Hello. I am 33 and I was diagnosed as having a 3 mm cyst on my pituitary gland stock at 29. I went to the endocrinologist to discuss what to do. I have an MRI done every 6 months to assure it is not growing. I have weight gain/loss fluctuations ALL the time. It's the hormones, also lack thereof. You need to go see your Dr and get blood tests to determine what hormone you need or which one you need to decrease. It's a struggle and can sometimes take a while to figure it out but once you do, you will be able to keep your weight under control. Good luck hun. :)
Wow tears are coming to my eye's because i was in and out of hospital with bad headaches for 2 whole years. I wanted to die as they where that painful. They keep telling it was my sinuses. To cut a long story short. My tumour was the biggest he had done. It was 6cm. My body had shut down for 3 days while i was at home. My sister found me on the 3rd day. After 2 and a half years i'm still fighting it. I've had 2 ops and radiotherapy end of 2016.
I'm now partially sighted and just started on my growth hormone needle last week as i'm always tired and also gained loads of waight.
For anyone that's got a tumour.,don't be scared. All will be ok and the op is easy. I also had a shut fitted 4 weeks after my first op in 2014. My shut then twisted and had to go back in for another op as my body had shut down yet again. But this time my dauvhter had called to fire service to brake into my home. paramedics was also called out.
You can say i've been through the mill. But thank god i'm still here fighting on.
Darren
Not just any surgeon treats pituitary - if they just go on size alone, which is taught in school, the lesion will be ignored. You have to go to a pituitary center where they know it is not the size but the hormonal secreting activity that needs to be addressed. Your tumor needs to be evaluated with lab testing first now to determine the nature of the lesion to see if it can be treated with medication or if you need surgery.
Get the right doctor then you will get the treatment - get copies of everything.
Hi I was recently dx with a pitutary tumor 5mm. I was less fortunate that all of you. Neurologist referred me to a surgeon who spent approximately 5min with me and told me go see my Neurologist in a yr for another MRI. despite my having headaches everyday, blurred vision, arm/legand neck pain.
This was my very first visit with this surgeon and it was my last. I am searching for a new doctor.
hi jemica, i had a pituitary tumor 22mm. i also gained weight and had breast discharge. my periods were nonstop. i stayed so tired and the eye and temple pain made me sick and i would throw up to. my eye site started getting blurry . i dont want to scare you at all, but call your neuro and tell him about your vision change.he will order a mri to check for any changes. dont ingore the blurry vision, i almost went blind.i had a crainotomy and now i have my vision back. i still havent lost all the weight i gained. just call and tell your neuro any changes that you may have . hope i dident scare you. take care of yourself.best wishes
Sure.
First, make sure you have the most experienced surgeon you can find. Ask a lot of questions and be comfortable with him - do not just take any old neurologist - this is a special surgery and requires special skills. It is best to have over 500 lifetime and 50 in a year to be experienced in pituitary surgeries and also to know that the doctor knows a lot about your particular type of tumor as they are not all the same. For instance, I had Cushing's and those tumors are known to be soft and jelly like are harder to remove. Larger tumors or tumors that are small but in bad places like too near the carotids also require a surgeon who is super experienced. So do not be afraid to ask questions and travel. Have copied of everything for yourself and read everything.
Usually it is done through the nose although some will do it through the upper lip if the sinus is too small. Surgeons differ in that some use packing, some will not, some will put in shunts automatically, most will not, some will put you in ICU for a night, some will not, some will keep you for a couple of days, some will keep you longer. All of this is very dependent of the surgeon - just like post op instructions like if you can use saline or not, if you have to sleep with your head elevated for a short time or not, and how long you can not bend over etc.
As for danger, the real danger is the risk of stroke and blindness from being close to the optic nerves and the carotids - hence why you need the absolute best surgeon. The rest of the risks are the normal ones from any surgery which are from anesthesia.
There is surgical recovery and hormonal recovery. You did not give the type of tumor so it is hard to say about all of it but surgical recovery should take about a month or so. It may not look like much on the outside though!
I am not sure what you mean by side effect?
Hormonal recovery depends and can take up to two years. For some people like me ha ha - it takes longer. I had Cushing's and a prolactinoma.
My teen-age daughter has a large Pituitary tumor and requires surgery. Can you give me some advise on what she should expect as far as Surgical procedures, before and after treatment and how dangerous is the surgery, then what are the side effect.
Jeimey,
Having had two pituitary tumors, they are certainly something not to be ignored and any pituitary tumor of any size needs attention.
With eye symptoms, have you been directed to a neuro-opthomologist?
The other symptoms should be covered by a neuro-endocrinologist.
Uncontrolled weight gain, irregular period sounds like Cushing's syndrome. It can be treated and when treated, you may lose the weight and get more normal. It requires a lot of testing. I suggest you do some research on the doctors and testing as lab error and not using an expert will hold you back from getting adequate treatment.