r/Parathyroid_Awareness

PTH: 2026: 23.1

Ca: 2022:9.4
2023: 9.6
2024: 9.9
2025: 10.2
2026: 10.5

Vit-D: 2024: 44Ng/ml

Sorry if it’s not enough info! Just curious about possible hyperparathyroidism.

Have been dealing with fatigue, brain fog and motivation symptoms. Started getting bloodwork done and this was a combination I looked into using AI and PTH was something that came up.

I have low nutritional values overall all so I primarily attributed the fatigue, brain fog and low motivation to those until this was brought up.

Was wondering if this is something I should look into.

I’m 22 and a male BTW.

Thanks

I haven't heard back from my PCP yet, but is this high enough to warrant further investigation? I had actually just asked her to check my Vitamin D level because I have a LONG history of treatment resistant depression. Lately I've been dealing with a lot of chronic pain - osteoarthritis in both knees, low back pain following a fall and bilateral muscle cramps in buttocks and legs that make walking almost impossible.

Other symptoms - occasional constipation, frequent thirst and urination. I was worried I had gone from pre-diabetes to diabetes, but fasting glucose was only 110. A1c was 5.7.

So what can I look forward to on this journey and how quickly can I FEEL BETTER because I am REALLY tired of feeling like crap!

Share your success stories if you had borderline high results (calcium, PTH, ionized calcium) and surgery and had symptoms resolve.

My symptoms: very low back pain likely related to the osteopenia in lower back, EXTREME fatigue, low mood.

I’m a type 1 Diabetic, about 3 weeks ago my routine lab work came back with elevated levels of calcium. I wasn’t too surprised as I had seen a hormone specialist last summer as I was having a hard time getting a PCOS diagnosis l(surprise I have that too!), and my Calcium levels were elevated then with a borderline vitamin D deficiency. No concerns were raised at that time, I was just told to start taking Vitamin D.

Jump to 3 weeks ago and my levels are elevated, so my primary jumped to ordering a PTH test. Which came back high. I immediately scheduled an appointment with my endo as I needed to for my diabetes anyway and we went over what the next steps were.

A couple days later I had all my labs drawn, urine collected and US of my thyroid performed. Labs were as expected with Hyperthyroidism, the US as read by the radiologist states mass with blood supply, most likely a parathyroid adenoma.

I made an appointment with my endo tomorrow morning to see about getting a referral to an ENT surgeon. Should I expect any further scans or test before they do the referral. Also are there any questions I should ask my endo?

I know it’s most likely benign, though I’m trying not to spiral and think worst case scenario . Didn’t think that I would be dealing with this at 27. Anyways TIA!

Hi all, I'm 33f, based in the US, 6 months postpartum, and saw my doctor recently for a routine checkup. My lab results came back with slightly elevated calcium (10.8mg/dL), and she issued another test, including ionized calcium and PTH. Results for that were serum calcium 10.4mg/dL (normal range 8.6-10.2), ionized at 5.3mg/dL (normal range 4.7-5.5), and PTH at 18mg/dL (normal range 16-77). I don't really have symptoms of hyperparathyroidism that I've noticed, but I'm still feeling quite nervous about what this means for me and my baby. She's referring me to an endocrinologist, and I was just hoping for some insight while I sit and wait forever for that appointment. Thanks, all!

Editing to add that I've been taking vitamin D3 - 6000iu daily since becoming pregnant, and eat D3 rich foods as well. Is it possible this is the cause?

Looking for some insight from those who have been through this.
I’ve had kidney stones on and off since 1999, with several smaller stones over the years and three significant attacks recently, including two that required medical care this year.
My labs have been a bit confusing:
• PTH was 121 in April and most recently 60.
• Serum calcium has been high-normal, most recently 10.1.
• Ionized calcium was elevated at 1.33 and most recently 1.29 (high-normal).
• Vitamin D was low at first (24) but is now up to 35 after supplementation.
• FHH genetic testing came back negative.
• My endocrinologist isn’t convinced I have primary hyperparathyroidism, but because of my history of kidney stones, I sent my records to the Norman Parathyroid Center for a second opinion.
After reviewing my latest lab results, Norman scheduled me for a surgical consultation next week.
For those who have been patients there or have had similar labs, does Norman typically schedule a surgical consult only when they think surgery is likely? Or do they meet with many people who ultimately are told to continue monitoring?
I’d love to hear about your experiences, especially if you had normal-high calcium, elevated PTH, and recurrent kidney stones. Thank you!

26M. Went to my PCP recently because I had an episode of heart palpitations. My calcium came back at 10.9 and albumin at 5.3. My calcium last year was 10.8 and albumin of 5.3. My doctor told me my “corrected” calcium is normal, but to my understanding correcting calcium is not recommended anymore due to its inaccuracy. He didn’t not order a PTH. I have several symptoms that seem to line up with hyperparathyroidism. Should I go to the urgent care to get an ionized calcium and PTH drawn? What other labs should I ask for? Has anyone else had experience with similar high albumin and calcium levels?

Had my surgery 3/31. Before surgery intact PTH was 165.

