Author: barbaracreamer

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Meet-up with author Dr. Lani Simpson, DC, CCD

This week we had the distinct pleasure of meeting Dr. Lani Simpson, a chiropractic doctor, Certified Clinical (bone) Densitometrist (CCD) and author of No-­Nonsense Bone Health Guide: The Truth About Density Testing, Osteoporosis Drugs And Building Bone Quality At Any Age (Hunter House, August 2014, paperback)

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Dr. Lani has practiced in women’s health care for 30 years, treating thousands of patients with a multidisciplinary and holistic approach. An expert in bone density analysis, osteoporosis and hormone balancing, she co-founded the East Bay Menopause and PMS Center and the Osteoporosis Diagnostic Center in Oakland, CA. Dr. Lani has a private practice in Berkeley, CA, where she consults with both women and men on bone health and hormone related issues. Dr. Lani’s personal experience with osteoporosis began in 1994, when, at the age of 45, she was diagnosed with borderline osteoporosis. That diagnosis compelled her to learn everything she could about the disease, and about cultivating optimal bone health.

We were particularly interested in talking to Dr. Lani about primary hyperparathyroid disease (pHPT) as it relates to osteoporosis. Two of us were diagnosed with osteopenia years before we were finally diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroid disease. From our own experience and hearing other patient stories, it seems pHPT is often not thoroughly and/or correctly investigated as a possible root cause in patients who have been diagnosed with osteopenia/osteoporosis. Though pHPT is not the root cause of her own bone disease, Dr. Lani is astutely aware of pHPT and the havoc it wreaks on bones. She diligently assesses her patients in order to obtain a correct diagnosis; works to find the root cause of their osteoporosis and assists those who have been failed by the system.

One of the many symptoms of primary hyperparathyroid disease is bone pain. Patients who have pHPT who do not have their adenoma(s) surgically removed will, over time, develop osteoporosis. Osteoporosis occurs when the loss of calcium causes bones to become porous and thin, and thus susceptible to fractures and breaks. The parathyroid glands are intricate players that regulate calcium in our bodies.

When a person has primary hyperparathyroid disease, one or more of the 4 parathyroids becomes a non-cancerous adenoma and disrupts the amount of parathyroid hormone (PTH) being produced. These parathyroid glands, each of which is the size of a grain of rice normally located right behind the thyroid, regulate how much calcium is absorbed from our diet, how much is released into the urine by our kidneys, how much is contained within our nervous system and muscles, and how much is stored in our bones. When one (or more) of the parathyroid glands becomes overactive, due to the gland becoming a non-cancerous adenoma, excess PTH is produced. This excess PTH causes calcium to be leached constantly from the bones into the blood stream and as a result, actively destroys the bone. IF primary hyperparathyroid disease is determined as being the root cause of a patient’s osteoporosis, then surgery is the cure for the pHPT. The next crucial step is to rebuild bone quality.

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Click for more book information.

 

In her newly released book, Dr. Lani Simpson guides you through the confusion and misinformation surrounding osteoporosis.      Part whistle-­blower book, part bone-­health bible, and the first consumer book to expose the shocking difficulty of getting accurate bone density test results. It also reveals the serious risks of long-­term use of commonly prescribed medications.

The first part of the book clears up a lot of confusion about osteoporosis. Readers learn:

  • How to rate their personal risk for fractures and osteoporosis.
  • How to obtain accurate bone density test results.
  • The risks and benefits of osteoporosis drugs and alternative treatments.

 In the second half of the book, Dr. Simpson explains what readers can do now to build healthy bones for life and lays out a whole-­body or “integrative” approach to bone health:

  • How gastrointestinal health impacts bone health.
  • How hormones affect our bones throughout our lifespan.
  • What foods and exercises can help to build strong bones.

We believe Dr. Lani’s book is an excellent source of information for those who have had their adenoma(s) surgically removed and need to rebuild their bone health from years of stress the bones endured as a result of primary hyperparathryoid disease going undiagnosed for far too many years.

PARAthyroid PEEPS is now looking forward to working collaboratively with Dr. Lani on an upcoming project to share more information about the diagnosis and treatment of primary hyperparathyroid disease and how patients can improve their bone health after surgery.

