“From a affected person perspective, the joint ache can really feel like accelerated ageing, stiffness, swelling, and deep aching, particularly within the knees, hips, and fingers — any joint actually,” says August. “It could actually restrict mobility and make easy actions really feel exhausting and painful.”
Getting handled for acromegaly is crucial place to begin in managing joint ache, says Atil Kargi, MD, an endocrinologist specializing in acromegaly at UNC Well being in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Dr. Kargi additionally recommends bodily remedy and commonplace ache medicines like ibuprofen. However make sure to examine together with your healthcare supplier earlier than you attempt any new over-the-counter remedy.
You might be able to reverse some joint modifications in the event you can decrease IGF-1 ranges early in the middle of the illness, says Dr. Balasubramanian. But when modifications grow to be everlasting, you’ll be able to ask about steroid or gel injections, she says. “In extreme circumstances, joint substitute is likely to be wanted.”
Other than medical therapies, August has discovered the following tips have helped her and others with acromegaly joint ache:
- Mild, constant, non-weight-bearing motion, like biking and stretching
- Energy coaching to help joints when attainable
- Anti-inflammatory vitamin selections
- Listening to your physique as an alternative of pushing by ache
“Most significantly, I’d say: Don’t normalize the ache,” says August, who urges individuals with acromegaly joint ache to advocate for imaging, exploration, and therapy choices.
