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Had Thy. cancer upon remving. thy. damaged parathy. Went about 10 days w/o calcium. since, have trouble with hips, arms pain in legs and feet. very painful. poor endurance. Feels like something attacking body. Been to several phys. cant find anything but sed rate very high. Continue to tell them it is related to surgery they seem not to agree. Any idea?

response

Posted by dr at May 13, 2008 10:11 AM
Damage to the parathyroid glands can complicate thyroid surgery, especially when a total thyroidectomy has been performed for cancer. If this happens,
blood calcium levels may fall and not recover after the operation. The result is tetany or wide spread muscle spasms and weakness. However
hypoparathyroidism will be evident by abnormally low blood calcium levels. In the absence of the latter, the parathyroid glands are assumed to be
functioning. In surgical hypoparathyroidism, there is a lack of activation of vitamin D. This is overcome by giving a pill (Rocaltrol or Calcitriol)
of already activated vitamin D in sufficient dose to normalize blood calcium levels. I hope that this is useful to you.
Kind regards,
Noel Maclaren MD

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