Para Thyroid Disease

Types

• Hyperparathyroidism is the type of parathyroid disease that occurs when your thyroid gland produces too much of the hormone, causing high levels of calcium in your bloodstream. With hypoparathyroidism, your parathyroid produces too little of these necessary hormones, causing a calcium deficiency.
  
  

Causes

• Causes of hypoparathryoidism include damage to one of the parathyroid glands due to surgery or an injury, a defect in the glands present at birth, an autoimmune condition where your immune system attacks your parathyroid, cancer radiation on your face or neck or low levels of magnesium in your bloodstream. Contributing factors for hyperparathyroidism include enlargement of the thyroid glands, a benign or cancerous on one of your parathyroid glands, chronic kidney failure or deficiencies of calcium or Vitamin D that cause your parathyroid to produce excessive amounts of hormones to compensate for these needed minerals and vitamins.
  
  

Symptoms

• Symptoms of hyperparathyroidism include osteoporosis, kidney stones, excessive urination, abdominal pain, fatigue, depression, forgetfulness, bone and joint pain, nausea, vomiting or loss of appetite. Hypoparathyroidism causes different symptoms, such as tingling in your fingertips or toes, muscle aches, muscle twitching around your mouth or throat, fatigue, menstrual pain, hair loss, thinning eyebrows, dry skin, brittle nails, anxiety, nervousness, headaches, mood swings and memory loss.
  
  

Complications

• Left untreated, parathyroid disease has the potential to cause heart disease, arrhythmia, impaired kidney functioning, seizures and tetany or potentially life-threatening muscle spasms in your throat, according to the Mayo Clinic.
  
  

Treatment

• Treatments for hyperparathyroidism include surgery to remove damaged glands or those that have tumors and prescription medications like calcimimetics, hormone replacement therapy and bisphosphonates. For hypoparathyroidism, calcium and Vitamin D supplements are the most common forms of treatment, according to the Mayo Clinic.