Hypercalcemia: Causes, Symptoms, and How It Affects Your Health

When your blood has too much calcium, a mineral essential for bones, nerves, and muscle function. Also known as high blood calcium, it’s not just a lab number—it’s a sign your body’s balance is off. Most people don’t feel it at first, but left unchecked, hypercalcemia can wear down your bones, mess with your kidneys, and make you feel tired, nauseous, or confused.

This isn’t just about diet. The real players are your parathyroid gland, a tiny gland in your neck that controls calcium release from bones, and your vitamin D, a hormone-like nutrient that helps your gut absorb calcium. Too much activity from either one—often due to a benign tumor, cancer, or even too many supplements—can push calcium into your bloodstream faster than your kidneys can flush it out. That’s when symptoms like frequent urination, muscle weakness, or even heart rhythm changes start showing up.

Hypercalcemia doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s tied to conditions like osteoporosis, kidney stones, and even some autoimmune diseases. And while it’s often linked to older adults, it can affect anyone—especially if you’re taking calcium or vitamin D supplements without knowing your levels. The good news? Once you know why it’s happening, treatment can be simple: stop the excess, fix the root cause, or sometimes just drink more water.

Below, you’ll find real-world guides that dig into how medications like diuretics, steroids, or even cancer drugs can trigger high calcium. You’ll also see how doctors test for it, what lifestyle changes help, and how conditions like hyperparathyroidism or vitamin D toxicity connect to your daily health. These aren’t theory pages—they’re practical tools for understanding what’s really going on inside your body.