# numbness, tingling, twitching



## Mookie333 (Nov 14, 2012)

question...
I had my surgery for papillary carcinoma back in January...I had 5/11 lymph nodes pos for cancer..and of course 2 parathyroids removed by ?????? 2 left in place....anyhow post op had troubles with low calcium....then went hypercalcemic at home ...in the hospital had no detectable PTH, now it is normal. (20's-30's).... I am waiting to get my RAI in May..... I am on 112 mcg Levo...and 5mcg compounded slow release t3 in the afternoon....

here's my problem...constant numbness and tingling in my hands and feet since my surgery....I have had never had any of this prior to my surgery at all!!! Now im twitiching....the endo says my thyroid and calcium levels are wnl...somehow I dont believe it at all!!! it is beyond frustrating!! im starting to get really upset about it and affecting my quality of life...i chew about 8 calcium pills a day!!! please tell me someone why is this still happening to me.....thank you!!!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Mookie333 said:


> question...
> I had my surgery for papillary carcinoma back in January...I had 5/11 lymph nodes pos for cancer..and of course 2 parathyroids removed by ?????? 2 left in place....anyhow post op had troubles with low calcium....then went hypercalcemic at home ...in the hospital had no detectable PTH, now it is normal. (20's-30's).... I am waiting to get my RAI in May..... I am on 112 mcg Levo...and 5mcg compounded slow release t3 in the afternoon....
> 
> here's my problem...constant numbness and tingling in my hands and feet since my surgery....I have had never had any of this prior to my surgery at all!!! Now im twitiching....the endo says my thyroid and calcium levels are wnl...somehow I dont believe it at all!!! it is beyond frustrating!! im starting to get really upset about it and affecting my quality of life...i chew about 8 calcium pills a day!!! please tell me someone why is this still happening to me.....thank you!!!


Where exactly is your calcium in the range provided by your lab? A range is a range and perhaps it is not the right place for you!

Also, have you gone hypo? Would you know? Have you had blood work? That can cause myopathy as well.

And, ferritin? How is that looking?

I am sorry you are still suffering so much. You have been through a lot. After your RAI, you will start the healing pathway!


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## Mookie333 (Nov 14, 2012)

i have repeat lab work in may....but i decided to try taking 1 calcitrol each day..and actually i have a lot less tingling just from this....


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

I would actually push to have your labs done sooner than May, especially if you having issues that may be calcium based. Better to be safe than sorry!


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

I agree with jenny about getting labs done sooner.


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## interpret77 (Apr 10, 2012)

My calcium is always fluxuating and when my hands and feet tingle I have to up my calcium and D intake. Push for your labs!


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## Mookie333 (Nov 14, 2012)

I finally get labs this week and my numbness and tingling is still around I nearly feel hopeless. I'm beginning to think I have a neuro disease. I am afraid I will have to live Luke this forever! My levels are all over the place!


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## Desperate_Hashi (Apr 12, 2013)

What do you mean by twitching? I have twitching too and I've been 2 neurologists who both told me I was fine. I'm just curious to see if we have a similar symptom.


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## interpret77 (Apr 10, 2012)

I think that twitching will be with us cancer survivors forever. I am twitching right now. Did they draw calcium levels with your labs????? What were those results?


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## Mookie333 (Nov 14, 2012)

i twitch all over and my feet are constantly buzzing my calcium levels have been on the higher side of normal and my pth levels are too low I think at 20..my endo says this is normal. I get buzzing tingling in my palms every day too. I never had any prob;em with tingling and numbness until I had my thyroidectomy. I get RAI this week and I am scared beyond belief. I hope all goes well. Any of you been tested for BRAF gene?


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## Airmid (Apr 24, 2013)

Mookie333 said:


> i twitch all over and my feet are constantly buzzing my calcium levels have been on the higher side of normal and my pth levels are too low I think at 20..my endo says this is normal. I get buzzing tingling in my palms every day too. I never had any prob;em with tingling and numbness until I had my thyroidectomy. I get RAI this week and I am scared beyond belief. I hope all goes well. Any of you been tested for BRAF gene?


Calcium is pretty tightly controlled in the body so there isn't exactly a higher/lower range of normal with that one. That being said though, high calcium can be a pill to catch on blood work and it might be wise to lay off some of the calcium pills. (I could have fine levels of calcium on a lot of tests, and only when I was a mess of symptoms would it suddenly spike high which is frustrating to both patients and doctors).

A big cause for me for numbness/tingling was/is low Vit D. Sadly, when your body has too much calcium in the blood it tries to shut down Vit D production to protect itself from absorbing too much calcium, so my Vit D has been in the gutter on and off for a few years now. What's been strange in my experience is that when my Vit D has been really low I don't have symptoms. When I've worked on raising it then I get the strange numbness/tingling. I've also had doctors claim that it is both my Thyroid and Vit D levels causing these symptoms.

While it can be amazingly frustrating to deal with symptoms keep this in mind - your body has been through a shock. You had major surgery, a major gland removed, cancer found, parathyroids removed and are looking at undergoing RAI shortly. On top of that your body is feeling stressed and you're worrying. Don't allow doctors to dismiss your symptoms - they are important and should be monitored to make sure they improve. At the same time, as someone who has gotten to experience those lovely symptoms, you accomplish nothing with worry. All you can do is take note of it, tell your doctors and keep yourself informed.

And then let the rest of it go. It sound cliche and is something I have to remind myself of everyday but you still have more treatment to get through before you'll have a chance to go back to normal. Keep that in mind, be diligent on your labs and hopefully these symptoms will slowly subside with time as your body heals and becomes regulated again.

I will keep you in my thoughts and I hope all goes smoothly with your RAI soon. hugs1


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Mookie, you may want to have your Vitamin B12 checked. Check this link, and scroll down to "Anemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency."

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-anemia-symptoms


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