<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi All--

I wanted to get a summary out yesterday, but received some information late
in the day that I wanted to include. My original question was: Recent lab
tests indicated that I have high levels of calcium in my blood and
I'm severely osteoporotic. I plan to start a gluten challenge soon and want
to know why my calcium levels would be so high. I don't take calcium
regularly, but drink milk and eat dark green, leafy veggies. What I failed
to include in my original post was that my PTH for
parathyroid tumors/disease were normal last September. (Sorry...)

Most of the responses were aimed at hyperparathyroidism, which I don't think
I have - yet, anyway. I have no way of knowing if hyperparathyroidism is
more frequently dx'd in celiacs or not, but out of over 45 responses, 35
respondents had been dx'd with either primary or secondary
hyperparathyroidism. Seems like a high percentage to me...?

Our bodies tend to want to normalize calcium levels in the blood, so when
levels drop, calcium is pulled from our bones and teeth, which obviously
results in osteopenia or osteoporosis if not caught early enough. This also
results in a Catch 22 situation when one is osteoporotic *and* has high
serum calcium. Because blood calcium is high, supplementation with calcium
is contraindicated...thus a vicious cycle. (No solutions to this delimma,
just an observation)

One person wrote today to tell me that in spite of calcium supplements, her
osteoporosis continued to worsen. She added vitamin D and has seen some
improvement in bone density.

The information that I wanted to include in this summary is that a
pharmacist friend told me yesterday that recent research is indicating that
calcium supplementation for osteoporosis is not effective. On the other
hand, adding vitamin D and forms of magnesium other than oxide (separately,
not combined with calcium) does show promising results. I am trying to get
the research references for this information and will post them as soon as I
can.

One person noted that research in the 90s indicated that diagnosed
and undiagnosed celiacs seem to loose calcium through their urine to a
greater degree than nonceliac patients. I don't have further info on why
that would be so for celiacs on a GF diet...I will continue to research the
issue.

One person suggested that sarcoidosis might be something to check into -
from family experience.

Thanks to everyone who responded...I always learn so much
from people. Several people were adamant that I should add calcium for my
osteoporosis, but some issues are not always as simple as we think they
should be. I would like to remind everyone that because there are so many
different issues affecting celiacs, please consult your physician before
supplementing with vitamins and/or herbs.

I hope this information helps everyone. Cheers ~~Ayn in Alabama

*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the CELIAC List*
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC