What Does Calcium Level Of 11.4 Indicate?
Mild hypercalcemia
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
Is this free (ionized) or total calcium level?
Although the reference range can vary by lab, for an adult woman, total calcium reference range general is 8.9-10.1 mg/dL.
Calcium concentration can vary by a number of factors including age, season (sun and Vitamin D levels), and levels of thyroxine and parathyroid hormones.
To help evaluate what might be causing the elevation (which in your case is fairly small), the following tests should be done:
ionized calcium
urine calcium
phosphorus
magnesium
vitamin D
parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PTH-related peptide (PTHrP).
Reasons for these tests:
PTH and vitamin D are responsible for maintaining calcium concentrations in the blood.
Measuring calcium and PTH together can help show if the parathyroid glands are functioning normally.
Measuring urine calcium can help determine whether the kidneys are excreting the proper amount of calcium.
Measuring vitamin D levels, phosphorus, and magnesium can help show whether other excesses exist. Frequently, the balance among these different substances (and the changes in them) is just as important as the concentrations.
Reason for measuring ionized calcium: In most cases the total calcium test is a good reflection of the amount of free calcium present in the blood since the balance between free and bound (to protein) is usually stable and predictable. But in some people, the balance between bound and free calcium is altered and then total calcium is not a good reflection of calcium status so testing ionized calcium is the thing to do. This is especially true if blood protein such as albumin is low.
Some of the symptoms of high calcium include fatigue, weakness, thirst, loss of appetite, nausea, constipation, abdominal pain, urinary frequency - but there may not always be symptoms.
Blood calcium levels do not indicate levels of bone calcium.
Two of the more common causes of hypercalcemia are:
Hyperparathyroidism which is an increase in the production of parathyroid hormone. This condition is usually caused by a benign tumor of the parathyroid gland. This form of hypercalcemia is usually mild and can be present for many years before being noticed.
Some cancers can cause hypercalcemia when it spreads to the bones and causes the release of calcium from the bone into the blood or when a cancer produces a hormone similar to PTH, resulting in increased calcium levels.
Some other causes of hypercalcemia include:
Hyperthyroidism
Sarcoidosis
Tuberculosis
Prolonged immobilization
Excess vitamin D intake
Thiazide diuretics (water pills which are used usually for treatment of high blood pressure or heart problems)
Kidney transplant
HIV/AIDS
I hope this information helps. Your primary doctor can order the tests I listed to start sorting this out.