Patient Education Blog
Patient education articles by Dr. Boone, for more posts read Dr. Boone's blog at devaboone.com
What does a high parathyroid hormone (PTH) mean?
Patients often assume that a high PTH (parathyroid hormone) level means that they have a parathyroid tumor, but this is not always the case. Dr. Boone explains the reasons why your PTH may be elevated, how to figure out what is going on, and what you can do about it.
Deva Boone
Celebrating One Year in Arizona
One year ago, I moved to Arizona and founded the Southwest Parathyroid Center. After spending six years at the Norman Parathyroid Center in Florida, I wanted to bring expert parathyroid care to the western U.S. I knew from extensive discussions with patients online that while some people could af...
Deva Boone
Why Doctors Often Don’t Recognize the Symptoms of Parathyroid Disease
Most patients with primary hyperparathyroidism have symptoms. But often patients and their doctors will not realize that the symptoms are due to parathyroid disease. <%= image_variant("bigstock-sad-mature-woman-sitting-alone-328706416-jpg-62098436552a", class: "figure-img img-fluid round...
Deva Boone
The Best Calcium Supplement
If you have osteoporosis, your doctor has likely told you about calcium supplements. Your bones depend on calcium, and if you aren't getting enough from your diet, supplements are essential. Calcium supplements are also essential after parathyroid surgery, and most of my parathyroid patients want guidance on which one to buy. At this point I’ve treated thousands of patients on pretty much every type of calcium supplement, and I’ve even tried a few myself.
Deva Boone
Vitamin D, part 3 - The Evidence
Vitamin D deficiency is linked to cancer, heart disease, respiratory infection, stroke, diabetes, and death. It might seem reasonable that we should all be taking this supplement. But hold on. The argument for taking Vitamin D assumes a few things. First, that low Vitamin D actually causes all o...
Deva Boone
Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story
How much Vitamin D should I take? This is still the looming question, and it’s time to address it. First, though, imagine that someone in a public forum online asked me, “How much metoprolol (a common blood pressure medication) should I take?” It would be clear that I could not give a real answ...
Deva Boone
Vitamin D, part 1: back to basics
Vitamin D is a big deal. Recent studies have shown that patients with low Vitamin D levels are more likely to die from Covid-19 than their Vitamin D-rich counterparts,(1) and deficiency in the vitamin has been linked to seven of the ten leading causes of death in the U.S.(2) These facts alone hav...
Deva Boone