Doesn't it look lovely?
What have I been up to lately? I've been recovering from this little beauty. What happened you ask? Well... get ready for your health lesson of the day!
I originally went to the Doc because I thought that maybe I had picked up a little bug or something from Ecuador. I was getting nauseated easily, especially after eating a big meal, and I was super exhausted so often. So after elimination and what seemed like a thousand of tests later, my awesome Doctor was able to determine that I had primary hyperparathyroidism.
Everyone has 4 parathyroid glands that are (usually) in the neck behind the thyroid. Their job is to create a hormone that helps control the amount of calcium that goes into the blood. In my case, one of my parathyroid glands is creating too much hormone and so the calcium level in my blood is too high. Basically, my bones aren't absorbing any calcium, it's leaking out into my blood.
This is a picture from the back that shows where the parathyroids are in relationship to the thyroid.
Usually these little babies are the size of a rice grain or pea, unless they are over-active like mine. Then they grow to the size of an olive or grape. Some can even get as big as a lemon!
So the cure? Surgery to take out the bad parathyroid gland. I had a scan done which showed that my lower right gland was the culprit. I've been so lucky to find awesome Doctors that are close by and well practiced. Surgery was last week and since then my bed and I have become real good friends.
The bummer is that surgery was NOT successful. Once inside, the Doc couldn't find the gland that he went in for. He said sometimes they hide in random places like on top of the lung, or even on top of the heart! He searched everywhere and couldn't find it. So he ended up taking out my top right gland and some of my thyroid thinking that maybe the bad gland was hidden in there. Once everything was out, my calcium level hadn't gone down much. So I get to start all over again. Even though it's a frustrating set back, I'm hopeful that things will be fine and the second time around will be the charm.
I guess one of the upside of things is that I was able to receive these gorgeous flowers! I practically have my own little garden :)
Thanks for all the thoughts, gifts, flowers, and prayers :) And sorry for such a long post! People have just been asking a lot of questions! So now you're all educated on this random topic :)
Hope everyone had a great lover's day with your special someone! I promise to be better about updates, so stay tuned! :)
I originally went to the Doc because I thought that maybe I had picked up a little bug or something from Ecuador. I was getting nauseated easily, especially after eating a big meal, and I was super exhausted so often. So after elimination and what seemed like a thousand of tests later, my awesome Doctor was able to determine that I had primary hyperparathyroidism.
Everyone has 4 parathyroid glands that are (usually) in the neck behind the thyroid. Their job is to create a hormone that helps control the amount of calcium that goes into the blood. In my case, one of my parathyroid glands is creating too much hormone and so the calcium level in my blood is too high. Basically, my bones aren't absorbing any calcium, it's leaking out into my blood.
This is a picture from the back that shows where the parathyroids are in relationship to the thyroid.
Usually these little babies are the size of a rice grain or pea, unless they are over-active like mine. Then they grow to the size of an olive or grape. Some can even get as big as a lemon!
So the cure? Surgery to take out the bad parathyroid gland. I had a scan done which showed that my lower right gland was the culprit. I've been so lucky to find awesome Doctors that are close by and well practiced. Surgery was last week and since then my bed and I have become real good friends.
The bummer is that surgery was NOT successful. Once inside, the Doc couldn't find the gland that he went in for. He said sometimes they hide in random places like on top of the lung, or even on top of the heart! He searched everywhere and couldn't find it. So he ended up taking out my top right gland and some of my thyroid thinking that maybe the bad gland was hidden in there. Once everything was out, my calcium level hadn't gone down much. So I get to start all over again. Even though it's a frustrating set back, I'm hopeful that things will be fine and the second time around will be the charm.
I guess one of the upside of things is that I was able to receive these gorgeous flowers! I practically have my own little garden :)
Hope everyone had a great lover's day with your special someone! I promise to be better about updates, so stay tuned! :)
8 comments:
Oh my! I am so sorry! I hope everything gets figured out and back to normal soon. You have such a great attitude and are such an inspiration :)
Freaking freak Tor, let me know next time you have SURGERY so I can be a good friend and bring you ice cream. Seriously, you must. I'll try to remember to bug you so I know when you and your bed are having some alone time that I can barge in on. hope everything goes well the second time around.
Oh man Tor, the unknown is soooo frustrating. I hope round two is better. I'll call soon- love you
Oh Man! I'm so sorry Tori! That's an unfortunate thing to go through once, let alone twice! I am amazed by your optimisim though! What an example you are!
ouch!! I'm sorry Tori! I hope everything goes well!
ummmm... Please tell me you remember me (used to be Jill Camp). Don't even ask how i found your blog. Okay I blogstalk ( it is not yet a crime). I loved looking through all your photos and stuff. Hope your recovery is going smoothly!
Oh my goodness! I hope you are doing better and that they find it! I'm sorry Tori. Let me know if there is anything I can do!
Oh my goodness, Tori. I hope they figure it all out soon. Get some rest :)
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