[Anonymous]

#1057394

Anyone out there experienced kidney stones with Graves? Since diagnosis in December ’95, I was rushed in hospital by February ’96 with 5 kidney stones. Only 1 passed. I’ve received conflicting dietary recommendations. Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

#1165898

Denise

Aren’t kidney stones just loads of fun? Have passed a few myself but I don’t think there is any correlation. I guess the dietary stuff depends on what kind of stones you have. They can be Calcium, uric acid I think and one other. Some people even say that calcium stones mean your body isn’t getting enough calcium, go figure that one.

Bruce

[Anonymous]

#1165899

I was wondering if anybody has experienced kidney stones
as a complication due to graves? I just found out after
being admitted into the hospital, due to undescribable
pain that i have 4 kidney stones and one was trying to
pass. I have researched a little bit, that hyperpara-
thyroidism can cause too much calcium to collect in your
kidneys, (the parathyroids are located , i believe behind
the thyroid. The urologist has not confirmed that it is
due to the parathyroids, they will test that this coming
tuesday, as that is when i go to the hospital for a
lithotriphsy, which they break the stones up with sonic waves
so if anyone has insight on this subject i would appreciate
it. Thanks Jen

[Anonymous]

#1165900

There are different types of kidney stones (depending upon the material that is found in them), and thus different reasons for why these stones formed. The largest percentage of kindey stones are made of calcium, it is true, but according to my medical reference book hyperparathyroidism is RARELY the cause, even when the stones are of calcium. I got this information from the Merck Manual of Medical Information — a layman’s version of the Merck, written in plain English. It is simplistic, but tends to be reliable in what it does say. Anyway, there are several pages of information on kidney stones, so if you could get a copy of this book, or a similar one, it might help you to understand what is going on with you, and what the treatment options are.
As to whether it’s related to the Graves or not, I don’t know. I have never heard of kidney stones being associated with Graves, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it couldn’t be.

I hope you are feeling MUCH better, soon.

Bobbi — NGDF Asst. Online Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1165901

Jen,

RAI can affect your parathyroid glands, which are attached to your thyroid. Occasionally the treatment seems to trigger benign growths in these glands which make too much parathyroid hormone and trigger a release of too much calcium into your blood. Your kidneys filter this out and may form stones with the excess calcium.

Please note that I researched this more than a year ago and am rusty on the topic and also am not a doctor. (I saved some references from PubMed on this, I think. If you want them, let me know and I will try to find them.)

I hope this helps. I also hope the kidney stones pass! I know it is very painful.

Elisa

[Anonymous]

#1165902

hi all

how are things ? wondering if there is any connection
to graves and kidey stones just found out i have some stones

thanks steve

[Anonymous]

#1165903

I was just diagnosed with Graves’ in August, so I don’t have any wealth of knowledge. But thought I’d tell you my experience and see if anyone else had same. I have had kidney stones for over 10 years…last year, at last, I was diagnosed with hyperPARAthyroidism. The Parathyroid glands are not related in any way to the thyroid, except that they are both part of the endocrine system. The purpose of the parathyroid glands is to regulate the calcium level in your blood…being hyper parathyroid means that there is too much calcium in your blood…when the kidneys try to get rid of the excess calcium the result is often kidney stones. I have read that being hyperTHYROID can also lead to excess calcium in your blood…so my guess is that kidney stones can also result. However, based on my experience with having both conditions (although my endo says that the two conditions are not related to each other; ie, the one did not cause the other), you might want to ask your doctor to check your parathyroid function. It is not uncommon for hyperparathyroidism to go undianosed for many years…one result of this is osteoporosis. Although I was under the care of a urologist for those 10 years, who kept sending me for lithotripsies to zap my stones, the hyperpapathyroidism was not detected. When I went back to the urologist to ask why he hadn’t tested me, he said that he had…showed me the results. While my calcium levels were high normal and the parathyroid hormone levels were high normal (they should have been opposite; ie, one low when the other was high), since the levels were both in the normal range, he had not considered it abnormal. The high calcium levels can result in fatigue, so it’s definitely something to check for. Good luck.
I’d be interested in knowing if any one else with Graves has also had problems with the parathyroid?

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