calcium levels post thyroidectomy

[ljlew]

I had total thyroidectomy 4 days ago. When i was released from hospital my calcium was 4.6. The day after I came home i had terrible tingling in my hands and face. After calling the doctor he put me on 5 tablets every 6 hours instead of sending me back to hosp for an iv.  I have been on these for 2 days...and i see the doc in 4 days....anyone have any suggestions...i feel like i am in a fog..and am bloated...does it ever get better?...

[redheadaussie]

Hi there. Often the parathyroid glands, which are responsible for our calcium levels, get a bit whacked about and bruised. It can be many months or just a few days before they get back to normal. Being the size of a grain of rice and usually 4 of them, it is often difficult to actually not man-handle them in surgery. Rarely they are removed due to inexperienced surgeons or they are so entwined in thyroid tissue it is impossible to not remove them
  Being on the dose you are now is fine. One point though, often Vit D is low in thyroid patients, and this magic vitamin has only one job; to obtain calcium through the gut, and make it usable into our bodies. So I suggest you make sure the Calcium you take also has a Vit D3 in it. Tri-Boron is an excellent one to take.

Sadly for me it is now 2 years post op and I still have low calcium issues. I am certainly not the norm! Many people get better between a week to 6 months after surgery.

  An IV is not going to solve the problem. Calcium is depleted daily. So the only way to obtain the level you need is to take some tablets.

cheers!

[blsdnsvd]

I also had a Total Thyroidectomy on 12-17...when i left the hosp, my calcium level was 8.5 and i'm assuming it dropped a day later because I had tingling EVERYWHERE (face, arms, legs, toes) and muscle spasms (hands and toes) as well. Because i was started on 1000mg 2xdaily starting the day after surgery...i figured that i'd give it time. The following day, it did decrease alot and finally the symptoms went away two days after that. I am 3weeks post surgery and just had my blood work done in which the results shall be in very soon. I have not started any med's (hormone replacement therapy) as of yet, but will as soon as my results come in and i'm feeling pretty ok besides alittle tired at times but hard to get a good nites sleep.