Pesky calcium

So, turns out, calcium is like, REALLY IMPORTANT YOU GUYS! If your levels drop, it can wreck you.

As well as your thyroid, you have a thing called a parathyroid, and that is responsible for your body not being an idiot with calcium (see? we're educational here at Pandora's Neck) My parathyroid stopped working after the surgery (apparently it is now "waking up") and so I was basically have to feed my body calcium and was at the mercy of raspberry yoghurts and chalky calcium supplements.

Two days after surgery, I was tingling all over, all day. At one point I thought they had set my bed to vibrate or something, it was that bad. It got to the point where I felt like someone was tugging at my skin! Oh, and the rotting cherry on the world's worst cake was that my hands locked! My fingers fused together and could barely move! That was the scariest part.

The most frustrating part is that I couldn't seem to get anyone to understand, or at least be as concerned as I was. Don't get me wrong, the staff were great and eventually helped. Their initial reaction however, seemed to just be,"Yeah it happens" and I was like,"Why is it happening? Make it stop!" It seemed to be wearing off after a while, but then as the night progressed it just got worse. That, dear reader, was possibly my worst night at the hospital, and it took one nurse to finally help me out.

That night I was tingling all over and was severely dehydrated. I did not sleep. I couldn't get comfortable and I was absolutely terrified. At one point, all I could do was shoot up a prayer and say,"Okay, I can't do this with my own strength. Help!" At around 5 or 6 in the morning, a nurse asked me if I was okay, I told her no and explained how I was feeling. My right hand had completely locked, but a nurse had not realised and stuck a canular in it so she could put an IV in. Jess, who'd asked me if I was okay, grabbed my right hand for some reason, at which point I yelped. She asked me if that had hurt me, and when I nodded she FINALLY leapt into action.

She wheeled me around (on the infamous commode, as there were no wheelchairs to hand) to a part of the ward called the Progressive Care Unit, full of beepy machines and IVs. The first thing I saw was a woman, who was not only attached to IVs and various beepy machines, but also had a tube coming out of her neck! I realised then that the situation had got very real and very serious. I want to say that that was my exact eloquent thought, but my exact thought was,"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" I lay there, bewildered, and feeling like a mannequin again, as Jess and another nurse attached me to an IV and a heart monitor. I told Jess that I felt frightened, and she promised me that it would be okay...and I trusted her, wholeheartedly. Simply because she was the only one to kick into high gear and help me.

I spent about 24 hours in the Progressive Care Unit, but I didn't know at the moment that the was beginning of a vicious cycle. My calcium would drop, they'd hook me up to the IV, I'd be fine again, then my calcium would drop and it would start all over again!

When they thought they had sorted it, they sent me home. It wasn't over though because, guess what? You can have TOO MUCH CALCIUM! I know. I didn't think it was possible either. I spent my second day at home feeling slightly in denial and trying to hold back whenever I needed to vomit. On Sunday morning however, my body fought back and I could not stop vomiting!

My family brought me back to the ward (where we encountered an annoying doctor who obviously thought that being sarcastic made him quippy and witty but instead he was just rude), fluids and anti-sickness medication were pumped into my body and we were back to square one. Apparently though, when your calcium gets too high, you can become psychotic so, I guess that puts vomiting into perspective!

Today I had a blood test, and they said my calcium was at an okay level. I'm still on disgusting medication but, when I initially came home and they had me on three "calcichews," three times a day. Now I'm one "calcichew", three times a day, as well some stuff called One Alpha, so it's slightly more bearable!

 The nonsense with my calcium is what was keeping me in hospital all that time, really. I'm sure I will relax at some point, but for now I am still fearful of it dropping or rocketing up and having to go back. I feel I am always on the alert for tingling, or my hands locking up. Or going the other way and feeling nauseous (or a weeny bit psychotic).  Got milk?