Doctor explains Calcium blood (lab) test including uses, interpretation of results and more...

In this video Doctor O'Donovan explains the calcium lab test including 1. What Calcium is 2. Why the test is used 3. What the result of the test might mean.

In the video I cover signs and symptoms of hyper and hypocalcemia and the meaning of adjusted or corrected calcium.

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The video is intended as an educational resource only. The information within this video or on this channel isn't designed to replace professional input, so if you have any medical issues please consult a medical provider. No professional relationship is being created by watching this video. Dr. O’Donovan cannot give any individual medical advice. All information should be verified for accuracy by the individual user. Dr O’Donovan accepts no responsibility for individual interpretation of data, although it is always accurate to the best of his knowledge at the time of the video being published. This is an EDUCATIONAL video. Images are used in accordance with fair use guidelines.

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[kevinamgallagher-gadd]

Thank you! Your video calmed me down since I got real anxious when my doctor told me my calcium level was high.

[sharmaineruado]

Your contents are all so helpful doctor. Glad to have found your channel.

[mltlecturesacademy]

Nice job. You convey it to us in proper and convenient way

[whyme_]

From last 2 years, my blood calcium level is very low. No matter how good diet i take, my whole body pains including every small joints like of developed hypertension and suddenly within 2 years, i can't digest milk. Unable to wakeup in the morning. Body shivers while waking up. Something is very wrong with me, no one is able to find the root cause. Also started getting double vision after sunset. Can't tolerate white light and noise.

[paulgabler]

Hi I’ve had a request to retake a blood test as I had low calcium, I’ve been having an a1C of around 39 for 4 or 5 years. Sometimes my left leg looks a bit swollen even a few seconds after getting up and there are times when it’s not swollen. The right leg is the one with varicose insufficiency, varicose veins. But the right leg strangely enough goes down properly overnight

[charleneduncan]

What if you have really low blood calcium, really low urinary calcium, but very high PTH? Vitamin D slightly low. Could it be possible to have a PTH in the 700’s and have low blood calcium if 7.5. Doesn’t sound like it could be either Hyper or Hypo parathyroidism.
This has been very informative. Thank you!

[madmax]

Great video. Would be useful to have more detail distinguishing testing for total v's corrected/ionised calcium, how and why tests can go wrong and the risks of a doctor ordering total calcium where free calcium would be an appropriate diagnostic test.

There seems to be widespread confusion even among doctors as to appropriate tests and what these reveal.

I've just asked my doc for free calcium tests and got total calcium tests back instead. Hardly surprising that total calcium test is normal but I have signs of fairly severe tetany. The doctor is refusing to do free/corrected calcium for me which is going to make diagnosing hyperparathyroidism problematic IMO.

[sherimillman]

Amazing thank you wish my Dr could tell me this

[sherimillman]

Thank you You are so kind thoughtful and amazing wish you the best of health and love and happiness 🙂

[samuelpepys]

Superb talk. Just wanted to add that validation studies have shown that "albumin-corrected calcium" simply doesn't perform well in detecting abnormal ionized calcium. A better--and validated--method of diagnosing abnormal ionized calcium from routine data exists. To see it, search the web with these terms: ionized calcium calculator; 704; qxmd.
REF: Clinica Chimica Acta 531:371, 2022

[vvvnobr]

Agree with comments below. However I don't think you mentioned hyperparathyroidism with normal calcium levels. UCLA Endocrine.

[sherimillman]

Hi 👋 at what stage does low calcium cause kidney failure please?

[DutchMoney-nhjk]

How long does it take to recover from a calcium defiencey ???

[jamesvaughan]

Hi I've had low calcium for years but I stared having odd muscle aches and have lost muscle could that be related to low calcium my calcium level is 2.1 many thanks

[Rene-uzeb]

Doesn't seem like you can have significant hypercalcemia without symptoms to matter, like confusion lethargy etc

[janice]

I need to know what your calcium level is supposed to be. When I went to the doctors they told me it was supposed to be 125 and mine was five

[jnolette]

My calcium screening score was 91. Mild plaque buildup apparently. My cholesterol was 164. I am 53 and used steroids for years. She told me to shop thd gear and is putting me on cholesterol lowering drugs. Kind of depressed

[jeffpiper]

early this year had high calcium and actually went into delirium, dont remember any thing on the ambo ride from 1 hosp to another though they said i was active and talking ....was given some thing to bring the calcium down but given to much, ,, they had a hard time correcting it.... said later on some scale normal was 70 and i got down to 20 and neally died, couple of months later a blood test showed as fairly normal which the specilist clinic said was not normal in cases like this, they still dont know the cause and are still investagating, any thoughts on the matter

[adonistech]

I have low-ionized calcium is 3.96
And normal range in the laboratory is 4.50--5.23

My vitamin D test is 22.2
The normal range is 30

But my total calcium is good

I have a server headache and insomnia
I feel my leg moves by itself
Like restless leg syndrome especially when I rest or try to sleep
I can't concentrate on anything
Can ionized calcium cause this?
And what are the reasons for it?

[maryuggen]

That was so incredibly informative! I just learned a year ago that my sister has Primary Hyperparathyroidism. It has literally destroyed her body. Is there a specific blood test to diagnose that? Thank you so much for this video.