Today's blood test results

It's no wonder I'm feeling pants at the moment. Latest blood results are in:

Calcium 2.91
Corr Calcium 2.94 (range 2.20 - 2.60)
PTH 13.5 (range 1.80 - 6.80)
Albumin 37 (range 35.00 - 50.00
Alk phosphatase 110 (range 30 - 130)
Vit D 70

So the little Hitlers at the Surgery won't give me the previous results which I have asked for time and time again and though I have some written down, I can't find them currently because I can't remember where I put them... I had an argument with the GP last week because he hasn't tested for PTH since last October when it was 11.6 and my Corrected Calcium has been hanging around between 1.76 and 1.79 ever since it was first tested over a year ago.

I was wondering about the Vit D because although the Endo directed me towards some study that supposedly proved taking it didn't raise calcium levels, it's all a bit hmmm. However, because I take anticonvulsants for epilepsy which lowers Vit D, they actually won't consider surgery unless I continue taking 1,000 iu of it daily. Last time it was tested in March it was 37 so it's gone up a lot and is now normal. I know there is a lot of controversy about whether you should take Vit D or not, but I haven't got any choice.

Perhaps somebody could tell me why the corrected calcium is higher than the normal calcium because if I did know, I can't remember and my brain is very slow today (especially with numbers).

I hope I've rearranged the letters to make words because I actually typed a load of jumble  

Love and Hugs
Brigitte xx

Wow Brigitte your levels are really high you must be feeling massive elasticated at the knee, double gusset'd support bloomers today. You need to get that thing outa there PDQ.
I don't know why your corrected calcium is higher sorry.
Lots of love Amanda xxxx

Wow Brigitte those are one high results. I'm not as useful with HPTH knowledge as some on here but I can't believe those readings, you poor thing! 

What's the next step for you?

Lucie xx

I'm not sure of the exact science behind it Brigitte but it's to do with your albumin level and your calcium will be corrected up or down from the total serum calcium according to the albumin level. My corrected calcium is invariably corrected downwards and my albumin level is usually quite high in the range - last time it was 47 - and as yours is quite low in the range presumably that's why your calcium has been corrected upwards. That's a very high corrected calcium! I've only had one that high (2.96 corrected) once or twice and I was feeling pretty pants too, so it's little wonder you're having such a tough time of it! Your PTH is well up too, and the relationship between the two is classically pHPT. Remind me where you're at in the process Brigitte, are you diagnosed and awaiting surgery? I should know this but I just don't remember things and have to be prompted with everything these days. Sorry I had to ask ..... feeling embarrassed  

Jasmine x

No, don't feel embarrassed Jasmine, it's all part and parcel of this whole thing. I can't even spell my name at the moment and I type jumble and have to get auto correct and concentration (ha) to work together and make sense of what I want to say. It takes me ages to type a post in the forum. I'm just glad you all understand because everyone else doesn't.

I posted the other day about having been to the GP last week on a particularly down, dismal day where he was actually shocked at how poorly I was and thought I had gone downhill. Not very flattering and neither was telling about my dreadful constipation, though he did say that was another point in favour of a quick response from the hospital. Having seen the Endo last in May, I was (supposedly) on the fast route to surgery because of my other disease, being under 50 and not having gone through menopause. A "large" adenoma was found by sestamibi and u/s and he said I would have my surgery within 3 months. After some confusion where it turned out I had an appointment cancelled because it was thought to be connected to another problem and I didn't know and other such messings about by GPs and hospitals when I got to the GP last week I told him I couldn't do this any more. He was a bit fed up with the lack of communication from the hospital (and maybe still on a guilt trip from when he gave me vitamin d with calcium some time ago), that he rang the surgeon that day. This resulted in me receiving an appointment with said surgeon for 1st September. So that's where I am, waiting for the surgeon to slit my throat and rip out the offending adenoma with all possible speed.

This would be very nice as as my rare disease has been feeling neglected and also giving me a lot of hassle and I've been recommended to join a specialist Study to have lots of tests done and see if I'm eligible for the trial of a new drug. I want to do it because the tests alone would be worth it especially since Wessex Genetics are so slow doing anything at all and this is probably a rare opportunity to talk to specialists who know the whole story. Since my disease affects many different major organs as well as giving me epilepsy and numerous other problems, (which means you see lots of different departments who cannot work together), this would be an almost unreal experience. However, I cannot be considered until I've had surgery and allowed at least 5 weeks recovery, by which time the Study might have ended, which would be a pity.

It's weird how it's almost a relief to find that the calcium is so high because it explains why I'm so brain frazzled that I can't think properly and can't get my words out in the right order or my memory stop giving me Error, Page Not Found etc etc. I thought it would be high because when I was basically overdosed on calcium over a couple of days I felt worse and can't even remember a whole weekend where we went out for my daughter's birthday meal. Waste of a good meal too. 

Love and Hugs
Brigitte xx

Jasmine is right about the calcium correction, Brigitte, some calcium is stored in albumin, also and your albumin is on the low side so that would mean your corrected calcium is higher than your serum calcium.

It's all based on Payne's formula which is all a bit complicated. He said you had to correct serum calcium upwards if the albumin was low (as in your case) but he said that you had to be very careful when correcting serum calcium downwards because of high albumin. Some labs don't correct serum calcium downwards if the albumin is "normal", that is between 40 and 45, and someone on the forum posted test results where this was actually stated on the blood results form.

There has been some recent research that suggests that people with high albumin (Jasmine and myself and others) should not have their serum calcium corrected downwards. In their case, the serum calcium should stand as their accepted calcium level, which I why I worry about Jasmine's serum calcium being corrected downwards, as it makes her high serum calcium look a bit lower when it is "corrected".

Sorry, got on the old hobby horse there a bit. It's just that I had trouble convincing endo's that my calcium was actually too high (over 2.5, as Dr Norman says) because it was always corrected downwards to account for my high albumin!

Have posted a new thread about today with FP under "Saw FP at Hammersmith today".

Love from Tigerlily xxxx

Can't see your new thread Tigerlily, am I going bonkers?

Jasmine x

I thought it was just me Jasmine!

Thank you for your input, Tigerlily, most interesting. 

Brigitte xx

It's under a new topic: Saw FP at hammersmith today!  (small "h" = typo = brain fog)

M xx

OK M - are you channeling Judy Dench by any chance ....?