Another surgery (4th) on February 24th!

*Disclaimer: This is not WLS related!* Friday February 24th with Dr. M. He'll be removing my one my parathyroid gland and the adenoma attached to it (tumor). He may also remove a nodule on my thyroid. I had a needle biopsy on that and it is benign but he said he'll decide when he sees it. Two, two, two procedures in one. LOL! I asked him about using the same anesthesia that they used for my gallbladder removal in October because I came out of that stuff great. I was sitting cross legged on the stretcher 45 minutes after hitting recovery. The anesthesia for my WLS (and my back surgery before that) took me 3 days to get over - all I wanted to do was to sleep it off. He told me that the anesthesias were the same. The difference? The amount of fat on my body. He said the anesthesia gets stored in the fat and keeps getting given off until it is gone. That explains why I did so much better in October with so much fat gone. Interesting! He was checking out my rubbermaid shaker cup. He looked at it and what was inside and I said protein! He said he thought it was chilled coffee. I told him it Nectar Lemon Tea. I told him I do at least 3 shakes of 34 g each a day and he said that was fabulous. I did tease him about him operating on so many that I know. I said well there was Jill and then there was Sharon. He was surprised we all know each other. I told him that we talk about him quite a bit. We both laughed. What a nice man. I'm in great hands. Again. I'll be glad to get the offending parathyroid removed and hopefully will be able to get my calcium levels and PTH (parathyroid hormone) in normal shape. This has been going on at least 2.5 years and I have osteopenia because of it. I had a couple of endos that just wanted to watch it but now I'm in excellent hands with my new doc. He found the bad guy quickly. Hopefully I'll just have to worry about calcium levels like a normal gastric bypass post-op in the near future. We'll see. Sometimes it takes quite a while for the other 3 glands to wake back up since they are dormant because the bad guy has taken over the world and does all the work (or I should say overdoes all the work). Anyway, I'm excited about getting this behind me. Finally... Dr. M made me promise "No more surgeries". Kathy

Wow .. baby doll .. I am sorry you are going thru another one . But I know you will be fine and it is needed . I remember pre-WLS I had my left adrenal gland removed and the anesthia almost killed me .. Doc said it was because I was so heavy .. You do not need to worry about that any more .. I will be thinking about you .. and I am sure you will be glad when this is all over with . Hugs and much love Nat

Thanks, Nat! Hugs right back at ya, Kathy

Kathy, Sorry to hear it is another surgery for ya. Hope it straightens out the problem. I have a high parathyroid level even though i have taken Calcium for years it shows me as deficient. Wonder if I have the same issue? I will ask my doc today at my 3 month appt. Shannon

In my case, both calcium and PTH are high which means my body is overproducing PTH due to the tumor which is forcing calcium to high levels. I know that as post-ops, when we get blood work done getting calcium checked without PTH isn't showing the complete picture. It is possible for the calcium level to appear normal and PTH to be elevated. What that means is that the body isn't getting enough calcium in so it is producing more PTH in order to get your calcium level to a normal level. That means that you aren't getting in enough calcium or aren't absorbing what you are taking very well. Your levels have been off for years? Have a great appointment today! Kathy

. G'morning Kathy ~ Positive thoughts, vibes and prayers coming your way that this is the FINAL surgery for you for a very very very (have I said very yet?) LONG time. Yikes, you sure have been through the ringer, er, OR room a lot since your gastric bypass. I hope that this (final) surgery takes care of the problem and allows you to enjoy all the benefits of regaining your energy and health with losing the weight. Hugs ~ Lei .

Thanks, Lei! Luckily this problem is a lingering one and the real medical issues are bone loss and kidney stones. Got the first, not the second. As far as how I feel, since it comes on gradually hard to know how it effects me. What I've heard is that you don't know how it effects you til you get it fixed and realize you feel better. LOL! Appreciate all your kind words and positive thoughts and such! Hugs, Kathy p.s. Was that low carb store in Fredericksburg called Carbway? Do you remember?

lol - you give me way too much credit (as far as my memory goes). I swear, along with the fat cells being flushed outta' my body at a rapid pace, so were the brain/memory cells. Which in long rung works WELL for Paul - I forget what he's done thats aggra'd me within 30 minutes of him doing it. Sorry - Ive forgotten what they're called - maybe RAVEn will see this post and can pop in with the name? I know it was a close friend of hers that operated it. I did find one in Silver Springs, called the "Low Carb, Low Sugar Store" that I'll be visiting when we're up in that direction on Saturday. It's about 20 miles away from the hotel we're staying at in McLean, but Ive talked Paul into making the trip up there. They sell the AcheveOne Protein drinks that I hear people rave about on the boards. It's a bottled protein drink, with 20 grams of protein and it's supposed to taste like those bottled starbucks latte's. YUMMY - I hope that's true. I just REFUSE to pay $15 or $20 for shipping for a case of the stuff, just to find out I don't like it - so we're gonna put some miles on the car and head in that direction instead. Figure I'll drink one right there in the store and if I like 'em, I'll just buy them out and fill up my trunk. I know, I know - once again, Ive rambled out info you werent even asking about, but I thought since you live up in NOVA you might be interested in knowing that store exists.

Good grief - I really CAN form a complete and accurate sentence, when I try. Sorry about that - as always, I proof AFTER I hit send! Wish they'd get that EDIT post option working on this site, sooner then later. Anyway - that post was glaring with typos - the most apparent was .... "Which in long rung works WELL for Paul......etc" [and it shoulda been] "Which in the long run works WELL for Paul" I was trying to get that out to you in turbo speed before I signed off - need to jump in the shower and run some errands. Have a great day EVERYONE!!! .

I emailed you a brief note to explain why I was asking. Kathy