Some complications of long-term dialysis that have happened to me include: Hypothyroidism, hyperparathyroidism, calcium deposits on my mitral valve, and left ventricle hypertrophy.
I had to have my parathyroids removed. There are supposed to be four of them. The surgeon found 3-- where was the other one? Inside the left lobe of my thyroid, that's where! (That happens in about 1 out of a 1,000 patients... I'm always the 'lucky one.') That's why I now have hypothyroid, because they took half of my thyroid out to get the last parathyroid gland.
They took frozen sections of my parathyroids and made slides of them for study, because they were all different sizes and colors, but were not cancerous. (Usually, any variation in size/color means it's possible they're cancerous.) I told my endocrinologist, "Well, I DO wear a lot of tie-dyed shirts... maybe that's why they're all different colors!"
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