The Pituitary Foundation (UK)

The Pituitary Foundation (UK) www.pituitary.org.uk We’re The Pituitary Foundation. We believe that empowerment is crucial to living well with pituitary conditions.
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We’re a dedicated team offering practical, emotional and peer support to everyone living with or impacted by a pituitary condition, so they feel empowered and live with a greater sense of wellbeing. For over 25 years, we’ve been amplifying voices and striving towards positive developments for the pituitary community. We work alongside healthcare professionals, clinical research teams and specialis

t organisations to raise the profile of pituitary conditions, finding better solutions for everyone affected by these lifechanging illnesses now and in the future. So, we give guidance directly via our Support and Information Helpline and specialist Endocrine Nurse Helpline, as well as offering expert, up-to-date, online resources. This helps people navigate the UK healthcare system and gain the best clinical outcome possible. We won’t stop until everyone with a pituitary disorder is getting fair, timely, effective treatment and everyone in the pituitary community has their voice heard.

Did you know these facts about adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD)? Growth hormone deficiency happens when the pituit...
24/06/2026

Did you know these facts about adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD)?

Growth hormone deficiency happens when the pituitary gland does not
make enough growth hormone. It can happen in children and adults.
When it occurs in adults, it is usually because of damage to the pituitary
gland.
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This content has been taken from our upcoming AGHD booklet that will soon be available to purchase or download from our website. We look forward to sharing this AGHD booklet with you!🧡

Share this post with your friends to spread awareness of AGHD 📤️
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1. It is estimated that 1 in every 10,000 people in the UK have AGHD.
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2. The most common causes of AGHD are:
- a pituitary tumour
- radiotherapy in an area near the hypothalamus or pituitary gland
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3. Other less common causes of AGHD can include:
- brain tumours
- inflammatory conditions that affect the pituitary gland or hypothalamus
- a traumatic brain injury (TBI)
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4. As AGHD usually happens because of damage to the pituitary gland, people will often have AGHD alongside other pituitary hormone deficiencies, also called hypopituitarism.

You can also find out more about AGHD from our website ➡️ https://www.pituitary.org.uk/information/growth-hormone/

From patient to paramedic - Maria's story 🚑️⁠"I was born on 21 December 2000 and was admitted to the local hospital on 2...
22/06/2026

From patient to paramedic - Maria's story 🚑️
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"I was born on 21 December 2000 and was admitted to the local hospital on 27 December after a couple of days of not feeding, instantly vomiting milk back up, feeling cold to the touch, becoming increasingly unresponsive, and not waking for a feed or change. On admission, I was unresponsive, hypoglycaemic and hypothermic with a core temperature of 31.6 C.

During the first 24 hours in the NICU, I was slowly warmed up and had an NG tube inserted for feeding. I was treated for infection as my brother, who was 21 months at the time, went to toddler groups and soft play. Over the following week, I started to improve and was still being fed via a tube however, I then started to slip back into being unresponsive and vomiting up all my milk.

Almost four weeks after admission, a doctor who had come back from a rotation with an endocrine specialist in London thought she may know what it potentially could be. After a few scans and tests, I was diagnosed with panhypopituitarism.

I had a period of rapid weight loss which was diagnosed as transient diabetes insipidus. Fortunately, this resolved over the course of a couple of weeks, however weight gain was very slow, and I was not growing, which was expected.

At 6 months old, and after an admission to hospital for more tests and blood tests it was discovered that I had hypothyroidism. I was put on thyroxine, and a new regimen of medication started.”

Thank you so much Maria for sharing your story 🧡⁠

You can read Maria's full story on our website➡️
https://www.pituitary.org.uk/from-patient-to-paramedic-marias-story/

In this session we’ll be joined by Dr Aparna Pal, Consultant Endocrinologist at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrin...
20/06/2026

In this session we’ll be joined by Dr Aparna Pal, Consultant Endocrinologist at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism at Churchill Hospital. Dr Pal trained at Oxford University Medical School and qualified in 2000. She then completed her specialist training in Diabetes and Endocrinology in Oxford and achieved a PhD.

Dr Pal will explore the topic of adult growth hormone deficiency, discussing diagnosis, clinical impact, and current approaches to management.

Event details:⁠
📅 Tuesday 30th June, 2026⁠
🕢️ 6pm till 7pm⁠
💻️ Online, via Zoom⁠
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Go to our website to get your tickets now ➡️ https://www.pituitary.org.uk/event/adult-growth-hormone-deficiency/

The voice of our community is a powerful and valuable thing. That's why we aim to cement this at the heart of what we do...
18/06/2026

The voice of our community is a powerful and valuable thing. That's why we aim to cement this at the heart of what we do.

There are many ways we make sure our community's voice stays central to our work. One example of this is through our Lived Experience Committee. This committee is made up of a range of people with lived experience of pituitary conditions, or of caring for someone with a condition.

Our Lived Experience Committee provide valuable insights to help shape our services and support. They tell us what our community needs, and how we can provide this.

