Conozcan a Yvette Serrano Camou

Hola soy de Mexicali, Baja California. En Pasteleria Ochoa hago pasteles para muchas novias. Siempre soñé con hacer los pasteles para mis hijos cuando ellos se casarán. Hace dos años se casaron dos de mis tres hijos. No les pude hacer su pastel y me la pasé sentada durante las dos bodas porque me dolía el solo hecho de caminar. Estoy muy agradecida que por fin tuve un buen diagnóstico y encontré un excelente cirujano.

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Por más de 5 años estuve enferma.

De ser una persona tan optimista, activa y vaga, no quería salir de mi casa.

Me habían operado de la rodilla, pero el dolor tan intenso en el hueso no me dejaba caminar, ni manejar. Tuve que usar silla de ruedas.

Estaba en un estado de depresión, sin saberlo. Me di cuenta después de la operación porque me sentí contenta otra vez. Notaba que me enojaba fácilmente por cualquier circunstancia y no lo podía evitar. Me volví una persona muy distraída.

Tenía la piel muy seca, fui con el dermatólogo y me dio una pomada y receto vitamina B , que no me sirvió.

Se me caía mucho el cabello.

En el 2014, empecé con dolor de riñón, no tenía piedras. Fui con el nefrólogo, y me dijo que estaba bien.

En el verano del 2016, me diagnosticaron con un alto grado de osteopenia. Mi T- Score: AP Columna -1.3. Fémur derecho -2.2. El especialista en osteoporosis me receto Prolia (denosumab) un tratamiento para osteoporosis por 6 meses.

Fue cuando decidí ir con un endocrinólogo a pedir una segunda opinión. Fui con el Dr. Alberto Solano en Guadalajara, al ver que mi nivel de calcio en la sangre, por los últimos 5 años era de 10, 10.2 y 10.3, me mando hacer el estudio PTH, para saber el nivel de la hormona paratiroidea. Los resultados del examen PTH mostraron que tenía 184 pg/ml., cuando lo normal es entre 10 y 69. El diagnóstico fue hiperparatiroidismo, me tenían que operar para quitarme el tumor.

El Dr. Solano me recomendó que buscara un cirujano que tuviera la experiencia en operar la glándula paratiroidea. Me recomendó que buscara a un cirujano que fuera especialista en operar paratiroides y le preguntara que tan seguido las operaba.

Encontré a Norman Parathyroid Center en Tampa, Florida. Me operaron en diciembre 2016, un mes después de saber el diagnostico.

Llegué temprano al hospital y como a las 2 horas entre al quirófano. La operación duro como media hora. Estuve 2 horas en recuperación. Salí del hospital y me fui al hotel a comer nieve. Mi cuello estaba inflamado, como si tuviera una pelota de golf. No tenía mayor molestia, ya que podía hablar perfectamente y comer.

Esa misma noche estaba cenando en el restaurant. Me quede un día más en Tampa. Al día siguiente me fui de turista.

Después de la operación sentí que ese dolor tan intenso en la rodilla que había tenido por varios años, que no me dejaba caminar, se me quito. Al paso del tiempo los otros síntomas han ido desapareciendo. Ahora es cuando me doy cuenta de lo mal que estaba.

Una semana después de la operación me empecé a untar aceite de vitamina E en la cicatriz y ya casi ni se nota.

Continúo tomando Citracal +D3 cada 4 horas. En abril 2017, cuatro meses después, me volví a hacer los exámenes. Mi nivel de Calcio disminuyo a 9.2 mg/dl. Al hacerme la densitometría también la osteopenia disminuyo notablemente con mi T-Score : AP Columna -1.0, y Fémur derecho -2.1.

Recobre mi confianza, seguridad, alegría y libertad!!!!!!

Meet Yvette Serrano –  I’m Yvette from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. At Pasteleria Ochoa,   I make wedding cakes for lots of brides. I always dreamt about baking my children their own wedding cakes. Two years ago, my eldest son and then my only daughter got married. Their weddings were both beautiful! However, I  wasn’t able to make a  wedding cake for either of them and there was no dancing for me while suffering from primary hyperparathyroid disease.  I am very lucky that I was finally diagnosed correctly and had an excellent surgeon.

It all started about five years ago. I changed from being a very optimistic, active, outgoing person, to one that didn’t want to leave the house.

