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How I Learned I Had Acromegaly

Summary & Participants

Robert Violonto experienced massive headaches and years of unusual symptoms before an accidental encounter with a doctor and a handshake led to a diagnosis of acromegaly.

Medically Reviewed On: July 02, 2008

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Robert Violonto had a startling experience back in 1988 when he had a chance encounter with his wife's doctor.

ROBERT VIOLONTO: I shook his hand and he looked up at me and looked down. And he said, "How you doing?"

I was a little tired. I told him so, and I told him I had a headache. And he looked at me and he said, "Really?" It was kind of weird the way he was looking at me. And he looked me up and down and then he asked me how long have I been having headaches for.

And I said, "Well," kind of jokingly, "I have them every day." And he said, "Really!"

ANNOUNCER: And at the doctor's request, Mr. Violonto agreed to visit a specialist for some tests. A few days later, he was called in to discuss the results.

ROBERT VIOLONTO: I remember that day like it was yesterday. When he sat me down, he told me about this tumor thing, pushing on the pituitary, I had no clue where a pituitary was. He told me it was in the center of my head and he told me that I needed surgery.

ANNOUNCER: Mr. Violonto had arcomegaly, a rare disease that can affect virtually all parts of the body.

LAURENCE KATZNELSON, MD: Acromegaly is an uncommon, yet chronic, condition caused by a benign growth of the pituitary gland, a tumor. This tumor makes a chemical called growth hormone, which, when elevated in the blood, leads to changes in the body, such as growth of the hands, the face, the feet, in addition to internal changes such as enlarged heart, sleep problems and can lead to long-term risk and mortality.

ANNOUNCER: In hindsight, Mr. Violonto realized he had had acromegaly for many years.

ROBERT VIOLONTO: I remember taking a family picture of my son, who was about two, and when the picture came back, I looked at this picture, and I said, "Is that me?" My facial features didn't look the same. Like over my eyes, it seemed like it was bulging a little bit. My jaw line looked wider. And my nose seemed wider than what it used to be. I used to be a skinny guy.

ANNOUNCER: Over the years, Mr. Violonto developed headaches, eye problems, aches, night sweats and fatigue. One doctor said the problem was stress and poor diet.

ROBERT VIOLONTO: I'd go to him complaining that it was hard for me to breathe sometimes and I was having headaches, and he said that I needed to change my eating habits.

He told me that maybe my sugar level was low. He checked me for diabetes. He checked me for various other things that could be contributing to it. He just didn't catch it.

LAURENCE KATZNELSON, MD: These are very slow-growing tumors, and that is probably why it takes so long to make the diagnosis. These tumors are present for years prior to detection.

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