TAMPA, Fla. – If you know your cholesterol numbers and your blood pressure levels, that’s good. If you don’t know your calcium level, you may want to ask your doctor. High calcium could cause major problems and you’d never know.
Kristie Rowe thrives on visiting her family, but during the last couple of years things have changed.
“One day I’d be fine with energy, and the next day I’d be totally spent,” Rowe said.
Besides energy, she started losing her hair. Rowe knew she had high calcium levels, but she didn’t know if that meant trouble for her body.
“It got to the point when I asked my physician, so when do I need to have this addressed. And, his answer was, you’re there,” Rowe said.
Doctors discovered a tumor on one of her four parathyroid glands.
“High calcium levels are more deadly and cause more health problems than high cholesterol," said Dr. Jim Norman of Norman Parathyroid Center. "So everybody really should know what their calcium level is.”
Also known as hyperparathyroidism, the hormone the tumor produces makes people feel tired as well as causing osteoporosis, high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks, kidney stones and kidney failure.
"A little over 75 percent are women and, interestingly, it’s women in the ages around menopause," Norman said. "So it’s primarily between the ages of 45 and 60 is when most women get this.”
The good news is that a 20-minute procedure got rid of the Rowe's tumor.
“Came in for surgery that morning and by 11 a.m. I was on the road heading home,” Rowe said.
“Sometimes within a day or two, sometimes a week or two, but life changes dramatically,” Norman said.
While Rowe’s tumor was the size of a golf ball, she only has a faint scar.
“The next day that I started realizing some bone issues that I kind of chalked up to old age, I wasn’t having anymore. So, it really was such a pleasant relief,” Rowe said.
“There’s no stitches to take out, they peel off the Band-Aid and they go out about their life expecting great things to happen,” Norman said.
He advises that you should always get a copy of your blood test and look at your calcium levels. If they’re above 10, it’s almost always a problem.
Norman and his team have performed more than 40,000 parathyroid operations.