Just had my 6 year review with Dr. Steven Harvey in Milwaukee.... He's the only Physician that has earned my trust in the last 6 years. MY tumor has not grown, balance still a challenge, hearing still 20% of normal, but nothing else has changed!!
Last 3 years been a challenge. Low palette counts, excessive bleeding, racked with pain, sore joints, thought I was headed down a steep slope. I could not run or walk very well and struggled to survive every day. Ended up in the emergency department in late June because I was feeling numbness in my right lip/nose, right index finger and right big toe. I was released with nothing found. Next day back to the Emergency department in my home town with same symptoms... turns out I was having a mild stroke and here is where things get interesting. An Emergency room physician asked me if I had ever had my Calcium Blood score checked, I did not even know what that is, well it turns out I had 750 times the normal amount of Calcium in my blood and it was making me very sick. A couple days later, Doctors removed a golf ball size tumor along with 1 of my 4 Parathyroid glands in a 5 hour operation. Every one of my Doctors had missed this incredible important sign for the last 3 years my counts were very high. Needless to say I was pissed. MY Blood Pressure and Cholesterol have always been low because I never smoked or drank and I was a marathon runner for all the years before I was diagnosed with my AN. When I confronted them... I was told "sorry I missed that". For the second time in the last 10 years the Doctors were incompetent and it cost me 3 years of my life.... it was the cause of my minor stroke. I have since learned that Radiation to the head neck can cause a Parathyroid tumor.
Please have your blood Calcium score checked, if you area slightly high, talk to a qualified ENT and have the bad Parathyroid removed... it's a normal 20 minute operation.
For 3 years, my doctors attributed my pain, moodiness, and great discomfort to my AN, they WERE ALL WRONG!!
Now the great news. After a 30 day recovery... I feel amazing, I started running in late January and I'm hitting 25-30 miles a week. Absolutely zero pain, soreness... it's all gone, I am a new person...just ask my wife.
I still cringe every time a new poster says their Doctor will perform CK or Cyberknife and they can return to work that same day. That's absolute bullcrap and don't believe a word of it. There is a 18-24 month recovery from Radiation from everyone I have spoken with over the past 6 years... Please go back and read the incredible stories of those of us that have chosen that option to treat or AN's. With out their support, I would not have made it through the first 3 years after CK.
Lastly, I added this link information on Hyperparathyroidism, have your blood score checked and believe me when I say … It saved my life!!
https://www.parathyroid.com/