Hello Everyone

I am so pleased to see this forum up and running.  I read the old one a few times when I first found it and it did help me quite a lot.

I live in Queensland Australia and I'm a great grandma.

I hadn't been very well for quite a while but couldn't put my finger on what the problem was.  Last November my doc sent me for a scan and he then went on holidays for a month.  I didn't want to wait for him to come back to get the results so went to see his "stand-in".  This was the beginning of quite a long process of scans etc. to find the problem.  Once I had the results to all these scans he sent me to see a specialist who told me I had a benign tumour on one of my parathyroids, an enlarged thyroid, an over-active thyroid and pollups on my thyroid.    Dr. Google came in handy and I soon worked out these problems were the cause of all my symptoms I couldn't put my finger on.

I haven't had private medical insurance for the past 30 years and waiting lists here are long so decided to bite the bullet and go private.  It was well worth it and my surgeon was brilliant, I had forgotten what it feels like to be "normal".  I had my thyroid and one parathyroid removed and it took about six weeks to get the calcium and vitamin D readings right.

I see my doc at the end of this month and the specialist at the end of next month, just for check-ups and then I'm off to the UK for a holiday.

I still ache first thing in the morning but I thinks that's just normal age creeping on.  The aches and pains these days are totally different and I can walk as far as I want to with no problems.  Before the op I was hard pushed to walk 50 metres. 

I hope everyone here has such a great outcome as I have had.

Hi Rosie. I'm so very happy that things moved along so quickly for you and you had such a successful surgery. It is so wonderful that you are now feeling so much better! It does sound like you were one of the luck ones. Not all of us have been so lucky. If you've been following our posts, you are aware of this. I do know there is hope for us all, but it is so sad that some have to struggle so badly.

So very happy you got your life back!!! Hopefully, some day we can all say the same.   

Audrey

Hi Rosieb and welcome,
Well I typed an answer and mine disappeared when I clicked send so will try again!  It is so uplifting to hear that your surgery went well and that you are feeling so much better.  It must feel like a miracle and it is so truly wonderful that you feel so much better.  I hope you have a wonderful holiday when you come to the UK.
Sue

Hi Rosie
Great to have you here with a success story.
Amanda xxxx

Lucycatnaps wrote:Hi Rosieb and welcome,
Well I typed an answer and mine disappeared when I clicked send so will try again!  It is so uplifting to hear that your surgery went well and that you are feeling so much better.  It must feel like a miracle and it is so truly wonderful that you feel so much better.  I hope you have a wonderful holiday when you come to the UK.
Sue

Hi Sue

Sorry about the disappearing post.
https://hyperparathyroid.forumotion.co.uk/t105-disappearing-posts

Edwin

Hi Edwin,
I think two people answering at the same time may well be the answer.  I posted and it was when unbeknown to me Audrey was also replying.  We must have clashed mid ether
Sue

Lucycatnaps wrote:Hi Edwin,
I think two people answering at the same time may well be the answer.  I posted and it was when unbeknown to me Audrey was also replying.  We must have clashed mid ether
Sue

This is my feeling also.
If it happens again, please can you let me know the time?

When I have a few examples, I will contact the helpdesk again.

Thanks
Edwin

Hi Rosie

It really is good to hear of success stories   

Hope you have a lovely holiday when you come to the UK.

Love
Brigitte x

Thank you everyone for the lovely replies.  I just wish everyone could get the results I have been lucky enough to get.

When I had my first scan the tumour showed up on one of my parathyroids and the pollups on the thyroid, this is the main reason all went well. The surgeon knew which parathyroid was causing all the trouble and he also told me he would check out the other three while he was operating. 

From what I can gather if your calcium levels are above normal, even by just a little bit, then there has to be one of these tumours somewhere but sometimes they are very hard to locate.  The parathyroids are no bigger than a grain of rice so the tumours can be very small to start with.  I did ask the surgeon how long it would have taken for me to get as bad as I was and he said he didn't know but it would have been years rather than months.  I just didn't know I wasn't well.

It's hard to believe that one little tumour can cause so many problems and I expect the enlarged, over-active thyroid covered in pollups didn't help.

That's a good point, Rosieb, about not realising how unwell we are, so that a lot of the symptoms become what is normal for us.

I'm just so irritable these days, that I can't remember what it was like for me when I wasn't so crabby!

I hope you continue to see improvements and are able to enjoy your great-grandchildren with more energy!

Love from Tigerlily xx

Tigerlilly, I wish there was something I could do or say to help but I do understand how you feel.  I don't know how my husband put up with me before the op.  I am sure I used to accuse him of doing things I had done myself to upset me.  I don't know if that makes sense  

It certainly does, Rosie, it certainly does!!

Tigerlily xx

Hi Rosie,
thanks for sharing your story, so good to hear a positive outcome. Do keep us posted on your progress.

best wishes

lozza

Hi Lozza, I will keep you posted.  This morning I got up with a feeling that I might get a cramp in my leg so took one calcium and one vitD tablet as a precaution.  I know they can't do any harm and it seems to work.

Take care