The last month has been the beginning of a wild ride that I hope will be brief. This time, I don’t mean in terms of a chemical imbalance or any other type of mental health challenge on its own. At the end of last month, I had surgery to remove my parathyroid gland. I had knowingly been dealing with enlarged glands in my parathyroid hormone for two years. The CT scan was done then because, after three years of mild elevation in my Parathyroid blood tests, the levels were fluctuating between high normal and extremely high. My endocrinologist’s initial reaction was that this was a direct cause of the years I spent on lithium and its effect on my kidneys. Fortunately for me, my kidneys were, for the most part, restored, after I was off lithium and onto Depakote. The only thing that remains an issue is my slightly elevated creatinine, which my nephrologist claims is tolerable. Two years ago, there were no abnormalities besides the creatinine, parathyroid levels, and enlarged glands that showed up on the scan. My endocrinologist at the time, suggested monitoring the situation and sending me to consult with an endocrine surgeon if things got worse.
As far as I could tell, things remained relatively the same for the past two years regarding this issue, but I wasn’t satisfied with the results. My trauma played a role in this dissatisfaction, but not in the way an average medical doctor would think. I have a family history of kidney stones. What I know from observing the symptoms is that kidney stones lead to severe back pain and once someone begins to have them, they can keep coming back. I also am not the first person in my family to have parathyroid issues. My uncle, who began to suffer from kidney stones when he was two years younger than I am now, ended up with a parathyroid tumor in his neck several years later. Both he and my father continue to have kidney stones periodically. When I did my research on hyperparathyroidism, which is the terminology that describes an elevated parathyroid hormone, I found out on the Mayo Clinic website that kidney stones are a possible symptom of the condition I had been dealing with for several years.
What I came to discover through my struggle with hypothyroidism, which is when the regular thyroid gland is low, and thinking about my family history was that endocrine issues have a way of impacting both mental and physical health. I decided to ask my endocrinologist for a referral to an endocrine surgeon. When I met with the surgeon this past summer, he looked at my CT scan from two years ago and immediately decided to operate. I agreed to do the procedure and the anxiety that led me to push for this consultation turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The parathyroid surgery was successful, but when my surgeon opened up my neck he found an abnormal lymph node and spots in my thyroid gland. A quick biopsy was done and it turned out that I had papillary thyroid cancer. My surgeon chose to remove the entire thyroid gland and reproduce the hormone by giving me four times the amount of Synthroid I was taking.
Right now, I am sleeping better and starting to lose weight for the first time in a while, but I can only imagine how things might have turned out had I not thought to ask for the consultation. Luckily, I knew through my family’s professional medical background that The Mayo Clinic is America’s top hospital for complex illnesses, and therefore, I felt like I could trust that the information on their website was legitimate. What I have learned from talking to my endocrinologist is that the thyroid hormone’s function is essential to being able to sleep and maintain mental health. The type of cancer that I was diagnosed with, which is called Papillary Thyroid Cancer is unlikely to become terminal, but getting it addressed has proved essential. When I went in for Ketamine Infusion last week, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that one of the doctors had heard of my endocrine surgeon. We agreed to wait until I knew my thyroid was functioning correctly before making drastic changes in my Ketamine dose. Had I been afraid to ask my youngest uncle what age he was when his parathyroid tumor was discovered, I might not have advocated as strongly for a surgeon consultation.
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