Hello everyone! I've been looking for a network of others with thyroid and parathyroid disease for a little while now and certainly hope this is it. I am 31yr old female, married with two children. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a few years ago, but didn't begin treatment until a few months ago when I realized that my symptoms were pretty severe. I just had my labs done for my three month check and discovered that I also have hyperparathyroidism, a tumor(s) on one (or more) of my parathyroid glands. The results also showed that my TSH levels are now extremely low, being hyperthyroid which makes no sense. I'm taking thyroxine medication and my FT4 levels are within range, so I'm pretty confused and still trying to schedule to see an endocrinologist. My internist just referred me at my last visit two weeks ago due to the complexity of my disease and symptoms, etc. I am trying my best to get treated for this asap because it is causing so many problems in my life, particularly with my husband.
So now after doing so much research, I'm trying to find an endocrinology surgeon who performs the MIRP procedure as I don't want to have traditional parathyroid surgery with just any surgeon and wind up coming out of surgery with them telling me that they couldn't find the tumor, but they removed perfectly healthy parathyroid glands anyway. I've been reading some real horror stories from other patients who allowed any surgeon to operate on them. I've extensively read about Dr. Norman, Politz, Lopez and Toro and I would honestly prefer to go to Tampa to be treated by them, however my husband disagrees. I'm honestly afraid of what would happen if I chose a surgeon that isn't too familiar and screws something up leaving me much worse than I am now. I literally have all but three symptoms and they all are pretty severe. My husband was convinced that I had narcolepsy because I fall asleep at the most random times, even after getting a good 6-12hrs of sleep the night before. I can feel my mood go completely sour for absolutely no reason at all and I get incredibly cranky and *****y, I can't stand it. Obviously, those are only two of many symptoms that I have been experiencing for a few years now. Apparently I've had this for several years, however my primary physician did not seem concerned about elevated calcium levels in my blood at all, so it went undiagnosed for several years.
So now we have so much going on at home because it is nearing the end of the school year for our kids and my husband is looking at several temporary assignments for his job out of the area and all the while, I'm trying to get this taken care of so that I can actually manage to handle all of my responsibilities without having a nervous breakdown. Why does stress bring out so many of these symptoms?
If anyone can personally recommend any surgeons that have performed the MIRP procedure, I would greatly appreciate it. I live in Texas, closer to San Antonio but am obviously willing to travel great distances to receive proper medical care. Unfortunately the level of care in the medical field is pretty terrible in the surrounding area anyway. I have found a Dr. Alexandra Dressel out of Dallas and her bio states that she does about 50 parathyroid surgeries per year which is nothing compared to Dr. Norman's practice, but I think it's worth a consultation to gather more info because I'm not positive that she does the MIRP. If anyone has seen her personally or knows of anyone she has operated on, I am interested in what you have to say. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated! I'm ready to get this behind me so I can be happy and healthy again. Thank you all for being here and taking the time out to help others!!!
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-N
"If we're not supposed to allow diseases to control us, what do we do when we can't control the disease that changes who we are?"
