Pituitary Disorders

What is the pituitary gland?

The pituitary gland is a part of your endocrine system. The pea-sized organ, located at the bottom of your brain, is often called the master gland because it creates some vital hormones while also controlling other glands, including your thyroid and adrenal glands. 

Your pituitary gland plays a role in stimulating growth, managing stress, regulating metabolism, sex hormone production in men, ovulation in women, and many other things. 

Because the multitasking pituitary gland serves so many functions, pituitary gland disorders can cause some very serious health problems.

What are pituitary disorders?

Pituitary disorders happen when your pituitary gland produces either excessive or inadequate amounts of a hormone, including adrenocorticotropic, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing, growth hormone, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating, oxytocin, or antidiuretic hormone. 

Most pituitary disorders occur when you develop a noncancerous tumor on the gland. The two main types of tumors are secretory tumors, which impact hormone creation, or non-secretory tumors, which don't cause hormone problems but do cause issues like headaches or vision loss. Cancerous tumors of the pituitary gland are very rare. 

Some of the main pituitary disorders include:

• Acromegaly - excess growth hormone
• Prolactinoma - excess prolactin
• Cushing's syndrome - excess cortisol
• Growth hormone deficiency - inadequate growth hormone
• Diabetes insipidus - too little antidiuretic hormone
• Hypogonadism - testosterone deficiency
• Lymphocytic hypophysitis - pituitary gland inflammation
• Craniopharyngioma - a tumor that pressures the hypothalamus

This is just a short list of the different pituitary disorders. The group of disorders can affect the body in many different ways because they can affect so many hormones.

What are the symptoms of a pituitary disorder?

The particular disorder, the hormones involved, tumor position, and size of the tumor can all contribute to which symptoms you experience. But, symptoms common in many pituitary disorders include: 

• Sporadic menstrual periods in women
• Weight gain
• Chronic fatigue
• Reduced libido
• Erectile dysfunction in men
• Infertility in women
• Thinning hair
• Producing breast milk while not pregnant
• Slow or very rapid growth
• Hypertension
• Vision changes
• Dizzy spells
• Depression
• Sleep problems

These symptoms can be the same or very similar to those of other conditions. 

Pituitary disorders can also lead to secondary diabetes and other complications, so it's very important to see the Capital Endocrine & Diabetes team for an accurate diagnosis and personalized treatment plan.

How are pituitary disorders treated?

The Capital Endocrine & Diabetes team may prescribe hormone therapy, medication to block hormone overproduction, radiation therapy, or surgical referral to remove the tumor. 

Pituitary disorder treatment can restore your quality of life, so don't delay it. Call the Capital Endocrine & Diabetes office to book an appointment.