You can find out more about our Lived Experience Committee, and meet the members, on our website!

In 2025, we introduced a specialist rare-disease counselling service, provided by Rareminds. This proved to be incredibl...
11/06/2026

In 2025, we introduced a specialist rare-disease counselling service, provided by Rareminds. This proved to be incredibly popular, with sessions booking up almost instantly. Due to this clear need, we have decided not only to continue this service, but to expand it.

As well as our original one-to-one counselling, we now offer group therapy sessions too. This service is free for enhanced members. Currently, there are no NHS options for rare disease-specific counselling, and other options are often cost-prohibitive or come with long wait lists.

We want to continue to provide this vital support to our community, but we need your help.

In 2025, we delivered 225 counselling sessions to members and their families. At the start of counselling, over 40% of clients were experiencing severe or moderately severe distress. By the end, no one remained in the most severe category, and many had moved into a healthier, more manageable place. But beyond the numbers, it’s what members tell us that matters most:

🧡"A safe, supportive space",
🧡"an amazing opportunity",
🧡"support that helped me cope with the emotional impact of my condition."

This is specialist support; however, demand is growing and we need help. If you are able to contribute, even in a small way, you will help ensure this vital service remains available to those who need it most. No one in our community should have to face this journey alone, and with your help, we can make sure they don’t.

If, like us, you recognise how important this is, we hope you will consider donating to The Pituitary Foundation to help us to continue to offer this vital service for our community.

Can't donate? Help us by sharing this post with your friends and family!📤️

If you would like to donate to support this service, go to our website ➡️
https://www.pituitary.org.uk/fundraise-and-donate/make-a-donation/

In this session we’ll be joined by Dr Lisa Webber, a Consultant Gynaecologist and Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine...
10/06/2026

In this session we’ll be joined by Dr Lisa Webber, a Consultant Gynaecologist and Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine. She specialises in disorders of ovarian function, and all aspects of polycystic o***y syndrome (now renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome), including the fertility and non-reproductive effects.⁠
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Dr Lisa Webber will be giving a talk titled ‘So you’re thinking of having a baby’, discussing the pregnancy and fertility journey for people with pituitary conditions.⁠
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Event details:⁠
📅 Saturday 20th June, 2026⁠
🕢️ 9am till 10am⁠
💻️ Online, via Zoom⁠
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Go to our website to get your tickets now ➡️ https://www.pituitary.org.uk/event/pregnancy-fertility-and-pituitary-conditions/

That's a wrap on our Volunteer Weekend event! 🎉This , we brought all our volunteers together from across the UK for a d...
09/06/2026

That's a wrap on our Volunteer Weekend event! 🎉

This , we brought all our volunteers together from across the UK for a day of team building, learning and connection. For many of our volunteers, this was the first time they had met other volunteers in person, and many of the Pituitary Foundation team!

Throughout the day, we looked at:
👥Our DEI mission, why this is so crucial to our work and how volunteers can promote this
💛 Workshops on setting boundaries and looking after your wellbeing while working in emotionally complex environments
💬 Educational talks on different types of pituitary conditions and the importance of looking after your bones if you have a pituitary condition
💪 A workshop session looking at building our strategy for the years ahead

And of course, there was lots of tea, sweet treats, catching up and sharing new ideas! 🍰

Our team of over 100 volunteers work across the UK to deliver our services and support our community. Days like this are so important to bring everyone together, to learn from and support each other. The staff team have come away from the day with so many great ideas and suggestions for how we can improve our services and provide even more support.

This event would not have been possible without the support of The National Lottery Community Fund. Thank you to the National Lottery players and the Community Fund for making this happen!

Thank you to all our amazing volunteers! It is thanks to you that we are able to support the pituitary community, now and in the future. 🧡

You have two optic nerves – one behind each eye. Optic nerves act like cable wires that send information from your eyes ...
05/06/2026

You have two optic nerves – one behind each eye. Optic nerves act like cable wires that send information from your eyes to your brain. This allows you to see. These two optic nerves meet and partially cross over at the base of your brain at an area called the optic chiasm.

The pituitary gland sits very close to the optic nerves and optic chiasm, just behind your eyes.

Because of this, a pituitary tumour (pituitary adenoma) can touch or press on these nerves, often at the chiasm. When this happens, the nerves can no longer send visual information properly, which can lead to eyesight problems.

If you have a larger tumour (also called a macroadenoma), you have a higher risk of developing vision problems. This is because the tumour is more likely to press on your optic nerves and optic chiasm.

If you have treatment such as surgery to remove your pituitary tumour, this can often improve your vision.

To find out more about how pituitary tumours can affect your eyesight go to our website:
https://www.pituitary.org.uk/information/pituitary-tumours-and-eyesight/

Make sure to share this post with your friends to raise awareness about how pituitary tumours can affect your eyesight!📤️

Address

Brunswick Court, Brunswick Square
Bristol
BS28PE

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441173701333

Website

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