Symptoms of Acromegaly

Symptoms of Acromegaly

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Acromegaly includes the 71 symptoms listed below:

• Mild symptoms - initially, the onset of acromegaly is often slow and insidious
• Headaches
• Blurred vision
• Enlarged hands
• Enlarged feet
• Bone overgrowth
• Swollen hands
• Swollen feet
• Tight shoes
• Tight gloves
• Thick skin
• Coarse skin
• Oily skin
• Skin tags
• Enlarged lips
• Enlarged nose
• Enlarged tongue
• Dental bite disturbances
• Deep voice
• Enlarged sinuses
• Enlarged vocal chords
• Headache
• Visual problems
• Snoring
• Airway obstruction
• Excessive sweating
• Skin odor
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Headaches
• Impaired vision
• Menstrual abnormalities
• Breast discharge
• Impotence
• Enlarged liver
• Enlarged spleen
• Enlarged kidneys
• Enlarged heart
• Enlargement of face bones
• Thickening of face bones
• Enlargement of jaw bones
• Thickening of jaw bones
• Abnormal growth of head
• Abnormal growth of face
• Abnormal growth of feet
• Abnormal growth of hands
• Diabetes
• Coronary artery disease
• High blood pressure
• Enlarged heart
• Enlarged organs
• Enlarged kidneys
• Enlarged spleen
• Enlarged nose
• Increased spacing between teeth
• Enlarged lips
• Enlarged tongue
• Deepened voice
• Excessive sweating
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Headache
• Vision problems
• Menstrual cycle changes
• Thickened skin
• Oily skin
• Coarse skin
• Arthritis
• Carpel tunnel syndrome
• Diabetes
• Increased blood pressure
• more information...»

Research symptoms & diagnosis of Acromegaly:

• Overview -- Acromegaly
• Diagnostic Tests for Acromegaly
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Complications -- Acromegaly
• Doctors & Specialists
• Misdiagnosis and Alternative Diagnoses
• Hidden Causes of Acromegaly
• Other Causes -- causes of these or similar symptoms

Acromegaly: Complications

Review medical complications possibly associated with Acromegaly:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Arthritis
• IGT - about 50% of cases (Ganda [1997]).
• Diabetes - occurs in about 6 to 25% of cases (Ganda [1997]).
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular disease - increased risk
• more complications...»

Diagnostic Testing

Diagnostic testing of medical conditions related to Acromegaly:

• Growth hormone blood test (fasting)
• Oral glucose tolerance test
• IGF-1 level blood test
• CT scan - of pituitary or other organs, seeking the tumor
• GHRH blood test - useful to detect non-pituitary tumors
• more tests...»

Research More About Acromegaly

Do I have Acromegaly?

• Acromegaly: Introduction
• Acromegaly: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Acromegaly
• Failure to Diagnose Acromegaly
• Hidden Causes of Acromegaly
• Treatments for Acromegaly
• More about Acromegaly

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical tests related to Acromegaly:

• Thyroid: Home Testing:
  • Home Thyroid Function Testing
  • Home TSH Tests
  • Home Adrenal Function Tests
• more home tests...»

Wrongly Diagnosed with Acromegaly?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Acromegaly includes:

• Gigantism
• Edema
• Normal body size
• Pseudoacromegaly
• Inactive acromegaly
• more diagnoses...»

See the full list of 28 alternative diagnoses for Acromegaly

More about symptoms of Acromegaly:

More information about symptoms of Acromegaly and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Acromegaly
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Acromegaly
• Underlying causes of Acromegaly

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Abnormal growth of feet - see all causes of Large feet
• Airway obstruction - see all causes of Airway obstruction
• Arthritis - see all causes of Arthritis
• Blurred vision - see all causes of Blurred vision
• Bone overgrowth - see all causes of Swollen bone
• Breast discharge - see all causes of Breast symptoms
• Coarse skin - see all causes of Cracked skin
• Coarse skin - see all causes of Cracked skin
• Deep voice - see all causes of Deep voice
• Deepened voice - see all causes of Deep voice
• Dental bite disturbances - see all causes of Dental symptoms
• Diabetes - see all causes of Diabetes-like symptoms
• Diabetes - see all causes of Diabetes-like symptoms
• Enlarged feet - see all causes of Large feet
• Enlarged hands - see all causes of Enlarged hands
• Enlarged heart - see all causes of Heart symptoms
• Enlarged heart - see all causes of Heart symptoms
• Enlarged kidneys - see all causes of Enlarged kidneys
• Enlarged kidneys - see all causes of Enlarged kidneys
• Enlarged lips - see all causes of Lip swelling
• Enlarged lips - see all causes of Lip swelling
• Enlarged liver - see all causes of Enlarged liver
• Enlarged nose - see all causes of Nose shape symptoms
• Enlarged nose - see all causes of Nose shape symptoms
• Enlarged sinuses - see all causes of Sinusitis
• Enlarged spleen - see all causes of Swollen spleen
• Enlarged spleen - see all causes of Swollen spleen
• Enlarged tongue - see all causes of Swollen tongue
• Enlarged tongue - see all causes of Swollen tongue
• Enlarged vocal chords - see all causes of Voice symptoms
• Excessive sweating - see all causes of Excessive sweating
• Excessive sweating - see all causes of Excessive sweating
• Fatigue - see all causes of Fatigue
• Fatigue - see all causes of Fatigue
• Headache - see all causes of Headache
• Headache - see all causes of Headache
• Headaches - see all causes of Headache
• Headaches - see all causes of Headache
• High blood pressure - see all causes of High blood pressure
• Impaired vision - see all causes of Impaired vision
• Impotence - see all causes of Impotence
• Menstrual abnormalities - see all causes of Menstrual irregularities
• Menstrual cycle changes - see all causes of Menstrual irregularities
• Mild symptoms - see all causes of Vague symptoms
• Oily skin - see all causes of Oily skin
• Oily skin - see all causes of Oily skin
• Skin odor - see all causes of Skin symptoms
• Skin tags - see all causes of Skin symptoms
• Snoring - see all causes of Snoring
• Swollen feet - see all causes of Foot swelling
• Swollen hands - see all causes of Hand swelling
• Thick skin - see all causes of Tough skin
• Thickened skin - see all causes of Tough skin
• Tight gloves - see all causes of Hand swelling
• Tight shoes - see all causes of Limping
• Vision problems - see all causes of Vision changes
• Visual problems - see all causes of Visual problems
• Weakness - see all causes of Weakness
• Weakness - see all causes of Weakness

