You were treated in the hospital for hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemia means you have too much calcium in your blood. Now that you're going home, you need to keep your calcium at a level as instructed by your health care provider.
When You're in the Hospital
Your body needs calcium so that you can use your muscles. Calcium also keeps your bones and teeth strong and your heart healthy.
Your blood calcium level may get too high due to:
- Certain kinds of cancers
- Problems with certain glands
- Too much vitamin D in your system
- Being on bed rest for a long time
When you were in the hospital, you were given fluids through an IV and drugs to help lower the calcium level in your blood. If you have cancer, you may have had treatment for that, as well. If your hypercalcemia is caused by a gland problem, you may have had surgery to remove that gland.
After you go home, follow your provider's instructions about making sure your calcium level does not get high again.
You may need to drink a lot of liquids.
- Make sure you drink as much water every day as your provider recommends.
- Keep water next to your bed at night and drink some when you get up to use the bathroom.
Do not cut back on how much salt you eat.
Your provider may ask you to limit foods with a lot of calcium, or not to eat them at all for a while.
- Eat fewer dairy foods (such as cheese, milk, yogurt, ice cream) or don't eat them at all.
- If your provider says you can eat dairy foods, don't eat those that have extra calcium added. Read the labels carefully.
To further keep your calcium level from getting high again:
- Don't use antacids that have a lot of calcium in them. Look for antacids that have magnesium. Ask your provider which ones are OK.
- Ask your provider what medicines and herbs are safe for you to take.
- If your provider prescribes medicines to help keep your calcium level from getting too high again, take them the way you're told to. Call your provider if you have any side effects.
- Stay active when you get home. Your provider will tell you how much activity and exercise are OK.
You will probably need to get blood tests after you go home.
Keep any follow-up appointments you make with your provider.
Contact your provider if you have any of these symptoms:
- Headaches
- Irregular heartbeats
- Nausea and vomiting
- Increased thirst or dry mouth
- Little or no sweating
- Dizziness
- Confusion
- Blood in the urine
- Dark urine
- Pain on one side of your back
- Abdominal pain
- Severe constipation
Hypercalcemia; Transplant - hypercalcemia; Transplantation - hypercalcemia; Cancer treatment - hypercalcemia
Chonchol M, Smogorzewski MJ, Stubbs JR, Yu ASL. Disorders of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate. In: Yu ASL, Chertow GM, Luyckx VA, Marsden PA, Skorecki K, Taal MW, eds. Brenner and Rector's The Kidney. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 18.
Swan KL, Wysolmerski JJ. Hypercalcemia of malignancy. In: Jameson JL, De Groot LJ, de Kretser DM, et al, eds. Endocrinology: Adult and Pediatric. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2016:chap 64.
Thakker RV. The parathyroid glands, hypercalcemia, and hypocalcemia. In Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 232.
Updated by: Todd Gersten, MD, Hematology/Oncology, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, Wellington, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Related MedlinePlus Health Topics
FAQs
Your provider may ask you to limit foods with a lot of calcium, or not to eat them at all for a while. Eat fewer dairy foods (such as cheese, milk, yogurt, ice cream) or don't eat them at all. If your provider says you can eat dairy foods, don't eat those that have extra calcium added. Read the labels carefully.
What are the physical findings in hypercalcemia? ›
History and Physical
When calcium levels rise to above 12 mg/dL, patients usually present with clinical signs and symptoms, including polyuria, polydipsia, constipation, weakness, neuropsychiatric effects, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, anorexia, confusion.
What are the two most common conditions that cause hypercalcemia? ›
Most often, hypercalcemia happens after one or more of the parathyroid glands make too much hormone. These four tiny glands are in the neck, near the thyroid gland. Other causes of hypercalcemia include cancer, certain other medical conditions and some medicines.
What is secreted when blood calcium levels are too high? ›
Hyperparathyroidism is a condition where one or more of your parathyroid glands is overactive and releases (secretes) too much parathyroid hormone (PTH). This can cause hypercalcemia, or high levels of calcium in your blood.
What causes increased calcium excretion? ›
The major determinant of urinary calcium excretion is dietary calcium intake. Urinary calcium excretion is higher when sodium and protein intakes are high than when intakes of these two nutrients are low. The effects of a high protein intake on calcium excretion may be offset partly by higher phosphorus intake.