I had knee surgery, but the pain was so intense, I could not walk, nor could I drive. I had to use a wheelchair. My orthopedist couldn’t find anything wrong. It wasn’t my knee that hurt however, it was my bone that hurt.

I started having mood changes. I got angry very easily for any reason and I couldn’t avoid it. I also became very absent-mined. I was depressed without me even noticing it.  (I only realized it after the operation, I felt happy.)

My skin became very dry. The dermatologist prescribed vitamin B, which did not work.

I had hair loss.

In 2014, I had kidney pain, but did not have kidney stones. The specialist couldn’t find anything wrong.

In 2016, I was diagnosed with osteopenia in the femur and the spine. My T-Score: AP Spine -1.3, Right Femur -2.2. The specialist suggested Prolia (denosumab) treatment for 6 months.

I decided then to see an endocrinologist to get a second opinion and scheduled an appointment with Dr. Alberto Solano in Guadalajara, Mexico. After seeing that for the past five years my blood calcium level was 10, 10.2, and 10.3, he ordered PTH tests to check parathyroid hormone levels. My result for the PTH test was that I had 184 pg/ml, when the normal values are between 10 and 69. The diagnosis was I had hyperparathyroidism. I had to have surgery to remove the parathyroid tumor.

Doctor Solano recommended I find a surgeon who had experience operating on parathyroid glands and suggested that I ask specific questions; for example: Do you specialize and perform only parathyroidectomies? How often do you perform them?

After research I found the Norman Parathyroid Center in Tampa, Florida, who specializes in parathyroid glands. I was diagnosed in November 2016 and a month later in December had arranged to have surgery there.

I arrived early to the hospital and waited about 2 hours to be sent to the operating room. The operation lasted about 30 minutes or less. I stayed 2 hours in the recovery room and then returned to the hotel to eat ice cream. My throat was swollen as if I had a golf ball, but I could speak and eat perfectly. I had no pain.

That same night I was eating at a restaurant. I stayed one more night at the hotel, but it was not necessary, I felt great. Went sightseeing the next day.

After the parathyroid operation, the excruciating pain I had in my knee was gone and the other symptoms went away too.

A week after the operation I applied vitamin E oil on the scar, all the lumps disappeared. You can barely see the scar.

I continued taking Citracal +D3 every 4 hours. 4 months later, in April 2017, I had labs done for a checkup, and my results were the following: Calcium 9.2 mg/dL, and PTH 72.20 pg/mL, and my T-Score: AP Spine -1.0, Right Femur -2.1 (which means I only have osteopenia in the femur and not in the spine anymore).

I have recovered my confidence, security, happiness, and freedom!!!!!!

Editors note: We are thrilled to be able to share Yvette’s story again in the near future, but this time in Spanish. We have always wanted to be able to share posts in different languages and we are honored to be able to collaborate with Yvette to make hers our first!

Yvette invites you to contact her to ask any questions you may have in Spanish or English at  yvetteochoa2@hotmail.com. or through Facebook at Yvette Serrano Camou 

 Meet Guest Blogger Sandi Putnam – Sandi was born and raised in Michigan, became a medical technologist in 1960 and worked at that for 35 years. She is married with a daughter and a grandson in Texas and lives with her husband in Tucson, Arizona. During her husband’s 25 year career with Eastman Kodak in professional markets, the family relocated around the USA which provided the couple and their daughter, many enriching experiences. In a twenty year time frame that she was able to do so, Sandi kept horses, enjoyed horseback riding and served as a mounted patrol volunteer in a nearby national park for a number of years. She continues to enjoy swimming, walking, yoga, Curves  training, sewing and gardening as well as managing a household and an active life of retirement with her husband, Doug.

On April 4, 2017, four Tucson women who had been to Tampa in a ten month time frame went out for lunch to celebrate my one year surgery anniversary. I was the first of us four to have surgery at Norman Parathyroid Center exactly one year to the day. Through my friendships with two of them for a number of years, I was able to help affirm their decisions to choose NPC. Three of us are retired medical professionals and the last, Betty  who was tenaciously looking for answers to her health problems.

Sandi with Betty at one year “anniversary” celebration.

