If you are a Parathyroid UK member and live in the UK and Ireland you can join our brilliant open-all-hours online support groups for patients of all ages and with any type of parathyroid condition. If you are a relative of someone with a parathyroid condition you can join too and learn how your loved ones are affected and how you can help. There is also a group for parents of children with hypoparathyroidism.
We choose to use facebook groups because they are so popular and easy to access. We tried the forum approach but numbers fell away dramatically once charities began to use facebook. Many people join facebook for the sole purpose of joining our well loved groups which are a warm, friendly and supportive space for you to become part of the UK hypo or hyperpara family. As hypopara is a lifelong condition and hyperpara can affect people for decades many people have built lasting friendships too.
Because we want to protect the confidentiality of the medical conversations that take place within our community, you must be a member of Parathyroid UK in order to be accepted into the Group so we can verify the identity of everyone who joins the group. To join our private support groups you will need to apply to join the Group and fill in a short form. You can find the form here or click the blue ‘+ Join Group‘ button on our website. Don’t forget to tick the box to say which facebook group you want to join.
UK Facebook groups (members only)
HypOpara at Parathyroid UK – for people in the UK & Ireland who have ( or think they may have) any type of hypoparathyroidism, pseudohypoparathyroidism or calcium related issue such as CaSr.
HypERpara at Parathyroid UK – for people in the UK & Ireland who have ( or think they may have) primary hyperparathyroidism.
Parents of Children with Hypopara at Parathyroid UK – for our parent members who have a baby, child or teenager with hypoparathyroidism. (You can also join the main Hypopara group too.)
Other Facebook groups (for non-members)
Hypopara Europe Network Group – for people with hypopara living in Europe
World Hypopara Patient Group – for people with hypopara living outside Europe.
Come and join us to ask questions, learn how to manage your condition, find a specialist near you and make friends.
Public Facebook page
Parathyroid UK – to keep up to date with news, information and events please ‘LIKE’ our page.

I went armed with information from the Hypopara facebook group and asked if my calcium tablets could be reduced, alfacalcidol increased and could I have some prescription vitamin D3 please? To my delight, my endo was very happy to comply.