Saying Hello

First topic message reminder :

Thank you so much for this site. I have been very lucky so far - had a blood test as I was having palpitations and my high calcium levels were found in January. Following more tests which showed increased levels of PH, I have just had my appointment with a charming endocrinologist. As I had read many of the posts on here I was prepared for a battle but he pretty much opened with saying he thought I ought to have surgery! So I have some more bloods and a scan before seeing him again in a couple of months. I put most of my symptoms down to getting older and going through the menopause but the hope that I might get the real me back is so exciting as I feel as though I have been thinking through a fog for years.

I had my first kidney stone in my 20s so I'm curious whether I could have had this disorder that long - I must admit I'm rather anxious about what the bone scan might show.

I am horrified at the battle that do many of you seem to be going through to get the treatment you need. I live in Lincolnshire, not exactly the cutting edge of medicine, but I have had an easy ride so far which makes me feel very guilty as my symptoms are very mild.

Anyway, sorry for waffling and thank you for sharing your experiences as it really helps.

So I guess there is nothing unusual or dirty about the chicken comment?     

We have a neighbor who has chickens.    He has some beautiful ones!    I have a funny story for you all regarding them.   I think you could all use a good laugh, right?    Well, this neighbor lives over a big hill from us.   He has his chicken coop sort of at the edge of some wooded land.   We bought our granddaughters a junior Polaris for Christmas last year.   I'm not sure if you in the UK are familiar with these.  They're vehicles made for riding rough terrain.   They are open on the top with a roll bar for protection in case you roll them.   We are not crazy buying this for the girls.   They are very serious-minded, cautious little girls, so we knew they would not go nuts with it.  They just like to drive.   My husband restores old cars, as some of you know, so he and my son have kept the girls supplied with a variety of pedal, battery-powered, and gas-powered vehicles since they were babies.   They are 11 and 9 now.   This new Polaris is big enough for adults to ride in it also.   The men have a bit of trouble fitting in there, but they do.  

Well, 1 day my oldest granddaughter wanted to take me for a ride down to our neighbor's chicken coop to see his chickens.   She drove down by the coop, stopped the Polaris, and we got out to walk over to the coop.   We knew that sometimes our neighbor would let the chickens out to roam around freely, but we didn't see any chickens immediately, so we assumed they were locked up in the coop.   We were very wrong!    Now, I have to tell you these birds are BIG!!!    I have seen chickens before in my life, but I've never seen roosters the size of these!     We were quietly walking toward the coop, when all of a sudden, from behind a little hill, this enormous pterodactyl (I mean ROOSTER) came practically charging at us!!   Now, you have to remember at this time my heels and feet were terribly painful, and I had been using crutches, but I did not take the crutches on our little ride.   I couldn't fit them in the Polaris and really didn't think I'd need them.    Well, that rooster kept running faster and faster.    I was scared to death!   All I could think of was my mother telling me that when she was little, she had a pet rooster who was always flogging her, and it was very painful!     I was afraid for my granddaughter too, of course, so I yelled, "RUN!!!!!"    And we both took off like bolts of lightning, running toward the Polaris!   I didn't feel any pain at all in my feet!!    We both arrived about the same time, which is unbelievable since I was practically crippled at the time!   We both turned to see that that big rooster was STILL running for us, and now he had a posse running along with him!!!!    My granddaughter had her helmet lying on her seat.  She was driving. As we hopped into the Polaris, she picked up the helmet and tossed it to me.  There was no way she was taking time to put on her helmet, and she is not allowed to ride that thing without a helmet.  We made an exception!   She started up that vehicle and floored it!    I still had 1 leg hanging out when she took off!   I told her to just GO!      We laughed so hard all the way home, I thought I was going to die, but it really was scary!   She said she never knew I could run that fast!   So now everywhere we go, people are asking us how the chickens are, because this story has been told to just about everybody we know!      Are you all laughing?   

So that is my funny for the day.   I hope it helped you all to forget your HPT woes for at least a few minutes. 

Audrey

Haha Audrey I can just imagine it, being chased by a crazed rooster you must have been terrified.
I'm sure there's a computer game called angry birds.  
I'm not sure about keeping chickens but quails are really cute and I love quail eggs.
Amanda xxxx

Haha Audrey. You are a star! I have a great image in my head of chasing roosters and an off road vehicle being driven very fast and erratically!! Glad you have had a good few days, hope it continues. I have been having lots of bone/ muscle pain too and wondered what your vitamin D levels are as I'm being told that raising levels will be key to sorting this problem. What do you think?
Take good care
Lynn  

Yes, Lynn, it was a hilarious experience!   Well, it wasn't at the time, but it sure is now when we look back on it.   My granddaughter said she couldn't believe I was running so fast, when I could barely walk.   As I stated earlier, I never felt 1 bit of pain when I was running to that vehicle!    We were wondering if our neighbor has any security cameras around his place.  If he does, he might have that all saved somewhere!   Oh, goodness!

My vitamin D was checked 2-1/2 weeks ago.  It is 49.    My endo thinks it's just great that my calcium is 10.2, my PTH is 31.7, and my vitamin D is where it is.   She said since everything is in the normal range, all is good.   I reminded her that there were times before surgery when everything was also in the normal range, but I had 2 tumors in my neck.   Like I stated on the forum, though, my PTH now is exactly half of what it was before surgery, so I hope everything IS ok.    I just wish my endo would have learned something from my case.  I wish she was not still insisting everything is ok just because all the numbers are in the normal range.    Now someone else who comes to her just as I did, will have to struggle for years just the way I did, before they can get the help they need.   This is so sad.

I'm sorry.  I know you only asked about my vitamin D.          I guess I'm just still thinking about my appointment a few days ago.    It makes me so angry that even after I just proved to my doctors that you can have high/normal values at the same time and still have HPT, they still insist differently!   What will it take?!!!

Amanda, I've never played Angry Birds, and now I'm not sure if I want to!!       

Audrey

That's interesting Audrey as that level isn't that high. If you get chance have a look at Dr Holicks work on vitamin D he thinks it should be higher and that it affects everything in our bodies. I'm always interested to hear how you are getting on so wasn't just focused on D.
Keep smiling.    One day your escapades might end up on a video show. Your neighbour might have received dollars for his film of you and the chickens!!

Yes, I was surprised my vitamin D wasn't higher.  I guess maybe because my calcium is at 10.2.  I guess my body doesn't want to absorb any more calcium.   My endo actually suggested I take calcium supplements maybe once a week or so.   I told her with a calcium at 10.2, I'm not touching the stuff!   Not sure what her reasoning was for that.  I think she gave me a little explanation, but I was still in shock that she suggested it and didn't hear what she was saying. 

I'll have to check out Dr. Holick's vitamin D info.   Thank you for the suggestion.

Audrey

Welcome Sally   
I'm Adele from Canada. Originally, I was born in England...so I'm still a limey at heart, lol

Glad that you haven't had the full-on battle that so many of us have had. It just goes to show how darned perplexing this HPT is!

But you're in the right place as all of us have said. Here for sharing experiences, knowledge and support.
I agree...none of us should have to be here. Goes to show how the medical system has dropped the ball on this disease.
Enough ranting...big hugs to you.   

Best, Adele