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Calcifications in right adrenal (suprarenal) gland and kidneys

lauluce

as long as you manage to stay alive, there's hope
Messages
591
Location
argentina
Hi, my doctor prescribed an abdominal CAT due to my test showing high cortisol and expriencing abdominal pain. The results showed "linear calcificacition" on the righ suprarenal glands and "calcifictions" on the kidneys. I was reading and besides the correlation btween the first issue and adrenal problems, that tuberculosis can affect, among other organs, both the kidneys and the adrenals, presenting as calcifications on a CAT scan. Any thoughs about what all of this could mean? Thanks!
 
Messages
93
Location
PA/NJ
Hi, my doctor prescribed an abdominal CAT due to my test showing high cortisol and expriencing abdominal pain. The results showed "linear calcificacition" on the righ suprarenal glands and "calcifictions" on the kidneys. I was reading and besides the correlation btween the first issue and adrenal problems, that tuberculosis can affect, among other organs, both the kidneys and the adrenals, presenting as calcifications on a CAT scan. Any thoughs about what all of this could mean? Thanks!
Hi can you describe your abdominal pain?? Sharp or dull, constant, or remitting ect.. I only ask bc I wonder if I have the same thing. Thanks..
 

Carl

Senior Member
Messages
362
Location
United Kingdom
I have been doing some research on calcification of the circulatory system because I have noticed some signs of this very recently which I had not noticed before.

One thing which can help this is vitamin K2-MK-7 in high doses, at least 480mcg/day, the more the better. Vitamin K makes bones take up calcium and keeps it out of the circulatory system. Therefore taking Vit K daily should help to reduce this effect. Be aware that reduced kidney function can upset the delicate balance of minerals in the blood such as phosphates which can cause elevated calcium levels which is likely to cause increased calcification. CFS sufferers do tend to have lowered gfr which might make them more prone to calcification. The extreme levels of stress on the body and the nervous system does also affect the circulatory system and healing of the skin and circulatory system.

Also reduced kidney energy also affects the nervous system out towards the skin which is part of the stress response. All of this affects the circulatory system and maintenance of these systems.
 
Last edited:

barbc56

Senior Member
Messages
3,657
When do you see your doctor?

To be on the safe side, I would stop any supplements until you get the all clear from your doctor. Supplements can do strage things to your body if you don't have a deficiency.. Plus the fact they are not regulated can mean they're tainted.

I am not a doctor and that person would be the best way to get information.

Good luck and let us know how things go.
 

lauluce

as long as you manage to stay alive, there's hope
Messages
591
Location
argentina
When do you see your doctor?

To be on the safe side, I would stop any supplements until you get the all clear from your doctor. Supplements can do strage things to your body if you don't have a deficiency.. Plus the fact they are not regulated can mean they're tainted.

I am not a doctor and that person would be the best way to get information.

Good luck and let us know how things go.
Thanks for your reply, I have an appointment on fryday, I'll let you know what she tells me
 

lauluce

as long as you manage to stay alive, there's hope
Messages
591
Location
argentina
wll, today I went to the doctor. What she said was that those calcifications are "NOTHING". Sorry, but I don't buy it, who's with me?
even a quick google search whould tell you that such things can be many, many diferent things
 

lauluce

as long as you manage to stay alive, there's hope
Messages
591
Location
argentina
Time for a 2nd opinion?
Indeed, as I said, the doctor said "it is nothing", while looking at the only printed images of the CT sacan that they give me at the place where I took the test. They were just 9 small images (cuts), all perpendicular to my trunk. The images showed NOTHING, despite the inform that came with the images said clearly they was a calcification on my right adrenal.
The thing is, the study came also with a CD that had +100 cuts done in planes of my trunk, not only the perpendicular ones...