This fourth person came on board when she heard about the Parathyroid Peeps meet up in Tucson in November 2016, a courtesy event hosted by Barbara, Joyce and Sophie at their hotel, which preceded their second annual workshop at Miraval with Dr. Deva Boone, who arrived a few days later. Later that same week, I was privileged to be on the program with Dr Boone as a presenter from a patient’s perspective.

Here is our overview. All four of us had surgery in Tampa between April 2016 and February 2017. Our cumulative years of going undiagnosed are about 50 years. None of our primary doctors or specialists were as convinced as we were of having pHPT, after each of us independently, had spent a good deal of time on the NPC web site. For the most part, doctors around the world do not understand that anyone over age 30 should not have a calcium over 10.0. This is because of their reliance on our laboratories which report a reference range that goes into the mid 10’s, so we were all lumped together and considered ‘normal.’ Even those of us whose calcium levels were in the 11’s,  apparently didn’t raise any red flags.

One woman was refused a referral to an endocrinologist for a workup, so like the rest of us, she downloaded the Calcium Pro app to help move her forward. We are only a few of the countless who are self-diagnosed and ultimately confirmed through consults with NPC. Only one of us had the classic elevated serum calcium and elevated PTH, the others had only elevated calcium. This made it all the more difficult to prove that we needed surgery. Between us, we had ALL of the symptoms on the NPC chart. We all had osteoporosis for which bone drugs were indicated, at least to our doctors. Between us, we believe we interacted with all 7 of the NPC surgeons on our cases. Our experiences with the rest of the highly professional and skilled staff at NPC were exceptional and courteous at every step. Each one of us had a procedure that lasted 30 minutes or less with incisions no longer than 1.5 inches. We were back at our hotels within a few hours of arriving at the center for our operations. Today, our scars are all remarkably minimal and continue to fade away.

A photo of each of our “culprits”…                non-cancerous parathyroid adenomas producing too much PTH!

Early on, each gave consideration to having procedures done locally, but independently we earnestly believed that the most successful outcomes would be at the hands of the surgical team at NPC. Our convictions rang true, as each one, in turn, returned home.  No facility does as many surgeries on a daily basis.  At NPC we had minimally invasive radio-guided surgeries. However, the probe was not used to locate the adenoma or glands like a “metal detector”.   Instead, the probe was used only to measure parathyroid hormone output of our adenomas and the biopsies of our remaining healthy parathyroid glands (generally three) to help ensure that we were cured.  It is not clear to us whether surgeons elsewhere locate and check PTH output of all adenomas and remaining health glands using the radio guided probe in this way.  Nor did these experienced surgeons have to “explore”.  Instead they use their expert understanding of the neck’s anatomy to locate all four glands in short order.

Had we chosen other surgeons and facilities, we were almost certain to face a longer time in surgery, which could also mean a longer recovery.  Likewise, it might have meant a less certain outcome because frequently, if surgeons are not as experienced, all four parathyroid glands are not checked. Nobody complained about pain afterward. Most of us had a meal shortly after being back at our hotels.

It is important to note that the post-surgery calcium protocol differs by quite a bit among other practices. Two of us were pretty much the text book NPC post-surgery calcium supplement intake, but two of us needed LOTS of extra calcium that was recommended by each one’s surgeon initially and subsequently coached along by the diligent and easily accessible staff in Tampa. These needs, early on, were determined by our surgeons before we took our first calcium pill. None of us ended up in the ER with a calcium IV due to the sudden drop to normal of our serum levels. Anyone who felt she needed other questions answered, found that being in touch personally with one of the nurses or her lead surgeon was easy.

While each of our stories is somewhat unique and each of our travel and lodging experiences vary somewhat, our procedures were all done in an expeditious manner, our recoveries were well underway in short order and we are collectively rid of our pre surgery symptoms and feel fantastic. Everyone’s labs in the following months are back to normal. Meanwhile, each of us knows at least one or two other people with this disease, whose doctors are not doing proper workup, diagnoses, or least of all, recommending surgery. They are victims of the ‘wait and see’ treatment plan. Each of us has become an advocate within our own circle of friends.

We are looking forward to having Parathyroid Peep Sophie Freedman, as a brand new resident of Arizona. This will afford us a unique opportunity to schedule regular meet ups in the state of Arizona, so that we can share our stories and take an active part in ongoing awareness and support of parathyroid disease.