high calcium, guidance?

[tendency]

Hey guys - I've always (well, last 25 years at least) had borderline high calcium measured via bloods, like, say 10.0, 10.1 (reference 8.7-10.2). The last year or so my last two Ca results have come back 10.4 and 10.5. Can anyone help me break this down into possible causes and avenues to investigate next? Several years ago my endo did think I was possibly developing parathyroid issues but further testing ruled that out, at the time. Appreciate it!

 

[Calm Logic]

Hi Tendency,

I had the same thing. But it went back to normal quickly. Parathyroid bloodwork was fine too.

I assume you are avoiding calcium sources like Tums? Have you also limited your calcium intake from dairy?

Most protein shakes I buy have up to 70 percent calcium, so that can be a problem too. But I'm fine with those. The antacids are what caused my high calcium. As you know, some oral supplements have calcium as an add-on too.

 

[tendency]

Hi Tendency,

I had the same thing. But it went back to normal quickly. Parathyroid bloodwork was fine too.

I assume you are avoiding calcium sources like Tums? Have you also limited your calcium intake from dairy?

Most protein shakes I buy have up to 70 percent calcium, so that can be a problem too. But I'm fine with those. The antacids are what caused my high calcium. As you know, some oral supplements have calcium as an add-on too.

Hmmm, it occurs to me I drink alot of whole milk and eat a fair bit of dairy. Maybe I'll try cutting out most of that - thanks!

 

[FRMN01]

Have you checked parathyroid?

 

[AlexSilver]

Guys, Nutrition guru Dr Joel Wallach claims that if your blood is showing high calcium, you are low on calcium.

It happens because your heart needs calcium to function and when you aren't getting enough calcium, your body leaches it from your bones and sends it to the heart.

After this has happened long enough, your bones get brittle.

I personally followed his recommendation and got on a high calcium diet (8 yrs ago) and my blood calcium dropped and stayed down. Wallach is correct in my opinion.

 

[BNLFL]

Hi Tendency,

I had the same thing. But it went back to normal quickly. Parathyroid bloodwork was fine too.

I assume you are avoiding calcium sources like Tums? Have you also limited your calcium intake from dairy?

Most protein shakes I buy have up to 70 percent calcium, so that can be a problem too. But I'm fine with those. The antacids are what caused my high calcium. As you know, some oral supplements have calcium as an add-on too.

Interesting. I eat one of those ever few nights due to the heart burn from the Reta side effects. Calcium was spot on, on the 3 weeks ago BT. Damn sodium was low though. I thought the damn Reta, nope I was drinking way to much water and peeing that sodium out. Go figure. There was something else, but nothing major.

 

[tendency]

Have you checked parathyroid?

PTH normal.

 

[tendency]

Guys, Nutrition guru Dr Joel Wallach claims that if your blood is showing high calcium, you are low on calcium.

It happens because your heart needs calcium to function and when you aren't getting enough calcium, your body leaches it from your bones and sends it to the heart.

After this has happened long enough, your bones get brittle.

I personally followed his recommendation and got on a high calcium diet (8 yrs ago) and my blood calcium dropped and stayed down. Wallach is correct in my opinion.

Ehhhh .. not sure about this wisdom. I eat alot of dairy. And, my Ca went up the more dairy I've consumed.

 

[toologic]

You have to check calcium, Pth and Vit D at the same time multiple times. That being said, taking Vit D can raise calcium and I was told to be off of it after they had some baseline Vit D levels. I was normocalcemic. I went round and round for years. Finally consulted out of state and had 2 adenomas removed. https://www.parathyroid.com/diagnosis.htm and they have an app https://calciumpro.com/ to input your numbers. My highest calcium was 10.1 and Pth of 100. When I went into surgery it was 9.5 and 65. It's not just the numbers but the relationship between the 2. Most endo's are not helpful. I went to the U of Michigan and was told there was nothing wrong with me. Good luck.

 

[toologic]

Guys, Nutrition guru Dr Joel Wallach claims that if your blood is showing high calcium, you are low on calcium.

It happens because your heart needs calcium to function and when you aren't getting enough calcium, your body leaches it from your bones and sends it to the heart.

Not buying it. I've had the disease and if you have an adenoma taking more calcium is not going to reduce the size of the adenoma. It needs to come out.

 

[CathyGoesFar]

Interesting. I eat one of those ever few nights due to the heart burn from the Reta side effects. Calcium was spot on, on the 3 weeks ago BT. Damn sodium was low though. I thought the damn Reta, nope I was drinking way to much water and peeing that sodium out. Go figure. There was something else, but nothing major.

I'm a hard stick and drank a ton of water before blood testing. It showed in the sodium results. I now tell the person drawing blood that I've hydrated to help them out but I no longer try to drown myself because it screws up my blood work. It seems to preempt the "you don't drink enough water!" BS I normally have to hear from them.

 

[CathyGoesFar]

I have had slightly out of range calcium but the doctor who went over it with me had no concerns. They just glanced at other numbers and said it was within normal variation so they weren't worried.