Had adenomas, and 3 overproducing glands were taken.

Immediately post surgery, intact PTH was 28...

The next week it went up to 40...

In mid April, it was 96...

then up to 106 this month.

Calcium normal, phosphates normal, mag normal, nothing else unusual.

The doc called me asking if I had rickets (!). Said the PTH should not be that high without other levels being wonky too.

So she is suggesting genetic issues??? FGF23? Which makes no sense based on my other normal values...

I hate that the Endo doc was excited. Sick of being an anomoly.

Bone pain is HUGELY improved, anxiety/insomnia is worse, but I feel ok otherwise. Anyone have experience like this?

Editing to add I asked the doc if it could be from the remineralization. She said without any other values being raised it was not making sense, which is when she brought up other possibilities.

The bone pain was my worst symptom. They only tested my PTH because at 62, a Dexa scan showed me to have unusually severe osteoporosis and they wanted to see why. I was told my pain was "arthritis" for a decade 🙄.

Sadly, my careteam is.... not ideal, in that my surgery was scheduled/canceled/rescheduled three times. The follow-ups were canceled too, but NOT rescheduled. So, hence the surgery in March but no follow up visit until July.

So as much as I'm happy with no bone pain now....I definitely want to be sure everything is as it should be. Also, medically, I am a rare-shit-magnet of the worst kind (three, currently). So my reaction to the doc being excited about the 'mystery' was just EXHAUSTION.

I’ve been dealing with a lot of lethargy lately and recently went to my doctor to discuss some intense bone pain I was experiencing. My doctor wasn’t much help and just decided to test me for autoimmune issues and all came back negative. She did also order a metabolic test, which came back normal but my calcium was on the high end of normal (10.1mg/dL). A few months have passed with no resolution and I decided to just order myself a bone health screening. This time my calcium was 9.0mg/dL my PTH was 28pg/mL, and my vitamin D was 24ng/mL AKA insufficient. These results confused me because I didn’t know you could have high calcium and low vitamin D. And now, all three markers are on the lower end so I’m not sure if this could point to hyperparathyroidism. If anyone has any insight I would be grateful!

This article has some good points for people whose numbers “aren’t that high” and who have trouble getting referred for surgery.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/U8MV2WUVZYFUB9CUDBCM?target=10.1111/joim.70089

I got a lot of great information from this thread when I first was diagnosed with hyperparathyroidism so I wanted to share my experience in case it helps others!

Summary is it was validating to get the diagnosis because I didn’t realize how many symptoms I actually had, surgery was smooth, recovery was not what I expected and quite long but we made it through and I’m a new woman!

January 2026: I had really bad chest pain and some tingling in my arm. My family thought it was heartburn but the chest pain didn’t go away when I took tums and was persistent for a few days

I went to an NP at my PCP who did blood clot testing and an EKG to rule out heart concerns. Additionally she did a lot of blood work. Some I had had done in 2023, but but calcium hadn’t been checked since 2019 (my endo said that’s common to not worry about calcium for young healthy women).

My calcium was at 11.2 mg/dl (normal range 8.6-10.2). And got as high as 12.4 before surgery. She then got my parathyroid hormone checked. My PTH was 206 pg/mL (normal range 18-59). I then saw my regular NP who referred me to an endocrinologist, but basically confirmed I clearly had hyperparathyroidism.

Before my endo, I also had my magnesium and phosphorus checked (mag was ok, phosphorus was low at 1.6 mg/dl) and did a 24 hour urine calcium w creatine sample. Calcium was high in my urine as well.

When I met with my endocrinologist, that was when I really started to acknowledge how many symptoms of hyper PTH I’d been experiencing because he was asking me about the following:
-I woke up almost every night to pee at least once, usually closer to two or three times a night

-I felt like I had to pee a lot during the day but nothing actually was coming out

- I was EXHAUSTED most of the time. I kind of brushed it off to being mildly overweight despite being super active, and not being able to sleep through the night.

-BRAIN FOG gosh the brain fog became unbearable but I would start sentences and forget where I was going multiple times a day. I also had mental fatigue where I’d start a story and just be like “actually I don’t have the energy to finish this story”

-I’d nap every single weekend for 2-3 hours and even some days during the week when I was WFH and didn’t have a lot to do. I kinda joked I was just a sleepy gal, but as time went on I could not physically stay awake for a whole day. I did worry I had some issues with my breathing and saw an ENT and had a sleep study that showed mild apnea but didn’t really do anything about it. I just felt like that wasn’t really the issue (and now post surgery I wonder if the glands were causing the apnea!)

-I had been going to Orangetheory classes 3-4 days a week for almost 3 years but saw almost no muscle growth, felt like I couldn’t really lift heavy and would fatigue pretty quickly

-starting fall 2025, I kept saying that I felt like my bones were tired (!!!! This was such a clear indication looking back that something was wrong). I’d walk my dog for like 20 minutes and come home and have to put my feet up.

