Doctor found elevated calcium after routine blood test. Freaking out!

[Ronan23]

My health anxiety actually wasn't too bad for the last few months but it has been sent into overdrive by the latest finding, which is that I have elevated calcium levels. I'm 28 years old.

About 2 months ago I began to notice symptoms of fatigue, joint pain, back pain, and more recently, nausea. The symptoms prompted me to visit my GP last week. Physical exam was unremarkable but he took blood anyway to check things out.

The tourniquet that they squeeze around the arm was placed on my arm for quite a while before the doc drew blood because he had to run out of the room to get some stuff. It was on my arm for noticeably longer than other blood tests I've had to the point that my arm was falling asleep from restricted blood flow.

I went back in today to get the results of that test, and was told my calcium levels were slightly elevated. The doc told me we'd have to do another blood test without having the tourniquet squeezing my arm as long. He said it is possible that the tourniquet distorted the results.

However, since I got home from the doc I've been reading all about hypercalcemia (too much calcium) and it suggests 95% of cases arise from cancer or thyroid issues. Furthermore, excess calcium can cause cardiac arrest apparently!

The logical solution would be to wait until next week when my GP has the results of the second test and bear in mind what he said about the tourniquet. Unfortunately, google tells me that tourniquets can cause really mild calcium elevations, but I wasn't even told an exact number as to how high my calcium was beyond normal.

I'm now freaking out and in a full-blown health anxiety relapse to the point that I'm considering going to ER just so they'll test the calcium levels and tell me there and then instead of me having to wait a week or so. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[WhereIsMyMind]

I had slightly elevated calcium at one point but it came back down again. Didn't help that every time I had it tested, it went up a bit more...

But what I learnt was that high calcium caused by cancer is quite dramatically raised, and it goes up quite quickly - as yours is slightly elevated it's highly unlikely. And almost everyone who has hypercalcaemia caused by malignancy will already know about the cancer by then. You don't generally find a previously undiagnosed cancer through a high calcium level. Especially if any other bloods you had done were normal.

It's possible that you have an issue with your parathyroid glands as that is what causes the majority of high calcium levels (that are consistently high). But it might well also just be a one off, and when the test is repeated it'll be back to normal. Mine was slightly elevated during the summer, but a couple of months later had come back down to within range. It happens.

As far as I know, even dehydration can cause mildly elevated calcium levels.

And it would only cause heart problems if you had it for a very long time. I don't think you've lived long enough for it to do that to you!

[DNQNYC]

Something I’ve always tried to live by -

If the doctors aren’t worried, neither am I. Elevated calcium in the blood can be caused by many things that are not cancer.

Try your best to stay away from google, symptom websites do nothing but worsen and prolong anxiety.

[Missjensen]

I had that too with my blood work two years ago, it was very very slightly elevated and my blood work five years before that was almost at the limited. My doctor was not worried at all and would not even do another test.

I read up on it on the Danish health platform, and there could be loads of reasons for this problem, one reason was familiar/genetic. It clearly stated that if it’s cancer related, many other serious symptoms had to be presented because it’s many/only happened in late stage cancer, also some of the other blood work would show up abnormal.

I don’t know what to say to you, but I’m not dead, nothing has change and everything is fine, the rest of my blood work was fine, and the doctor tests for everything.

Also I read that the calcium lV should be concerned elevated before any symptoms appear, as a direct cause by the calcium.

[ankietyjoe]

Did the OP start to take Magnesium because of the fatigue?

[RadioGaGa]

Yes hypercalcaemia can be caused by cancer - but it can be caused by many other things.

Are you taking thiazide diuretics or vitamin a d tablets?

I know it's easy for us to say, but try not to panic. Your doctor clearly isn't worried and the extra week will fly past.

In the meantime I'd avoid A&E - the most they could tell you is your calcium levels. They're very unlikely to investigate it further unless you have something life threatening associated with your condition

Good luck

[Ronan23]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I had a full blown panicks moment earlier feeling like I was going to pass out. I attributed it to hypercalcemia of course but I took an anti-anxiety med and that feeling dissipated.

It's just so difficult to know what to believe when your doctor seems to think it's not too urgent but then reputable medical sites like mayoclinic or webmd talk about cancer and cardiac issues.

I honestly wish I could quit the internet because it's the source of all my health anxiety issues.

[RadioGaGa]

MayoClinic or MayhemClinic as we "affectionately" call it in work (due to the severe anxiety it invokes, even in non-health anxiety sufferers) is NOTORIOUS for giving worst case scenario.

I'm not sure why they do this - it really is scaremongering.

Stay away from MayoClinic and WebMD (which is just as bad, almost).

A great website for health related conditions is Patient UK. It is far more levelheaded and not sensationalist.

Good luck