Living with medical conditions is often difficult and may often go unnoticed in many cases as people believe it is not so serious, as is the case of a 31-year-old woman, married with children. She had been battling severe headaches for over three years pain so intense and constant that she relied on daily painkillers just to function.
While she was repeatedly diagnosed with migraine in the past, there was no real relief. As she felt her life was shrinking around her, she opted to meet Mumbai-based health expert Dr Sheetal Goyal, who is a consultant neurologist at Wockhardt Hospitals in Mumbai Central. After all the necessary tests, Dr Goyal found that it was a regrowth of a hormone-secreting pituitary tumour.
Initially referred as a routine case of migraine, Dr Goyal noticed key red flags during the consultation. The headache pattern was unusual, dull, hollow, and unrelenting, not matching typical migraine symptoms. The woman also mentioned needing painkillers daily, yet nothing seemed to help.
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The city-based doctor requested a full review of the patient’s medical history and previous MRIs. After reviewing them, she found that a critical detail had been overlooked. The patient had undergone pituitary tumour surgery three years earlier. Further MRI imaging and hormonal studies confirmed that the tumour had returned and was actively secreting excess growth hormone, a rare but dangerous condition.
Adding to the diagnostic breakthrough was a crucial observation made during history-taking: the patient’s husband noted dramatic changes in her facial structure over the years.
On comparing with old photographs, Dr Goyal observed coarse facial features, enlarged hands, and thickened limbs — classic signs of acromegaly, a condition triggered by excess growth hormone.
Recognising this as a hormone-related headache, Dr Goyal collaborated with endocrinologist Dr Pranav Ghody, and the patient was started on targeted therapy. Remarkably, without a single painkiller, her three-year-long headache vanished within a month.
“This case reinforces that not every headache is a migraine,” said Dr Goyal. “It takes listening closely, thinking beyond the obvious, and digging deeper. Her transformation is a reminder of what accurate diagnosis can do,” she added.
Today, the patient is pain-free, relieved, and rebuilding her life-grateful that someone finally looked beyond the label and treated the real cause.
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