Thyroid's "Silent" Sister Gland(s)

Each day as we see patients at Women's Health Practice we spend a lot of time on the thyroid gland, we examine the gland, we test for the brain, pituitary hormones, that control the thyroid, we look at the antiboidy levels, we look at the binding proteins, we spend time discussing the symptoms of over and under active thyroid, we perform ultrasound measurements, and yet its just not very often we have had a chance to talk about it's 'sister' gland the parathyroid, located right along side. The other 'silent sister' is the hormone calcitonin which is actually made in a specific cell type in the thyroid itself. The silence is really on the part of patients and physicians as this gland seems almost forgotten when compared to all the woes of some of the other, better known, glands. The parathyroid gland produces its eponymous parathyroid hormone and calcitonin. And now there is known protein called parathyroid hormone-related protein which is now know to help keep the uterus quiet. Parathyroid hormone activity is actually quite complex: vitamin D, magnesium, strontium, aluminum, calcium and phosphate in our system all can affect the performance of the gland. Calcitonin's role is more uniquely focused on the bone as far as we know, but it has affects on calcium metabolism. The knowledge we have now gathered on the complexity of the activity of Parathyroid hormone has made physicians realize that it has a wide ranging role in our metabolism, our cardiovascular and neurological systems as well as the more well known effects on calcium and bone. Watch for the developments on this hormone, there is a lot to learn!

Comments

Passing Your Uterine Lining, Menstrual Period Norms

Decidual Cast Periods can be fairly easy, passing some tissue at a time, or off can come the whole lining in one piece called a decidual cast. Generally the lining of the uterus is only 6-8 mm thick at the time of the menstrual period, and it is shed gradually, a few cells at a time. The decidual cast is when the entire lining passes spontaneously. It's not uncommon, but it usually both uncomfortable, and alarming to some. But us women are designed to have some sort of periods Or Not? We have to pass tissue each month. Or Not? Are they good for us? Or Not? Do we want them? Or Not? Is this something that is individual? Or Not? It's a complex topic that I will be discussing a lot over my time in this blog. So lets start with basics: How much do we bleed and what are we loosing, and just what was this that the patient passed? And another basic: track your periods, and the Women's Health Practice site http://www.womenshealthpractice.com/media/pdf/menstrual_chart.pdf you...

Post-Endometrial Ablation Syndrome

If you have had an endometrial ablation and have developed symptoms of pelvic pain you might have post endometrial ablation syndrome. What is post-endometrial ablation syndrome? It is a constellation of symptoms due to entrapped blood or tissue within a uterus that has previously undergone an endometrial ablation. We are able to diagnose this at Women's Health Practic e but occasionally other conditions are causing similar symptoms. Other complications of endometrial ablation include pregnancy, risks from pre-existing conditions such as a polyp or fibroid, an infection of the uterus, or a pregnancy. If you have had a tubal ligation then it is possible that the condition could be post-ablation tubal sterilization syndrome. The ablation procedure is designed to destroy all lining tissue, but in fact there is no way to confirm the completeness of the ablation. It is thought that either residual or regrowth of the tissue is producing the symptoms of post-endometrial ablation syndrom...

You Have an IUD: But a Positive Pregnancy Test

Fortunately IUD pregnancy failures are rare. But if you have an IUD for contraception, and you get a positive pregnancy test, you probably ask yourself, what next? Well, make your gyno appointment promptly, this is a condition that is not typically an emergency, but it can be and it’s not handled over the phone or on a blog, or through self diagnosis! That being said, some researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas decided to look back at over 4100 women who had IUDs and of those 42 cases who became pregnant in their institution, over about a year period of time, to help understand what these women could expect when they got to their gyno and what actually happened to their pregnancies. Accurate pregnancy diagnosis, pelvic examination, and pelvic ultrasound were the cornerstones of the evaluations. They had very specific ways they looked at their ultrasound to prove there was no pregnancy in the fallopian tube, or partially in the fallopian tube...

GynoFiles

Search This Blog