 

[latviantower]

Guys, Nutrition guru Dr Joel Wallach claims that if your blood is showing high calcium, you are low on calcium.

It happens because your heart needs calcium to function and when you aren't getting enough calcium, your body leaches it from your bones and sends it to the heart.

After this has happened long enough, your bones get brittle.

I personally followed his recommendation and got on a high calcium diet (8 yrs ago) and my blood calcium dropped and stayed down. Wallach is correct in my opinion.

I’ve seen this cited by others as well. The missing piece here to me is Vitamin K. My allergist (MD) is a huge natural type as well and we spend my semi annual appointments talking about supplements. He takes insane amounts of Vitamin D and K. K activates coenzymes necessary for “pushing” calcium into the bones where it belongs and out of your soft tissues. This reduces serum calcium and prevents Ca deposits in soft tissues (including arterial walls). I’m taking a modest amount of Vitamin D3 (2000 iu) and a hefty Vitamin K (K1, K2MK4, K2MK7) dose. I eat a lot of dairy and protein shakes but my calcium sits solidly at 9.1.

 

[AlexSilver]

Not buying it. I've had the disease and if you have an adenoma taking more calcium is not going to reduce the size of the adenoma. It needs to come out.

Whoa, I'm an asshole. I missed something. If you have adenoma, Taking more calcium is a big mistake.

 

[tendency]

I’ve seen this cited by others as well. The missing piece here to me is Vitamin K. My allergist (MD) is a huge natural type as well and we spend my semi annual appointments talking about supplements. He takes insane amounts of Vitamin D and K. K activates coenzymes necessary for “pushing” calcium into the bones where it belongs and out of your soft tissues. This reduces serum calcium and prevents Ca deposits in soft tissues (including arterial walls). I’m taking a modest amount of Vitamin D3 (2000 iu) and a hefty Vitamin K (K1, K2MK4, K2MK7) dose. I eat a lot of dairy and protein shakes but my calcium sits solidly at 9.1.

This is a good point; I had stopped taking vitamin K about 6 months before this blood work. However, in looking at my labs from when I was taking K it lowered my Ca down to about 10.2 .. so, little improvement. Maybe I'll try upping the K dosage.

I do take 4000iu of vit D, how much K are you taking? Thanks-

 

[toologic]

Whoa, I'm an asshole. I missed something. If you have adenoma, Taking more calcium is a big mistake.

when diagnosing parathyroid disease you can't just look solely at calcium levels. Its the relationship between Ca and Pth. In normal glands there is an indirect relationship and in abnormal glands there is a direct relationship. Just looking at Ca levels w/o Pth is a mistake. Some people have secondary hyperparathyroidism which can be caused by kidney problems or gastric bypass which is a different issue.

 

[Foggy-Hollow]

I have had slightly out of range calcium but the doctor who went over it with me had no concerns. They just glanced at other numbers and said it was within normal variation so they weren't worried.

Mine was slightly out of range high but my D was low. Once I got my vitamin D normal, the calcium went up more, which is a flag for parathyroid issues.

Docs miss it all the time, ask for your Vit D to be tested at the same time. Calcium needs the context of Vitamin D.

I had an adenoma removed in August, and I feel better overall. We (usually) have 4 parathyroids, my other three have stepped up beautifully.

 

[CathyGoesFar]

Mine was slightly out of range high but my D was low. Once I got my vitamin D normal, the calcium went up more, which is a flag for parathyroid issues.

Docs miss it all the time, ask for your Vit D to be tested at the same time. Calcium needs the context of Vitamin D.

I had an adenoma removed in August, and I feel better overall. We (usually) have 4 parathyroids, my other three have stepped up beautifully.

I get a full panel that tests just about everything every 4 months and includes a telehealth visit with a doctor to interpret findings since VA doctors are seemingly allergic to actually monitoring my documented health issues. Since I get such frequent testing there's a lot of "let's see what it does in 4 months" with markers that are just slightly out of range.

I'm also chronically D deficient so that may be why they weren't all that concerned about a small variation. I get enough sun and my diet has enough vitamin D so they aren't exactly sure what's going on there. The current thinking is to immediately blame my obesity but my deficiency issue was first found while I was at a healthy weight so that doesn't seem valid.

 

[birdwhacker]

Skimmed this and it seems nobody has mentioned that magnesium is critical to transporting and balancing calcium, and works in concert with vitamin D and boron.

I have a bad heart and I get palpitations constantly unless I supplement with magnesium. If I supplement calcium without magnesium, the palpitations are worsened to a dangerous degree. I'm a male, and I was also deficient in boron, and for the first few months that I took it I would get a noticeable increase in testosterone (wildly increased libido and more energy).

Doctor's best magnesium glycinate, take as much as you can tolerate, and boron 3mg a day would likely be a good start for you. Vitamin D 5000 IU daily with or without K2 until it starts making you ill. Easy way to get those bloods up without paying for labs.