Symptoms of Pituitary conditions

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Do I have Pituitary conditions?

• Pituitary conditions: Introduction
• Pituitary conditions: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Pituitary conditions
• Treatments for Pituitary conditions
• More about Pituitary conditions

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical tests related to Pituitary conditions:

• Thyroid: Home Testing:
  • Home Thyroid Function Tests
  • Home TSH Tests
  • Home Adrenal Function Tests

Wrongly Diagnosed with Pituitary conditions?

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

• Empty Sella Syndrome
• Hypoglycemia

See the full list of 2 alternative diagnoses for Pituitary conditions

More about symptoms of Pituitary conditions:

More information about symptoms of Pituitary conditions and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Pituitary conditions

Medical Books Online about Pituitary conditions

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

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

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Symptoms of Pituitary conditions: Online Medical Books

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

Diabetes insipidus: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

The patient’s history typically shows an abrupt onset of extreme polyuria (usually 4 to 16 L/day of dilute urine but sometimes as much as 30 L/day). As a result, the patient is extremely thirsty and drinks great quantities of water to compensate for the body’s water loss. This disorder may also result in nocturia. In severe cases, it may lead to extreme fatigue from inadequate rest caused by frequent voiding and excessive thirst.

Other characteristic features of diabetes insipidus include signs and symptoms of dehydration (poor tissue turgor, dry mucous membranes, constipation, muscle weakness, dizziness, and hypotension). These symptoms usually begin abruptly, commonly appearing within 1 to 2 days after a basal skull fracture, a stroke, or surgery. Relieving cerebral edema or increased intracranial pressure may cause all of these symptoms to subside just as rapidly as they began.

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Pituitary tumors: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

As pituitary adenomas grow, they replace normal glandular tissue and enlarge the sella turcica, which houses the pituitary gland. The resulting pressure on adjacent intracranial structures produces these typical clinical manifestations:

Neurologic:

❑frontal headache

❑ visual symptoms, beginning with blurring and progressing to field cuts (hemianopias) and then unilateral blindness

❑ cranial nerve involvement (III, IV, VI) from lateral extension of the tumor, resulting in strabismus; double vision, with compensating head tilting and dizziness; conjugate deviation of gaze; nystagmus; lid ptosis; and limited eye movements

❑ increased intracranial pressure (ICP) (secondary hydrocephalus)

❑ personality changes or dementia, if the tumor breaks through to the frontal lobes

❑ seizures

❑ rhinorrhea, if the tumor erodes the base of the skull

❑ pituitary apoplexy secondary to hemorrhagic infarction of the adenoma. Such hemorrhage may lead to both cardiovascular and adrenocortical collapse.

Endocrine:

❑ hypopituitarism, to some degree, in all patients with adenoma, becoming more obvious as the tumor replaces normal gland tissue (signs and symptoms include amenorrhea, decreased libido and impotence in men, skin changes [waxy appearance, decreased wrinkles, and pigmentation], loss of axillary and pubic hair, lethargy, weakness, increased fatigability, intolerance to cold, and constipation [because of decreased corticotropin and thyroid-stimulating hormone production])

❑ addisonian crisis, precipitated by stress and resulting in nausea, vomiting, hypoglycemia, hypotension, and circulatory collapse

❑ diabetes insipidus, resulting from extension to the hypothalamus

❑ prolactin-secreting adenomas (in 70% to 75%), with amenorrhea and galactorrhea

❑ GH-secreting adenomas, with acromegaly

❑ corticotropin-secreting adenomas, with Cushing's syndrome.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Diabetes insipidus: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

The patient’s history typically shows an abrupt onset of extreme polyuria (usually 4 to 16 L/day of dilute urine, but sometimes as much as 30 L/day). As a result, the patient is extremely thirsty and drinks great quantities of water to compensate for the body’s water loss. This disorder may also result in hourly nocturia.

If the patient is unable to obtain adequate quantities of water, features of diabetes insipidus include signs and symptoms of dehydration (poor tissue turgor, dry mucous membranes, constipation, muscle weakness, dizziness, and hypotension). Polyuria usually begins abruptly, commonly appearing within 1 to 2 days after a basal skull fracture, a stroke, or surgery.

Relieving cerebral edema or increased intracranial pressure may cause all of these symptoms to subside just as rapidly as they began.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Pituitary tumors: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

As pituitary adenomas grow, they replace normal glandular tissue and enlarge the sella turcica, which houses the pituitary gland. The resulting pressure on adjacent intracranial structures produces typical clinical features.

Neurologic features

❑ Frontal headache

❑ Visual symptoms, beginning with blurring and progressing to field cuts (hemianopias) and then unilateral blindness

❑ Cranial nerve involvement (III, IV, VI) from lateral extension of the tumor, resulting in strabismus; double vision, with compensating head tilting and dizziness; conjugate deviation of gaze; nystagmus; lid ptosis; and limited eye movements

❑ Increased intracranial pressure (secondary hydrocephalus)

❑ Personality changes or dementia, if the tumor breaks through to the frontal lobes

❑ Seizures

❑ Rhinorrhea, if the tumor erodes the base of the skull

❑ Pituitary apoplexy secondary to hemorrhagic infarction of the adenoma. Such hemorrhage may lead to both cardiovascular and adrenocortical collapse.

Endocrine features

❑ Hypopituitarism, to some degree, in all patients with adenoma, becoming more obvious as the tumor replaces normal gland tissue; signs and symptoms include amenorrhea, decreased libido and impotence in men, skin changes (waxy appearance, decreased wrinkles, and pigmentation), loss of axillary and pubic hair, lethargy, weakness, increased fatigability, intolerance to cold or heat, and constipation (because of decreased corticotropin and thyrotropin production)

❑ Addisonian crisis, precipitated by stress and resulting in nausea, vomiting, hypoglycemia, hypotension, and circulatory collapse

❑ Diabetes insipidus, resulting from extension to the hypothalamus

❑ Prolactin-secreting adenomas (in 70% to 75%), with amenorrhea and galactorrhea; growth hormone-secreting adenomas, with acromegaly; and corticotropin-secreting adenomas, with Cushing’s syndrome.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

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:

• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Pituitary conditions
• More about Pituitary conditions
• 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 Pituitary conditions:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Pituitary conditions. This signs and symptoms information for Pituitary conditions has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Pituitary conditions signs or Pituitary conditions symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Pituitary conditions 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 Pituitary conditions symptoms.