An Australian woman suffered from strange symptoms for ten years. His feet and jaw were growing. Doctors identified the disease she was suffering from: acromegaly.
![Suffering from a rare disease, her jaw and her feet\](https://www.pourquoidocteur.fr/media/article/COPY_istock-486960808-1700840232.jpg "Suffering from a rare disease, her jaw and her feet\")
- For ten years, an Australian woman saw her feet and jawline grow steadily.
- She recently understood the origin of these symptoms: she suffers from acromegaly.
- This rare disease is caused by excessive production of growth hormones.
Shari Dawson suffered for years. At the age of 21, she began experiencing severe pain and observing strange things. “My feet were getting bigger, my rings didn’t fit anymore, my jaw was getting wider and wider “, she confides to Yahoo News Australia. She couldn’t even hold her toothbrush in the morning.
A medical wandering of several years
Faced with these persistent symptoms, she sought various medical opinions, without success. A dentist explains to him that his jaw is developing late, but that there is nothing abnormal. Another tells him that this enlargement is the consequence of his tonsil surgery. Other specialists believe that his weight gain is not the consequence of high water retention.
In 2020, her pain increased further and she went to the emergency room. “It was that night that I discovered I had a bleeding pituitary tumor and had to have emergency surgery because I was told I was going blind. left eye“, she says. The doctors quickly understood that her symptoms were all linked: they then diagnosed her with acromegaly.
Acromegaly: a rare pathology, linked to hormones
This rare disease, also called Pierre Marie disease, named after the first doctor who described it, affects one in 15,000 to one in 25,000 people. “However, the time between the appearance of symptoms and the moment of diagnosis often exceeds ten years, there are many cases still undiagnosed.warns Orpha.net. It is the consequence of an overproduction of growth hormones produced by the pituitary gland. This small gland is located in the brain. “Most often, acromegaly is linked to the ‘enlargement’ of the pituitary gland, whose cells multiply and produce too much growth hormone.e, develops the site. In fact, this enlargement is due to the appearance of a benign tumor, that is to say a non-cancerous mass, in the pituitary gland..”
It can occur before puberty: in this case, the children will have a symptom of being very tall. After puberty, excessive growth of the extremities and face is the main sign.
Acromegaly, a little-known but treatable disease
Without treatment, the disease reduces life expectancy by ten years. It can lead to various cardiovascular complications, diabetes and significant joint pain. “However, the treatment provides a cure or limits the progression of symptoms in the vast majority of patients.estimated Orpha.net. Management can be done by surgery, radiotherapy or through treatment. These can be complementary. “In most cases, the combination of surgery and medication makes it possible to obtain a clear stabilization of the disease, if not a complete cure..”
Shari Dawson started by taking treatment to reduce hormonal levels in your body. A few months later, doctors were able to remove the tumor. She was declared in remission in 2021, but a new tumor has since been detected. By testifying about her case, the young woman hopes to raise awareness about the disease and its symptoms. “If people know more and understand what these symptoms are, I think it can have a huge impact on many lives and give people a better chance of coping.“, she hopes.