-I had started to feel more flat emotionally (depression and anxiety). The chest pain may have been an anxiety symptom, but hard to say because I’ve kinda always been anxious

-I’ve always drank a lot of water but I was drinking close to 150oz a day casually (whereas now it’s closer to 96oz)

-I broke my left fibula and sprained my right ankle back in the end of 2023. Probably was around the time my bones started to get weaker according to my doctors.

I felt so validated. I had often talked about feeling tired and fatigued but never could really find what was wrong (not pre diabetic, regular thyroid was fine). My endocrinologist validated that my numbers were quite high and causing a lot of these issues and that they don’t shoot up overnight so the growths have been happening for probably the last few years. He also said I was a “person of interest” because this usually happens to much older women who are less active.

I had genetic testing done and no genetic markers were found.

Surgeon visit was scheduled for 3/20/26 (about a month after my endo). Surgeon reiterated the validation, said my numbers alone shared I was a good candidate for surgery no questions, and said he was confident I’d feel a lot better after surgery. He had a cancellation so I was scheduled for 4/27/26 (otherwise was booked out until July so thank goodness for the cancellation!) I had a CT scan and an MRI to show that at least two of the glands were enlarged, one in particular had a growth on it. He was pretty confident that since two were enlarged, all four probably were so he’d remove 3.5 when he was in there if needed

That month between the consult and surgery was ROUGH. I had no motivation, I was SO exhausted. I almost felt like I had sundowns where 7pm would hit and I’d be irritable and exhausted and foggy. I didn’t want to see friends or family, I really just wanted to be asleep. Luckily I had planned time off from work anyway and didn’t work for 10 days and was at the beach but I don’t think I would’ve been able to work anyway.

Surgery day comes. Goes without any issues. Was in by like 8, home by 2:30. My team was fantastic (Beth Israel in Boston) and kind. Small incision on my throat (has healed fantastically) and I just had a small sore throat immediately after. Surgeon said he had to remove 3.5 of the glands because they were all enlarged. The largest one was the size of a raspberry!
PTH dropped in the hospital to 7 from 206! Calcium was still elevated in the hospital.

I was prescribed calcitriol and told to take 2 tums 2x a day. When I got home, the following week was HELL. Thank god my endo was actually the endo on call that week because I needed significant support. He validated that since my numbers were quite high, and basically all but .5 of the glands were removed, it was going to take my body a bit to adjust to “normal calcium” levels so I basically had symptoms of hypo calcemia . I felt like my entire body had hit a funny bone for basically 6 days no matter how much tums I took. We increased the calcitriol, tums, and added a magnesium supplement to help support the absorption of calcium. My legs felt like Bambi, I couldn’t focus on anything, and I had cramping and the tingles.

By a week post surgery, I felt like a new person. The world felt brighter, I felt like I could do anything! I made social plans for every day that week and just felt ready to go!! My calcium stayed on the low end of normal and teetered to low so I had keep taking quite a bit of tums and calcitriol. I would get a bit wobbly and kinda feel like the world was turning under me when it was time to take my lunch time tums. I got my calcium checked 2x a week for about a month, then weekly. It’s now 2 months post opp and I’m finally weening off the calcitriol and tums because my calcium has stabilized around 9.2. The recovery was a little frustrating because I don’t think I was prepared for it by either of my doctors, but my endo has been SO supportive and now I don’t have to get blood checked for another month.

I am so grateful for my experience and appreciative of the support I got reading other people’s stories!!

Hello!

I have hypoparathyroidism - and best guess is that I've had it since birth - last year, I did 4x 2.03-2.17 calcium (bottom end of normal is 2.2 -sorry I've no idea what the units are!), with PTH somewhere between 2 and 4 (range is something like 1-12)

I have been on 1mcg of alfacalcidol and 2x 1.25g calcium carbonate - which has been great. I said to my endocrinologist basically all great but exercise fatigue is real! - he suggested dropping one of the calcium tablets and going up to 1.5mcg of alfacalcidol.

... Then I had my iron tested - and my ferritin is 13(!)

so now I have no idea what to do next... Do I tackle the calcium, the iron, or both at the same time?! Has anyone been in a similar position?

(I'm in the UK for context!)

Symptoms:

Extreme thirst, exhaustion, feeling hot, slight pain in hands and feet when I grab things or stand barefoot.

Tests:

Calcium-related

• Total calcium: 10.4 mg/dL
• Ionized calcium: 1.33 mmol/L
• Albumin: 5.01 g/dL
• Intact PTH: 25 pg/mL
• Vitamin D (25-OH): 37 ng/mL

Fluid/urine-related

• Urine specific gravity: 1.003
• Urine osmolality: 158 mOsm/kg
• Blood (serum) osmolality: 302 mOsm/kg
• Urine output: 6 L/day
• Urine sodium: 25 mEq/L
• Urine creatinine: 50 mg/dL
• 24-hour urine creatinine: 3.1 g/day

Thanks for the help!

Had my first endocrinology phone call appointment yesterday he seems convinced that my hyperparathyroidism is hereditary because I've had it from age 20 and im now 38 he asked me about my symptoms of which I told him dehydration fatigue and abdominal pain.

Is it normal to ask for a genethics test and so.ething about a adrenaline test also?

Anyone else had similar experience?