What is released during hypercalcemia? ›
The most common cause of high calcium blood level is excess PTH released by the parathyroid glands. This excess occurs due to: An enlargement of one or more of the parathyroid glands.
What is the most common presentation of hypercalcemia? ›
The commonest presentation is detection of a raised serum calcium concentration on a biochemical screen. If symptoms are present, classically they are 'moans, bones, stones and groans' referring to depressed mood, musculoskeletal pain, renal colic and abdominal pain related to constipation or peptic ulceration.
How do you feel when your calcium is high? ›
A high calcium level may result from a problem with the parathyroid glands, as well as from diet, cancer, or disorders affecting bone. At first, people have digestive problems, feel thirsty, and may urinate a lot, but if severe, hypercalcemia leads to confusion and eventually coma.
What is the most critical complication associated with hypercalcemia? ›
Complications of long-term hypercalcemia are rare since calcium levels are checked in routine blood panels and healthcare providers usually catch hypercalcemia early, but complications can include: Calcium deposits in your kidney (nephrocalcinosis) that cause poor kidney function. Kidney failure. Kidney stones.
How to reverse hypercalcemia? ›
Treating high calcium
- Fluids. Fluids through a drip help flush the extra calcium out of your system. ...
- Steroids. You might have steroids to help reduce your calcium levels. ...
- Bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates (bis-fos-fon-ates) are drugs that help to get your calcium levels down. ...
- Calcitonin. ...
- Denosumab. ...
- Other drugs.
Your provider may ask you to limit foods with a lot of calcium, or not to eat them at all for a while. Eat fewer dairy foods (such as cheese, milk, yogurt, ice cream) or don't eat them at all. If your provider says you can eat dairy foods, don't eat those that have extra calcium added.
What is the first line treatment for hypercalcemia? ›
Intravenous bisphosphonates are the treatment of first choice for the initial management of hypercalcaemia, followed by continued oral, or repeated intravenous bisphosphonates to prevent relapse.
How much vitamin D causes hypercalcemia? ›
Many experts believe that the toxic effects of vitamin D do not occur until levels exceed 150 ng/mL. Rare reports describe patients with symptomatic hypercalcemia from the toxic effects of vitamin D, and in the most extreme case hypercalcemia developed after use of 4000 IU of cholecalciferol daily for 2 months.
How does the body excrete excess calcium? ›
Calcium leaves the body mainly in urine and feces, but also in other body tissues and fluids, such as sweat. Calcium excretion in the urine is a function of the balance between the calcium load filtered by the kidneys and the efficiency of reabsorption from the renal tubules.
What drugs increase calcium excretion? ›
Loop diuretics inhibit the Na-K-2Cl transporter and also increase calcium excretion. They are often used in the treatment of hypercalcemia. Thiazide diuretics block the thiazide-sensitive NaCl transporter in the distal convoluted tubule, and can decrease calcium excretion.
What causes the release of calcium? ›
A motor neuron carries signal to the muscle fibre which generates an action potential in it. This causes the release of Ca++ from sarcoplasmic reticulum.
What are Trousseau's and Chvostek's signs? ›
On exam, Chvostek's sign (twitching of facial muscles in response to tapping over the facial nerve. [Table/Fig-1] and Video-1 and Trousseau's sign (carpopedal spasm induced by pressure applied to the arm by an inflated sphygmomanometer cuff.
What is the hallmark of hypercalcemia? ›
A hallmark of the laboratory diagnosis of HC is the high serum calcium. Hypercalcemic crisis has no uniform standard definition; however, a general definition is an albumin-corrected serum Ca level >3.49 mmol/L [24]. Our patients revealed severely high Ca levels and elevated intact PTH, consistent with the literature.
Which finding may be associated with hypercalcemia? ›
Key Points. The most common causes of hypercalcemia are hyperparathyroidism and cancer. Clinical features include polyuria, constipation, anorexia, and hypercalciuria with renal stones; patients with high calcium concentrations may have muscle weakness, confusion, and coma.
What is the mnemonic symptoms of hypercalcemia? ›
The mnemonic "stones, bones, abdominal moans, and psychic groans" describes the constellation of symptoms and signs of hypercalcemia. These may be due directly to the hypercalcemia, to increased calcium and phosphate excretion, or to skeletal changes.
