high calcium, low vitamin D

txstardust

high calcium, low vitamin D

txstardust

I just had more bloodwork done that showed low Vitamin D again.  I remember posting a while ago about my previous level, so I went back here looking to see what it was the last time. I see now that it was 23, but NOW it just tested at 16!! Even lower. And the blood calcium is still at 10.7. I'm not sure what to make of it. Anyone have any idea what this means?

mdg

I am seeing an endocrinologist to work this out too.  Have your parathyroid checked.  That can be part of this.  My parathyroid is out of whack along with vitamin D being low and high calcium too.

txstardust

What are they doing to treat you for this, mdg?

HomeMom

Before BC dx I was told I was low on Vitamin D. My doc said most of her patients are. I live in Florida so it  isn't like to don't get sun on my skin. Also, I do like the foods that are supposed to provide Vit D. I take 5,000 IU a day, but haven't been monitored yet to see if it is working. My MO office also deals with hemotology so that is a question I need to ask.

Copperlisa

HomeMom,

I'm new here, and I don't know if you ever resolved the high calcium, low Vit. D issue. I can tell you my experience...I ran through about 18 months of spiking those same numbers, along with some wicked bone pain in my shins. My doc finally decided it was time to quit watching numbers and do some diagnostic tests. Less than 3 weeks later, I had a parathyroid adenoma removed that was the size of the first joint of my thumb. It changed my world. I'm hoping that you are doing much better!

NJ-Jen

You likely have hyperparathyoidism. You really need to get it resolved. It can create a lot of issues but many doctors are not very versed on it

elimar86861

I wanted to reactivate this thread to bring up a few things and I am writing in regard to persons who do NOT have metastatic BC or kidney disease...

The first is that parathyroid disease is not off-topic to BC, because hyperparathyroidism is linked to an increased risk in certain cancers (breast, colon, prostate.) I said linked, so at this time nothing causal has been discovered.

Second, if you have gone through your active BC treatment, then you are most likely being followed up at 3, 4, or 6 mo. intervals where basic blood work is done. Is is easy to get copies off any and all tests that you have done, so from there it is easy for you, yourself, to keep an eye on your own calcium levels. The normal range for serum calcium is 8.8--10.3 (I've seen lab ranges as low as 10.1.) Going borderline high one time is not a red flag, but going borderline or higher as a general trend over several blood draws, over a year or two, should spark some concern.

Third, your doctor may show no concern at all. It may be left up to you. Besides metastatic disease or kidney disease, the main and most likely reason for elevated calcium is parathyroid disease. If you have elevated calcium, it would be to your benefit to investigate it further by having your blood tested for parathyroid hormone (PTH) by whichever doctor you have that will order the test for you, and you should have serum calcium and PTH tested in the same blood draw. The range for PTH is 10-55 (have seen range as high as 65.) IF your calcium level is high, DO NOT be fooled by having PTH within the normal range. When excess calcium is in the blood, the parathyroids should be inactive, secreting virtually no hormone so the level should be down near the bottom range of 10. In other words, with a calcium number at or above it's upper range, a PTH number of 45 would not be appropriate.

Fourth, if your calcium is high, with a PTH not appropriately low, it would be time time to see an endocrinologist if you have not already done so. This will most likely lead you to a surgeon as there is a curative surgery for hyperparathyroidism in almost all cases.

Finally, you can search out the symptoms for yourself, but if your calcium is not severely elevated, the symptoms may be vague, or you may even be asymptomatic. The lack of symptoms does not necessarily mean lack of the disease, and if you do have the disease, it will not get better on its own.

I am not about to type a whole page about hyperparathyroidism, but it is easy enough to Google (Bing, whatever) all that info. if you do, indeed, find that you have it. I only wrote this post to say that it might be up to YOU to discover that you have this problem, as many of the doctors that are doing our BC follow up do not seem to be keyed in to this disease. I wrote this post for Parathyroid Disease Awareness.

I have written based on my own experience, that it may help others.

elimar86861

Bumping...just f.y.i.

MinusTwo

Eli - thanks for the information. It's a really good, thorough summary. I got up to look at my calcium numbers just in case.

txstardust

So, I'm back again, frustrated. I went to my doc last year, he tested PTH and said, oh, it's normal, no problem. Despite the fact that I printed out info from parathyroid.com saying that if I have elevated calcium and low D, my PTH level should be low. PTH was 42, calcium was 10.7, Vit D was 16. Just had routine blood testing, and calcium is again at 10.5. My question at this point is, HOW DO YOU GET A DOCTOR TO LISTEN TO YOU. I'm really frustrated.

snorkeler

There are two ways to test for calcium. When I tested high once in the regular workup, my MO tested for calcium the other way as well as for PTH. Those numbers both came back as normal. I was told to stop taking calcium supplements, and my calcium levels have stayed in the normal range since then. My vitamin D started out at 11 at the beginning of treatment and with supplements has gradually increased into the high 30s. It's never gone down.

Canuck76

Hi elimar, I have a parathyroid adenoma and my family has a CHEK2 mutation which corresponds to breast, colon and prostate cancer. Where did you find your information ?