Bridget has post surgical hypoprathyroidism following surgery for an over active thyroid.
Bridget has permanent hypoparathyroidism following three-and-a-half hours of surgery for an over-active thyroid. She says: ‘The possibility of complications was never discussed with me before the operation. I first realised there was something wrong at five a.m. the morning after. I had tingles in my mouth and roof of my mouth and cheeks, numb face and tongue, tingles in legs and arms, my vision froze and images kept on jerking towards me, I felt like a machine that was getting slower and slower and was going to stop.
I went through surgery for one endocrine disorder and ended up with another.
I was unable to even lift my head off of the pillow or swallow. I managed to press the call button and an on-call SHO came. I was given no medication or intervention but left until my surgeon came to do his ward round some hours later. On my discharge form from the hospital it just said hypocalcaemia …’
Bridget says her life has been completely changed by hypoparathyroidism.
‘I went through surgery for one endocrine disorder and ended up with another. I am lucky to have a very caring GP who leaves my treatment to my endocrinologist as he says they are the experts and will ring him if need be. I can have blood tests when I feel I need one and I am seen regularly by my endocrinologist at my local hospital.’
But, she says, ‘Emotionally it is just a roller-coaster of emotions and physical symptoms which I feel are caused by hypoparathyroidism. I now look for all the positives to try to make sense of ending up with this disorder. But it has scarred me emotionally for life.’