Parathyroid Gland Basics

Endocrine surgeon Keith Forwith PhD,MD describes the function of the parathryoid glands and how a bad gland can lead to high calcium and a host of medical problems.
Part 2 - How Vitamin D interacts with Parathyroid and Calcium regulation • Vitamin D and the Para...
Dr. Forwith specializes in endocrine surgery of the head and neck. His expertise ranges from medical to surgical management for a variety of thyroid and parathyroid disorders.
Medical disclaimer: These videos are strictly educational and are not intended to give provide specific medical advice. Dr. Forwith and the content available on Dr Forwith’s channel and website properties (Thyroid.doctor, Parathyroid.doctor, KZbin, and other channels) do not provide a diagnosis or other recommendation for treatment and are not a substitute for the professional judgment of a healthcare professional in diagnosis and treatment of any person or animal. The determination of the need for medical services and the types of healthcare to be provided to a patient are decisions that should be made only by a physician or other licensed health care provider during a visit that is specific to the patient. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you have regarding a medical condition. These videos are for educational purposes only as Dr. Forwith believes better education leads to better health care decisions.

[@haticeiaconangelo3373]

Thank you for the explanation. You helped me to understand the correlation between pth, calcium, and vitD.

[@cherylandrews4539]

Love the video and had a great visit . Explained everything so well and very thankful . People there are really good doctors out there ,he is the best.

[@annemoran6792]

This is one of the better videos I've listened to on this subject, and I've listened to many. Thank you.

[@elOratorio]

Looking forward to the video on symptoms. Thank you 🙂 you have a gift for explaining

[@joella64]

Where is your office? I want to consult with you so you can do my surgery. High calcium, High PTH, low vitamin D. Help

[@mustafaalany8630]

Great Video, thanks!

[@entallergydoc1]

Glad you liked it!

[@casspierson9789]

The long term consequences seem very serious. I was just given an initial diagnosis with Calcium: of 10.6, PTH: 71 and Vitamin D: 27 (These were the second time I had these tests - first was similar and a two months before.) At 30 years old, I don't love the thought of the long-term consequences or just waiting for symptoms to get worse. Especially with kidney risks and a family history of LOTS of kidney disease. Some other symptoms like fatigue and memory issues which may be related to other things? Why is it so many doctors prefer to wait for surgery? Is it worth pushing to have the surgery earlier?

[@entallergydoc1]

Young people have higher calcium levels, so 10.6 is just a bit high for you. Those numbers on a 60 year old would mean a parathyroid adenoma. I would want more data in your case

[@manjushak7897]

Well explained sir

[@jackiemargaret437]

Thankyou Dr... that was very well explained.÷))

[@EMKABMART]

Keith is it normal for PTH to go from 20 -90?

[@EMKABMART]

If you think you have a parathyroid tumor don't give blood it confuses doctors, and you can't explain it to them. You have approximately 10 pints of blood and if you take one out it drops vitamins in the blood by about 10%. It will reduce the calcium in the blood along with Vitamin D. With a lower amount of vitamin D your calcium will have a slow start to climbing back up, but it will. You can't explain the process to doctors either. also, if you give blood your kidneys won't have much calcium to filter out into the urine and that confuses them as well. *Keith will tell you that without vitamin D you can absorb calcium. High calcium hinders Iron absorption. Just some food for thought.

[@RM.....]

I’ve been dealing with kidney stones off and on for a while now. Kidney doc has me on diuretics to try and lower calcium in my urine as it’s almost always high. When I asked him what’s causing it , he says he doesn’t know and it’s hard today why. That’s not an answer it’s an excuse. There IS. a problem causing it and I believe it’s my parathyroid. I mentioned it once and he said no that wouldn’t cause it. He’s been in this field for a long time. I’m not thrilled. As a result of peeing so much I also have very low potassium. And has me on potassium as well and it hasn’t raised it at all. I’m at my wits end with all this.

[@AdaraBalabusta]

Get your own PTH test. ❤

[@EMKABMART]

@@AdaraBalabusta don't take vitamin B or any kind a week before taking a PTH test.

[@tammyrickert3130]

Can you explain Hypoparathyroidism, Please?😊

[@GNaz-wf3db]

What test shows which parathyroid is bad?

[@jannatshah2746]

Nice lacture

[@mhhh3706]

Iam 42 y and pth is 85...calcium 9.7 now is i hve primary hyperparathyrodism ?

[@livibenoit3911]

Is it abnormal for PTH to be 88.1 when Calcium is "normal" at 9.1 ?

[@disscustinglybeautiful1652]

My PTH is 128 due to kidney disease it's a constant struggle to regulate.

[@teresamonastero]

Do you have to remove the thyroid with the parathyroid If you have nodules on your thyroid? Can you just remove the parathyroid?

[@entallergydoc1]

You can usually remove the parathyroid without dealing with the thyroid. If, however, part of the thyroid needs to come out, the two procedures can be done in the same operation.

[@haticeiaconangelo3373]

Teresa, most people have nodules on their thyroid. Whether the nodules have to be addressed depends on their size and whether they are benign or malignant. See your endocrinologist and get tested ( ultrasound, ct scan, biopsy).

[@benchmanmao9638]

can parathyroid gland get autotransplanted at kidney capsule?

[@entallergydoc1]

Not sure I quite understand your question - but, a parathyroid can be autotransplanted into either a superficial muscle in the neck or in the forearm.

[@CreatingintheWaiting]

Okay so how do we fix this!?

[@entallergydoc1]

See a high volume parathyroid surgeon as removal of the bad gland is the only treatment. There are no medicines to counteract a bad parathyroid gland.

[@lindabartle6607]

I am 72years old, my vit d3 is22 my calcium is 10.3 and my pth is 53 ,do i have hyperparathyroid? my doctor said no ,but I feel very unwell.

[@entallergydoc1]

High calcium with high normal calcium certainly implies a parathyroid adenoma! Review the video to see that if things were normal, the PTH would be low when calcium is high. You need a high volume parathryoid surgeon as these cases can be a bit more challenging than when the PTH is very high.

[@henningholthusen831]

10.3 is very high for a 72-year-old. The reference ranges do not account for age. You very likely have primary hyperparathyroidism.

[@kareneraman67]

What about fat doctor?

[@levongaines9973]

My pth is low , calcium high and vitamin d is low

[@levongaines9973]

According to your video this is normal?

[@hometypist1966]

Doctor, Like your Video. Good Explanation. GOD has a purpose for giving us 4 parathyroid gland. Shouldnt the effort be to find the CAUSE, rather than remove the SYMPTOMS, in which case BODY will have to damage other BODY PARTS to tell that SYMPTOM still persist and than the other BODY PARTS to will be removed.