Medical Books Online about Acromegaly

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Acromegaly are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Acromegaly.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Acromegaly: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Acromegaly.

Acromegaly and gigantism: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Acromegaly develops slowly and typically produces diaphoresis, oily skin, hypermetabolism, and hypertrichosis. Severe headache, central nervous system impairment, bitemporal hemianopia, loss of visual acuity, and blindness may result from the intrasellar tumor compressing the optic chiasm or nerves.

Hypersecretion of hGH produces cartilaginous and connective tissue overgrowth, resulting in a characteristic hulking appearance, with an enlarged supraorbital ridge and thickened ears and nose. Prognathism, projection of the jaw, becomes marked and may interfere with chewing. Laryngeal hypertrophy, paranasal sinus enlargement, and thickening of the tongue cause the voice to sound deep and hollow. Distal phalanges display an arrowhead appearance on X-rays, and the fingers are thickened. Irritability, hostility, and various psychological disturbances may occur.

Prolonged effects of excessive hGH secretion include bowlegs, barrel chest, arthritis, osteoporosis, kyphosis, hypertension, and arteriosclerosis. Both gigantism and acromegaly may also cause signs of glucose intolerance and clinically apparent diabetes mellitus because of the insulin-antagonistic character of hGH. If acromegaly is left untreated, the patient is at risk for premature cardiovascular disease, colon polyps, and colon cancer.

Gigantism develops abruptly, producing some of the same skeletal abnormalities seen in acromegaly. As the disease progresses, the pituitary tumor enlarges and invades normal tissue, resulting in the loss of other trophic hormones, such as thyroid-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and corticotropin, thus causing the target organ to stop functioning.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Acromegaly and gigantism: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Acromegaly develops slowly, whereas gigantism develops abruptly.

Acromegaly

Acromegaly commonly produces hyperdidrosis, arthropathy, carpal tunnel syndrome, proximal muscle weakness and fatigue, acanthosis nigricans and skin tags, and oily skin.

Hypersecretion of HGH produces cartilaginous and connective tissue overgrowth, resulting in a characteristic hulking appearance, with an enlarged supraorbital ridge and thickened ears and nose. Prognathism, projection of the jaw, becomes marked and may interfere with chewing. Laryngeal hypertrophy, paranasal sinus enlargement, and thickening of the tongue cause the voice to sound deep and hollow. Also, the fingers are thickened.

Coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy with arrhythmias, left ventricular hypertrophy, decreased diastolic function, and hypertension occur in 30% of patients; upper airway obstruction with sleep apnea, in 60% of patients. Generalized visceromegaly occurs, including cardiomegaly, macroglossia, and thyroid gland enlargement.

Prolonged effects of excessive HGH secretion include barrel chest and kyphosis. Both gigantism and acromegaly may also cause signs of glucose intolerance and diabetes mellitus because of the insulin-antagonistic character of HGH.

Gigantism

Gigantism produces some of the same skeletal abnormalities seen in acromegaly. As the disease progresses, the pituitary tumor enlarges and invades normal tissue, resulting in the loss of other trophic hormones, such as thyroid-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and corticotropin, thus causing the target organ to stop functioning.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Acromegaly as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Acromegaly, it is also important to consider Acromegaly as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Acromegaly may cause:

• 3rd cranial nerve disorder
• Arthropathy
• Cardiomyopathy
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Creatinine levels raised (plasma or serum)
• Dysphonia
• Facies abnormality
• Goitre
• Headache
• Hirsutism
• Hypercalcaemia
• Hypercalciuria
• Hyperglycaemia
• Hyperhidrosis
• Hyperinsulinaemia
• Hyperlipidaemia
• Hyperphosphataemia
• Hypertension, systemic
• Hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism
• Macroglossia
• Obesity
• Optic nerve disorder
• Parotid gland enlargement
• Peripheral nerves palpable
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Pituitary tumour
• Proximal muscle weakness
• Proximal myopathy
• Pyrophosphate arthropathy
• Raynaud's phenomenon
• Thyroid hormone binding globulin levels low (serum)
• Urea levels low (plasma or serum)
• Weight gain

Acromegaly as a symptom:

For a more detailed analysis of Acromegaly as a symptom, including causes, drug side effect causes, and drug interaction causes, please see our Symptom Center information for Acromegaly.

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Acromegaly
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Acromegaly
• More about Acromegaly
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Acromegaly:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Acromegaly. This signs and symptoms information for Acromegaly has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Acromegaly signs or Acromegaly symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Acromegaly may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Acromegaly symptoms.