CONNECT WITH DR. LANI: 

www.LaniSimpson.com | facebook.com/doctorlani | DoctorLani@gmail.com |

Buy Book: No Nonsense Bone Health Guide 

Sources: www.lanisimpson.com/press-kit

Meme 2 - Osteoporosis

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Celebrating “Firsts”…

On Tuesday this past week, we celebrated a “first” – the first meet-up of the Northern California/Bay Area Para Peeps! What a delight it was to meet such wonderful people, each at different stages of their parathyroid journeys. One had her surgery in 2011 after going undiagnosed for 8+ years and had an adenoma removed that was attached to her vocal cord. Another, who had two adenomas removed in 2013, was grateful her surgeon was one that checks all four parathyroid glands. We also met a woman accompanied by her daughter, who was recently diagnosed, and in the process of gathering information to make an informed decision regarding surgery. The last is scheduled for a re-op in a few months after having a failed surgery. There was so much to share and learn and when we heard all these stories, it reinforced why we started PARAthyroid PEEPS in the first place AND why we are so very passionate about our mission …

To inspire patients, doctors and mental health care professionals to become educated about primary hyperparathyroid disease – the symptoms, diagnostic process and the risks associated with the “wait and see” approach and to advocate for the most advanced surgical techniques available to become the standard of care. 

There is no question that awareness needs to be raised among medical professional. Of course general practitioners and endocrinologists immediately come to mind, but there are so many other specialists who patients come in contact with because of their symptoms and we want to reach them too. Our audience includes functional medical practitioners, bone experts, mental healthcare professionals, urologists and heart specialists to name just a few! We also want to educate patients that it is more than OK to ask for a copy of your lab results and once you have a copy to check that your blood calcium is in the tight range that is considered normal. Patients need to be aware that the normal ranges for blood calcium do vary slightly by lab and even more importantly, to understand that most laboratories do not adjust calcium values based on age. According to Dr. Norman from the Norman Parathyroid Center,

“Teenagers and people in their early 20’s can have calcium levels up to 10.7 mg/dl. Once you are over 30 however, you should have all calcium levels in the 9’s with the upper limit of normal being 10.0 or 10.1 mg/dl. An adult with calcium levels in the 10’s is very likely to have a parathyroid tumor. Unfortunately, most doctors don’t understand that calcium levels change with age, so they are often confused on this issue.”

Additionally we are thrilled with the response we have received from people wanting to help. We have guest bloggers lined up working on their stories and these will start rolling out next week. This week we also had the pleasure of speaking with Heather Fraser via Skype who we met through the Parathyroid Resource Support and Awareness Group. We had a great discussion as to how we might collaborate on projects in the future.

We also are grateful to the Bone Girls Club  for connecting us with people and resources to help spread the word about primary hyperparathyroid disease. You can connect with them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bonegirlsaz. In addition to their FB page, there is a physical Bone Girls (and Guys) Club in Tucson, AZ that meets twice a month for lively discussions on bone health.

We have other exciting meetings scheduled next week too ….one is with a bone expert/author, another is with a woman who runs a speaker’s bureau and there are opportunities for us to learn from endocrinologists as well as surgeons in the coming weeks.  We are planning to share all that we learn with you, so please stay tuned! And, if you couldn’t make this month’s meet-up, we hope you will consider joining us for our next one scheduled on Tuesday, April 7th from 11:30 – 1:30 at Pizza Antica in the Strawberry Village Shopping Center in Mill Valley.

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First Northern California/S.F. Bay Area Para-Peep Meet-up, March 10, 2015

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Peeps… short for people, friends, close pals, “my peeps”.

Barbara, Joyce and Sophie met virtually, so to speak, in a Parathyroid Disease online support group. Groups like this provide support and information for those who suspect they might have, or have been diagnosed with, parathyroid disease.  Members share their personal stories and experiences from diagnosis to pre and post surgery.  The administrators work hard to keep the group positive and on track.

On the page, noting from our posts that we all resided in the San Francisco Bay Area, and additionally discovering that each of us traveled across the country to Tampa, Florida to have our surgeries performed at the Norman Parathyroid Center, we were of course curious to meet and so we set a lunch date for 10/14/14 to do just that. There was an instant connection!

Our first meet-up on 10/14/14

Our first meet-up on
10/14/14

Stories were shared, symptoms were compared, problems we experienced in trying to get diagnosed were discussed and before we knew it, we were enthusiastically hatching the idea to publicly share our stories to raise awareness of primary hyperparathyroid disease. This is the story of our beginning – we don’t yet know the end! We are open to possibilities as to where this journey may take us… AND YOU! Each of us brings a unique skill set to this endeavor and we are excited at the prospect of  raising awareness and inspiring others to become educated. And of course, it has been wonderful actually meeting other Para Peeps “in the flesh”! We will keep you updated here as to our progress as we move forward. Please check out our website and share your thoughts. We will continue to add information to it. To be notified of new posts and updates consider following our blog and/or Facebook page. Please also note that we schedule a no-host monthly lunch meet-up. Please find additional information about these events on our Upcoming Events