Of course, but living with ESRD is not the same as living a healthy normal life without illnesses.
Long term dialysis comes with all kinds of icks and aches…its not comfort zone…
It is unclear to us where we are to go for diagnosis of each thing. Our neph acts like dialysis patients have all sorts of problems, but he does not get specific as to what each problem is and what if anything can be done. We are unfamiliar with the different types of specialists and who to see for each particular thing. Our neph doesn’t readily refer us yet he is not forthcoming on what condtions we should be preparing for.
My last PTH level was 660. The norm range for healthy people is 14-72. Normal for a Dx patient, is 3 times higher than 72. So that would make mine reasonably high.
Our doctors and nurses here are quite good for all areas, and have no problems referring you to another specialty if needed. Generally the done thing here is, get onto a problem before it gets too out of control.
I do get sore joints in the morning, usually after Dx, but I think its because the matress is too hard. I also get a very sore back, but apparently theres nothing wrong with it :?
I understand what your saying, its quite complicated illness and most likely you may be reffered when your Doc thinks its the right time.
The most common specialists I’ve seen are, Orthopedics, Gastroenterology, and Vascular surgeon.
Maybe you can see a specialist on your own will but it would be a good idea to speak to your Neph about it first…
[QUOTE=Pierre;8053]You have to watch it with PTH. It needs to be collected in a chilled vacutainer and then it has to get to the lab within 30 minutes and remain chilled during that time. Any mishandling in this regard can really change the numbers. It’s also hard for us to interpret as patients, because it’s not an absolute. It’s all tied up with calcium and phosphorus and vitamin D. Everything works together.
Pierre[/QUOTE]
How often do home patients do labs for pth? Do you collect in a chilled vacutainer and get it to the lab in 30 min. as Pierre stated? Ours is sent to a lab across the country.
Twice a year, white cap vile? Its returned in less than 24 hours…not exceeding over 24 hours. Must be refrigertaed.
Hyperparathyriodism is common in Kidney Dsease…Parathyroid controls Calcium…there are four located behind you thyroid…when they go crazy they they look for Calcium and take it from your bones…the only cure is to have the tumor ones removed…I had this done …3 were engorged and one was perfect…immediately felt better with …but dont let just any Facility do this !!!..Go to the Website of Norman Parathyroid Clinic located in Tampa Florida…These guys are GREAT…It was a 20 minute surgery with a 1 1/2 inch incision…a band-aid until stiches heal and I still cant find a scar…**
It’s best if you can control calcium, phosphorus and PTH with diet, but if you can’t and you require a parathroidectomy, they may remove fewer than all four. I’ve known patients who had 3 removed and the remaining one implanted in their arm to keep some PTH to help maintain the calcium/phosphorus balance. After parathyroidectomy you’ll probably need to take calcium regularly and have your calcium monitored to be sure your labs are the in the normal range. Calcium that’s too high or too low can cause problems.