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Acromegaly: too much growth hormone, the signs, the pituitary tumor, the tests, and the treatment
For anyone whose rings or shoes stopped fitting or whose face has slowly changed, anyone told they have acromegaly or a pituitary tumor, anyone facing surgery, medicines or radiation, and the people who love them. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what it is and who gets it, the signs and what it can lead to, the causes, the tests, and surgery, medicines and radiation. It builds the words to say, and prints a card for your notes. Nothing is saved.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- A sudden, very bad headache, sudden loss of sight, fainting, or a seizure? Call 911 (ours).
- Headaches, or changes in your sight, that are new or getting worse? NIDDK says a large pituitary tumor can press on nearby parts of the brain and cause headaches and vision problems. Call your doctor today (ours).
- Thoughts of suicide? Call or text 988, any hour, free (ours).
More help
- On this site: Prolactinoma (another pituitary tumor) · Sleep apnea · High blood pressure · Heart, blood and hormones: find the right page.
- Alongside it: Prediabetes and getting tested · Arthritis · Carpal tunnel syndrome · Colon polyps · My medicines.
- When it is hard to pay: When you need a doctor and can’t pay. Getting ready: Get ready for your appointment.
- In an emergency: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Your heart, blood pressure, blood sugar, thyroid or blood, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for a heart attack or stroke, blood pressure, AFib, heart failure, cholesterol, diabetes and prediabetes, the thyroid, anemia, sickle cell and menopause, on one list.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- When you can’t afford your medicine: what to ask, the programs that help, and buying online safely: when you can’t afford your medicine: what to ask, generics, assistance programs, Medicare’s Extra Help, a plan that says no, and safe online pharmacies.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 20, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Acromegaly (last reviewed January 2020). The numbers (about 3 to 14 of every 100,000 people diagnosed; more than 9 out of 10 cases from a pituitary tumor; blood tested every half hour for 2 hours in the sugary-drink test; success meaning normal levels after 12 weeks; a cure rate right after surgery of about 85 percent for small tumors and 40 to 50 percent for large ones; radiation over 4 to 6 weeks; about half needing hormone replacement after radiation) are NIDDK’s, and we add none. Ours: 911 for a sudden, very bad headache, sudden loss of sight, fainting or a seizure, calling the doctor today for new or worse headaches or sight, and 988 (NIDDK’s page names none of these); old photos to show the changes; asking about a colon check; asking a surgeon about their experience; telling your doctor about family history; never stopping a prescribed medicine on your own; the lines to say; the card; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: NIDDK’s section on clinical trials, its references and its pictures; we name no medicine brands and no doses. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.