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Taking Caltrate calcium if I have Graves' disease

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lst863
lst863

I'm new with hyperthyroidism and Graves' disease. I am taking Methimazole 30mg at 9am. I also take Propranolol 20mg 3 times a day every 8 hours apart. I take Caltrate calcium in lunch time and dinner time. Am I doing the right thing? 

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3 Replies

  • anne10359
    anne10359 lst863

    Posted

    Although I had Graves Disease, I have no idea what the calcium would do in your case.  Why are you taking the calcium?  I adversely reacted quite quickly to both the possible medications to treat Graves Disease, so the only choices were to kill my thyroid with radioactive iodine or to remove it.

    I had raised blood calcium, which I was told meant I had a parathyroid adenoma, which had to come out...so my thyroid and my adenoma was removed.

    I am very curious about your reason for taking calcium because it is so different to my own experience.

    • lst863
      lst863 anne10359

      Posted

      I have Osteopenia. I take 2 caltrate calcium to keep my bone strong.
    • anne10359
      anne10359 lst863

      Posted

      Have you had your calcium, PTH and vit D tested?  Osteopenia is one of the symptoms of parathyroid adenoma.  Parathyroids are glands behind the thyroid and they control calcium levels in your blood.  An adenoma is a tumour, usually not cancerous, of a parathyroid, where it gets enlarged and unable to shut off..thereby putting out PTH (parathyroid hormone) all the time, signalling your bones to release calcium.  If you get the calcium, PTH and vit D all tested from one blood sample and the calcium and PTH are both high and the vit D is low, it will show you have an adenoma.  The calcium does not need to be actually over normal...the high end of normal with raised PTH will show it.  In a normal person, if calcium is high then PTH will be low, since there is no reason for the parathyroids to signal the bones to release calcium to the blood.

      I had a parathyroid adenoma for 7 years before my graves disease happened.  I had been told I had raised calcium, but not what it meant, until I saw the endocrinologist for my graves disease.

      They removed my thyroid (because I reacted adversely to the drugs for overactive thyroid) and my adenoma at the same time.

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