Chances are, your friends have never heard of acromegaly. But, if you’re one of the more than 250,000 people who suffer from acromegaly worldwide, acromegaly is not just a rare hormone disorder – it’s a complex disease that affects your physical body, as well as your emotional well-being or even your self-image. People with acromegaly may suffer from depression, mood swings, personality changes and quality of life issues, even if their disease is in remission. Whether you’ve just been diagnosed or lived with acromegaly for some time, there are things you can do to manage your disease and make living with acromegaly a little easier.
The first step in adapting to life with acromegaly is learning all you can about the disease and talking to your doctor or healthcare professionals about what you can do manage your symptoms. Acromegaly can increase your risk of serious health complications such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, osteoporosis and sleep apnea. If left untreated, patients with acromegaly have a 2 to 2.5 increased risk of death compared to healthy people. So, prompt treatment and ongoing monitoring is important for people living with acromegaly.
Surgery is the most effective option for achieving a complete cure for acromegaly. Even if a cure isn’t achieved, reducing the size of the pituitary tumor can reduce symptoms and improve response to medical therapy. For people with acromegaly who cannot have surgery, or who have not been cured by surgery, there are medications that may help to lower growth hormone levels or shrink tumor size.
Sandostatin® (octreotide acetate for injectable suspension) is a prescription medication that is structurally similar to somatostatin, a naturally-occurring hormone in the body. One of the main functions of somatostatin is to signal the pituitary gland to stop producing growth hormone. In people with acromegaly, too much growth hormone is released into the body and it may be necessary to support the body’s natural production of somatostatin. Sandostatin, or its long-acting release formulation, Sandostatin LAR Depot, may help to control growth hormone levels in people with acromegaly. If you have acromegaly and cannot tolerate, or have had an inadequate response to, surgery or other treatments, talk to your healthcare provider about which medical therapy options might be right for you.
Remember – you don’t have to deal with acromegaly on your own. In addition to your loved ones and your healthcare providers, there are patient support groups where you can find other people living with acromegaly. Talking to other people who have this rare hormone disease may give you valuable insights or tips on how to take control of your symptoms and your life.
Related articlesCategories: Health | Tags: Acromegaly, Conditions and Diseases, Disease, Endocrine disease, health, Octreotide, Pituitary gland, Support group | Permalink