If they are different labs, then it's possible and not that expensive to just walk in and get a lab test done. You could potentially even do this yourself by just walking into a 'LabCorp' or local lab draw center and ask what lab they use to do their tests and checking it against the labs that you had done to make sure that they are different labs. While a long shot since it sounds like you've had several abnormal calcium levels over a period of time, it's not unheard of for a wrongly calibrated machine to continue giving incorrect results for long periods of time and at least that would 'rule that out' with 100% certainty. If they are different then it's DEFINITELY a lab problem. Since this is such an unusual situation, it might be worth it to get a lab test done where they draw two of the same tubes for calcium and do one at that lab and send one to another lab to see if they come back the same or wildly different. Labs sometimes make mistakes or their equipment is calibrated incorrectly. Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to ask to see if your doctor had sent at least one of your calcium tests to a separate laboratory. In any case, no, I don't know of any other scans or tests that you would want to do- not that there aren't any, I just don't know of any. It's a catch 22 that I don't have a good answer for you and I don't know WHAT I would choose to do about taking vitamin d or not if I were in your situation.
And taking the vitamin d can cause you to absorb more calcium, which can cause problems in those with high calcium levels.īut without it, you will continue to have very low levels of vitamin d. A high calcium level IS contraindicated for taking vitamin d, or I say that it's at least contraindicated until an endocrinologist specifically puts you on Vitamin D. You are right to be cautious about the vitamin d. Vitamin D is contraindicated with high calcium For the membership, you also get a whole bunch of great audios by experts on nutrition, Functional Medicine Testing and more. OR, if you are interested in delving into it yourself, you can sign up for a Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis Class by signing up for the premium membership at Functional Medicine Town. Unfortunately, vitamin d can reduce parathyroid levels, but it does not ever reduce high calcium levels. Sometimes you just have to take the bull by the horns and do things without the help of your doctor and pay the out of pocket on your own.
You could attempt to find an endocrinologist and just see if they will do a scan for a cash fee out of pocket for a reduced cost without doing a full consultation, and then attempt to submit to insurance just to get 'the answer' to that question. That increases to 1,200 mg for men over age 70.I certainly think that it would be great to get a scan just to be sure because it seems like the 'obvious' problem. For men under age 70, the recommendation is to get 1,000 mg daily. Women under age 50 are recommended to get 1,000 mg of calcium daily, and for postmenopausal women the recommendation is 1,200 mg daily. The current recommendations from the National Osteoporosis Foundation are to include plenty of foods high in calcium in your diet, including dairy products, dark leafy greens and products fortified with calcium.įor those individuals with true milk allergies or other dietary restrictions, calcium supplements are sometimes necessary to ensure adequate calcium intake. Some patients fear cancer is the reason for their high calcium levels. If your levels spike suddenly into the 12 to 15 mg/dL range (10 mg/dL is normal), it could be the first sign of cancer, but this is a far more rare reason for elevated calcium, Dr. That’s a may be a sign of a digestive problem that may need to be addressed.” But if you’re taking more than one or two per week, let your primary care physician know. “Taking an occasional tablet is not harmful.
Taking too much calcium in the form of calcium supplements or calcium-based antacid tablets is another common cause. “Be very careful about calcium-rich antacid tablets,” Dr. Hyperparathyroidism means your body releases excess parathyroid hormone, which can elevate your blood calcium level. “When the calcium is high because of an overactive parathyroid gland, that means the calcium is coming from the bones, and that can result in fractures,” Dr.