What is Acromegaly?
Acromegaly is a hormonal disorder that develops when your pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone during adulthood.
When you have too much growth hormone, your bones increase in size.
In childhood, this leads to increased height and is called gigantism.
But in adulthood, a change in height doesn't occur. Instead, the increase in bone size is limited to the bones of your hands, feet and face, and is called acromegaly.
Acromegaly needs to be managed because a hormonal disorder causes serious health problems.
Symptoms
A common sign of acromegaly is enlarged hands and feet. For example, you may notice that you aren't able to put on rings that used to fit, and that your shoe size has progressively increased.
Acromegaly may also cause gradual changes in your face's shape, such as a protruding lower jaw and brow bone, an enlarged nose, thickened lips etc.
Overall, acromegaly signs and symptoms tend to vary from one person to another, and may include any of the following:
- Enlarged hands and feet
- Enlarged facial features
- Coarse, oily, thickened skin
- Excessive sweating and body odor
- Small outgrowths of skin tissue (skin tags)
- Fatigue and joint or muscle weakness
- Pain and limited joint mobility
- Severe snoring due to obstruction of the upper airway
- Vision problems
- Headaches, which may be persistent or severe
- Menstrual cycle irregularities in women
- Erectile dysfunction in men
Complications
If left untreated, acromegaly can lead to major health problems. Complications may include:
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- High cholesterol
- Cardiomyopathy
- Osteoarthritis
- Type 2 diabetes
- Enlargement of the thyroid gland (goiter)
- Sleep apnea
- Vision changes or vision loss
Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/acromegaly/symptoms-causes/syc-20351222
