, TPO and TG antibodies, vitamin D and B12 levels. She needs a complete blood count and chemistry panel. In other words she really needs a slew of bloodwork done by a competent practitioner to figure out what is going on. Hyperkalemia is a dangerous situation and can cause her heart to go into a lethal rhythm so I can't stress enough how important it is to keep on top of this. Often kidney disease is the cause but other things like iron-out-of-balance can also be at play.

Karina1 · 04-20-2010, 10:56 AM

Thank you all.

javelina - my mother says she took a pill about 10 years ago for her thyroid that was supposed to get rid of her symptoms for life. have you heard of this treatment? she has been seeing doctors at a local hospital clinic using state aid for 2 years now, and i just see her getting worse. she looks frail, always in some sort of pain and i'm very worried.

Reece · 04-20-2010, 01:00 PM

If she took a pill to get all better from a thyroid issue, it could likely be a "RAI"---radioactive iodine pill.

She might have been "hyperthyroid" or had "graves disease" where her thyroid was spilling out too much hormone into her system. The radioactive iodine pills destroys portions of the thyroid, so it won't put out too much hormone.

Eventually, it often kills off all thyroid function, and the thyroid portion of what your mom has, could be "hypothyroid" or not having enough hormone in her body.

It's likely not her only problem, but one of them that's causing some of her discomfort.

javelina · 04-20-2010, 01:02 PM

There is no such pill that cures thyroid for life. Perhaps she had radioactive iodine treatment? That is a treatment some have for hyperthyroidism and for most patients, RAI means a lifetime of resulting hypthyroidism that will require lifelong treatment and monitoring. Is she currently taking thyroid hormones?

Karina1 · 04-20-2010, 07:09 PM

No, she isn't taking any type of thyroid medications and hasn't for quite some time. I'm pretty sure she had the RAI treatment you both mention.

javelina · 04-21-2010, 07:21 AM

Wow, so RAI and no hormone replacement? No wonder she's so sick. And she desperately needs to get treatment or she will only get sicker. I can't believe none of the doctors she's seen have caught on to this- are they always aware of her history? Does she have any labs for thyroid that have been done recently? If not she needs a TSH, free T3, free T4 at the very least.

Your mother must get her thyroid hormones replaced ASAP. Hopefully there is a clinic or doc who accepts Medicaid who will work her up and treat her. Low thyroid affects every system in the body and will dangerously harm her health.

Just on a hunch I did a search on RAI and hyperparathyroidism. It appears that people who have undergone RAI have an increased risk of hyperparathryoidism, particularly as these patients age so your mother definitely needs to have this worked up since her calcium levels are so high.

Karina1 · 04-26-2010, 02:14 PM

Quick update. I'm sitting in the ER with mom now - not sure what is wrong. She is trembling and shaking. Very cold. Feet hurt. Fingers and hands swollen, hot and full of crystals. What do you suggest I ask doctor to test or to look for? Thank yyou so much.

javelina · 04-26-2010, 02:55 PM

She needs a calcium, parathyroid hormone level, TSH, free T3 and free T4 level just for starters. Plus the usual CBC and chemestry panel they normally run. I'd also ask for a B12 and ferritin and I'm guessing her vitamin D is probably low too if her parathyroid is at play here.

Sorry you're going through this. You mother very likely needs thyroid treatment STAT (and possibly parathyroid too) and hopefully they will diagnose her properly.

Karina1 · 04-26-2010, 06:13 PM

They are keeping her overnight, I will ask the doctor to run those tests tomorrow. They are telling her she has pneumonia and she has 102 fever. I'm thinking the pneumonia has something to do with her sarcoidosis.

Karina1 · 05-10-2010, 05:09 PM

Thank you all for your helpful advice. I finally got the doctors to give my mother the appropriate tests as listed above.

She finally got out of the hospital today and still has gout in her feet and hands. During her stay, they have diagnosed her with pneumonia and diabetes. I'm thinking the diabetes is due to the colchicine.

Anyway, we finally received the lab results from the thyroid tests. They were taken 10 days ago and I'm not sure why the endocrinologist has not discussed treatment with us. My mother never received thyroid treatment during her stay.

Here are the numbers:

TSH - 0.07 Range 0.34-4.82
PTHI - 109 Range 10-65
CA - 8.6 Range 8.6-10.2
Free T4 - 0.84 Range 0.59-1.61
Free T3 - 222 Range 230-420

The hospital has recommended for Mom to have her follow-up visit with the endocrinologist in 2-3 weeks, but I am thinking we should try to get an appointment immediately.

Please advise me on the next steps of action.

Thank you again for your invaluable advice!

javelina · 05-10-2010, 05:19 PM

Can you give us the ranges for these tests? Thanks.

Karina1 · 05-10-2010, 05:23 PM

UPDATED
thank you!

javelina · 05-10-2010, 06:37 PM

It looks like she's got hyperparathyroidism and is very hypothyroid, perhaps with pituitary problems with that low TSH and below-range FT3. I hope your Mom gets to see a good endocrinologist, and may need to find one who specializes in parathyroids, as not every endo deals with it. Getting in to see endos isn't always easy and can take time, I hope you can find one to see her soon.

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