By Acromegaly Answers Blog Staff
Recently, the writers at Acromegaly Answers (a Web log owned and operated by Ipsen) spoke with Cory, a 32-year-old man who has had acromegaly for nearly seven years. They spoke about making medication decisions, finding support, and working with doctors and nurses to find the medication that works best for a person with acromegaly.
Diagnosing acromegaly
Many people are diagnosed with acromegaly when they seek treatment for something else. Cory related that he went to the emergency room for a migraine that lasted three days. Physicians discovered a mass on his pituitary gland. The initial evidence suggested that the migraine was caused by either the pituitary tumor or an aneurysm, but more testing was needed. In Cory’s case, he was diagnosed with acromegaly and had an operation (known as a transphenoidal hypophysectomy) two months later to remove all but a small part of the tumor.
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Note that articles on this blog are written by a contracted writer/editor and use the thoughts of the posed author.
By Acromegaly Answers Blog Staff
Recently, the writers at Acromegaly Answers (a Web log owned and operated by Ipsen) spoke with Daphne Adelman, a nurse at Northwestern University in Chicago, about comorbidities of acromegaly, what they are, why they occur, and what parts of the body they can affect.
About comorbidities and acromegaly
People with acromegaly wait approximately 4 to 10 years before getting an accurate diagnosis. During those years, their acromegaly is usually untreated. Long-term, untreated acromegaly comes with a higher risk of certain comorbid conditions and serious complications. These conditions can even lead to premature death; people with acromegaly have a 2- to 3-fold higher risk of premature death, generally resulting from cardiovascular, respiratory, and diabetic complications. This is why it is important to diagnose and treat acromegaly as early as possible.
Before diving into the comorbidities of acromegaly, let’s take another look at what causes it: too much growth hormone (GH) and too much insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Too much GH is generally the result of a tumor on your pituitary gland. The surplus GH stimulates your liver and other tissues to produce more IGF-1 than your body needs. Together, too much GH and too much IGF-1 cause your organs and bones to grow, even after they should have stopped growing. And when that happens, the diagnosis is acromegaly.
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Note that articles on this blog are written by a contracted writer/editor and use the thoughts of the posed author.
By Acromegaly Answers Blog Staff
Recently, the writers at Acromegaly Answers (a Web log owned and operated by Ipsen) spoke with Daphne Adelman, a nurse at Northwestern University in Chicago, about growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels, what they are, how you test them, and what happens when there’s too much in your body.
Let’s define our terms: growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1
- Growth hormone is a hormone made in the pituitary gland. In addition to signaling the body that it is time to grow, GH stimulates the production of another hormone, insulin-like growth factor-1. This hormone is produced by the liver and other tissues. Both hormones produce growth in the body’s bones, organs, and tissues.
- Insulin-like growth factor-1, as its name implies, is a hormone similar in structure to insulin. IGF-1 plays an important role in childhood growth and continues to have effects in adults. Higher-than-normal amounts of IGF-1 are caused by too much GH in the body, which stimulates the liver and other tissues to produce extra IGF-1.
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Note that articles on this blog are written by a contracted writer/editor and use the thoughts of the posed author.
By Wayne N. Brown, Acromegalic Patient
I had a very interesting weekend dealing with friends and their psychological limitations. Now I am in no way a psychologist, or even a social worker. But as a fellow acromegalic and high school teacher, I feel I am somewhat of an expert in how people can be cruel to those who look “different.”
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Note that articles on this blog are written by a contracted writer/editor and use the thoughts of the posed author.
By Valerie Golden, PhD
Acromegaly brings change, not just physically but in your whole life. In making these changes, you can design the life you want to live. Find meaning and purpose in what interests you and makes you feel useful. Reassess what makes you feel worthwhile, connected to others, and good about yourself. And always, take good care of yourself.
Some ways to take good care of yourself include:
· Face feelings
· Reduce stress
· Maintain proper diet and exercise Read the rest of this entry »
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