After my visit to the doctor, I decided to take a look at the cd. The cd contained an special program to read and browse the images, as they weren't in any common format. When I tryed to execute the program, it showed an error message and failed to start. I analized and discovered it would only run in windows xp! So I looked for a newer version of the program, made by Philips, moved the data files from the cd to the ne programs folder, and I was finally able to see the images.
The anomaly that the results inform pointed to was evident even to the untrained eye, a withe and brigh patch, as white and bright as the bones, just on top of the "right" kidney, in the adrenal, that is. I looked for info on ct scan images of such anomalies and found this image on this site https://radiopaedia.org/images/3445083:
611b62aa9c483ad869450f10f0c013.JPG

Notice the white mass to the lef of the spine. An now, this is an image of my CT:
g1zOaA0.jpg

n4tbFLi.png


DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS. Do you think this can be called "nothing". It must be noted that I have high cortisol for 3+ years, which matches the time when my fatigue worsened and my POTS appeared. In the website about radiology from where I took the first image this is called an "incidentaloma", an anomaly that is found incidentaly. However this is not my case, as my doctor was deliberately trying to image the adrenal in search for a cause for my raised cortisol and some of my symptoms. Acording to my research, the next step is to determinate if this is a tumour and if it is, if it is secreting cortisol and other hormones, this being done with simple lab test. I'll soon visit and endocrinologist who I hope will be able to correctly interpret this. I'll take my laptop with me of course, so he can actually see this!
Something important: DESPITE A CORTISOL PRODUCING ADRENAL TUMOUR CAN'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF CFS SYMPTOMS, IT SURELLY CAN WORSEN SOME, IT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR ALL OF YOU TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR TO TEST FOR THIS. It took 20 years to find this in my body..
 

Paralee

Senior Member
Messages
571
Location
USA
I've heard that those calcium deposits can be non-functioning, but if you have cortisol problems I'd keep pushing for a diagnosis of some kind.
 

erin

Senior Member
Messages
885
@lauluce what was your pain like? I'm experiencing very dull pain on my left side. It is constant but not sharp. Slightly nauseous and very spasmodic. Not sure if it's the IBD it feels a bit different this time. My dr said I should get a scan. But I hate mri's I'm clostrophobic.
 

SB_1108

Senior Member
Messages
315
I have calcium deposits in my knees and it really concerns me. Vitamin K doesn't seem to make a difference but I have to make certain I avoid any supplements with calcium. I feel like I can't possibility be the only person with calcium issues?!?
 

lauluce

as long as you manage to stay alive, there's hope
Messages
591
Location
argentina
I have calcium deposits in my knees and it really concerns me. Vitamin K doesn't seem to make a difference but I have to make certain I avoid any supplements with calcium. I feel like I can't possibility be the only person with calcium issues?!?
well, my CT scan also shows multiple calcium deposits in my kidneys, but I have no much clue as to what could those be... what I found is that tuberculosis can result in calcion deposits both on the adrenals an on the kidneys. Perhaps I had tubercullosis at some time in my life (I remember having an apparent lung infection that lasted way more than normal, perhaps 3 months before it completly healed). I also think that maybe other bacteria similar to the one that causes TB might have the same effect
 

lauluce

as long as you manage to stay alive, there's hope
Messages
591
Location
argentina
@lauluce what was your pain like? I'm experiencing very dull pain on my left side. It is constant but not sharp. Slightly nauseous and very spasmodic. Not sure if it's the IBD it feels a bit different this time. My dr said I should get a scan. But I hate mri's I'm clostrophobic.
uhm... my pain is perhaps similar to muscle pain due to a lesion, only that it is internal and it worsens when my intestines or bladder are full. The pain is actually on the same side as the adrenal calcification. I read somewhere that adrenal tumours can bleed an cause abdominal pain
 

erin

Senior Member
Messages
885
well, my CT scan also shows multiple calcium deposits in my kidneys, but I have no much clue as to what could those be... what I found is that tuberculosis can result in calcion deposits both on the adrenals an on the kidneys. Perhaps I had tubercullosis at some time in my life (I remember having an apparent lung infection that lasted way more than normal, perhaps 3 months before it completly healed). I also think that maybe other bacteria similar to the one that causes TB might have the same effect

I have recently recovered from pneumonia, ofcourse it is not as bad as TB.
 

lauluce

as long as you manage to stay alive, there's hope
Messages
591
Location
argentina
So what causes these calcium deposits? Is it common with ME patients?
No idea, I'm currently preparing for taking the COMPLETE set of digital images to an endocrinologist. But no not waste my money and time, I'm first researching about the adrenal glands in general by reading an anatomy and phisiology book, and next I'm going to research the different tests required for investigating adrenal tumors and other adrenal diseases, in order to simply ask for them in case this new doctor refuses to do anything about my case. I'm just going to ask him to do something as simple as writing the tests names on a prescription sheet, I won't allow hiim to refuse to do it! I'm tired of being ignored by doctors!