High calcium...

Since my hospitalization in the Fall, I have continued to stay on a very low dose of Lamictal and have been doing fairly well. I was confused when I left the hospital because I felt like I had auras and things going on but yet some of those "episodes" did not record as seizures.

When I was having issues prior to the hospitalization I went to an endocrinologist because I initially thought that I was having seizures and auras based on whether I ate or didn't eat. Thinking it was a blood sugar issue that was setting them off, I thought I should get tested for that. During some routine blood tests it was discovered that my calcium level was high. Readings were 10.8 or 11.2 at times. I was told to take Vitamin D to try and get the calcium lower. Vitamin D helps to regulate calcium.

My calcium level has continued to climb. The doctors suspected a parathyroid tumor or adenoma. I had a nuclear scan called a sestamibi scan. This revealed a tumor on the lower left parathyroid.

Apparently high calcium can cause all kinds of odd symptoms, including some that are neurological in nature. I am hoping that the removal of this tumor will get rid of some of the odd feelings I have had and all of the achiness that I have felt. You would think with high calcium that your bones would be in great shape, but it's actually just the opposite. Your body is not absorbing calcium and calcium is not exiting your body either. If you are in this type of state for very long you can head down a path toward osteoporosis.

I had a dexascan done to check my bone density. I am osteopenia. Some of that is due to the parathyroid tumor and high calcium I am sure. The other part of the equation could be the anticonvulsants that I have been on for the past 11 years.

It's crazy how one thing leads to another and so on and so on.

Life is good in spite of it all. I was scheduled to have surgery tomorrow, but my son was hospitalized last week for Hepatitis A. We recently adopted him from Ethiopia. The doctors feel he may have gotten it in Ethiopia prior to his trip the the U.S. No one else in the house has been sick and we've all had shots for Hepatitis. But because shots cannot guarantee 100% immunity to the Hepatitis, my surgery has been postponed for up to 3 months.

Oh that's right... I said life is good in spite of it all, right? And it is. As frustrating as things seem at times, I feel very fortunate to have such a wonderful supportive family. And I have two beautiful little kids who I would do anything for. I need to be healthy so that I can live a long life with them and watch them grow into wonderful adults some day.