Graves disease – Hello Doctor

Your thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck, but it plays an important role in your overall well-being.

Thyroid hormones control how your body uses energy, so they affect almost every organ in your body, even the rhythm of your heartbeat. The thyroid regulates your metabolism by releasing hormones into the bloodstream.

Graves’ disease develops when your immune system damages your thyroid gland by mistaking healthy cells for foreign invaders.

In response, the thyroid gland starts to make more thyroid hormone than your body needs; causing hyperthyroidism or an overactive thyroid.

So, what causes the disease?

While researchers aren’t sure why some people develop autoimmune disorders like Graves’ disease, a combination of genes and environmental factors is thought to be the cause.

A family history of Graves’ disease increases your chance of developing the condition, and in terms of environmental factors; you’re much more likely to develop Graves’ disease if you smoke.

Symptoms

Graves’ disease symptoms are gradual and take several weeks or months to develop. These can include behavioural changes like nervousness, irritability, anxiousness, restlessness and difficulty sleeping (insomnia).

Other symptoms include:

Emotional swings
Sweating
Hand tremor
Palpitations
Unexplained weight loss (often despite increased appetite)
Sensitivity to warm temperatures (feeling hot all the time)
Muscle weakness
Shortness of breath

Physical Signs and Symptoms

If Graves’ disease goes untreated, physical signs and symptoms may start to develop.

And these include:

Goitre: A goitre is an enlarged thyroid gland. Anyone can develop a goitre, but the chances increase with age. When the gland isn’t making enough thyroid hormone, it compensates by growing. As the thyroid gets bigger; your neck may begin to look full or swollen. One of the common causes of this particular condition is an iodine deficiency, a trace mineral (a micro mineral that you only need in small amounts) your body needs to maintain thyroid function.
Eye problems: Eye disease related to Graves’ disease is called Graves’ ophthalmopathy.
These problems vary from mild to very severe. Symptoms include red eyes, tearing, a feeling of sand or dust in the eyes, and sensitivity to light. In more severe cases, one or both eyes may protrude from the eye sockets. This is called exophthalmos, which can make you appear as though you are staring. Graves’ disease causes an inflammatory response in the eye muscles; which causes the muscles and tissues in that area to swell.
Skin thickening: Some may develop thickening of the skin over the front of the lower leg called the tibia. The disorder causes skin lesions that are patchy and pink. Other parts of the skin rarely get affected.

Diagnosis

A diagnosis of Graves’ disease is based on detailed patient and family history, a thorough clinical evaluation, and specialised blood tests that measure levels of thyroid hormone and thyroid-stimulating hormone.

Your doctor may want to measure the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), T3 (triiodothyronine), and T4 (thyroxine) hormone levels in your blood. T3 and T4 are the major hormones produced by your thyroid. TSH, which is released by the pituitary gland, tells your thyroid to produce T3 and T4.

If your doctor can’t definitively diagnose Graves’ disease after looking at your TSH, T3, and T4 levels, they may refer you to a specialist for further tests or treatment.

Reference:

Despite being one of the smaller organs in the body, the thyroid gland is one of the most powerful. Through the hormones it produces, the thyroid gland influences metabolism, breathing, heart rate, the nervous system, body weight and body temperature! With all that responsibility, what happens if something goes wrong?!

Disorders of the thyroid

The thyroid gland uses iodine from the foods you eat to make two main hormones:

Triiodothyronine (T3)
Thyroxine (T4)

T3 and T4 travel in your bloodstream to reach almost every cell in the body and are responsible for regulating the speed with which your cells work.

Thyroid problems is one of the most common of all medical conditions, especially in women. The most common thyroid problems involve abnormal production of these thyroid hormones:

An underactive thyroid, underproduces hormones and causes a condition called “hypothyroidism”
An overactive thyroid overproduces hormones and causes “hyperthyroidism”

Because an overproduction of thyroid hormones essentially speeds up cell activity across your entire body, some of the common symptoms of hyperthyroidism include:

fatigue or muscle weakness
hand tremors
mood swings, nervousness or anxiety
rapid heartbeat or heart palpitations
trouble sleeping
weight loss
diarrhoea
irregular menstrual cycle

Causes of hyperthyroidism

There are several different causes of hyperthyroidism:

The most common cause of an overactive thyroid is Grave’s disease. Grave’s disease is an autoimmune condition where your body produces anti-bodies that cause the cells of the thyroid to go into overdrive and over produce hormones
Unusual lumps or bumps that grow on the thyroid may interfere with regular hormone production
Inflammation of the thyroid, caused by a virus or a problem with the immune system, can also interrupt hormone regulation
In some women, pregnancy can cause changes to the thyroid resulting in an overproduction of hormones

Do you have hyperthyroidism?

Hyperthyroidism is a lot more common in women, and does have a large genetic component. If anyone if your family has Grave’s disease, or another thyroid condition, it’s a good idea to start becoming more aware of any unusual symptoms you may be experiencing.

A diagnosis of an overactive thyroid will be made by your doctor after listening to you describe your symptoms, doing a physical exam and by measuring levels of thyroid hormones in your blood. Depending on your specific symptoms, your doctor may also do a scan of your thyroid to see if you have any growths on the gland or whether it might be inflamed.

Treatment for hyperthyroidism

Since hyperthyroidism has several causes, there are several treatment options. The best treatment method will depend on YOU. Besides the underlying cause, your doctor will also consider your age, your symptoms and any other conditions you may have. Treatment could include:

Medications: these could include medications to lower thyroid activity and prevent the overproduction of hormones, or medications (e.g. beta blockers) that help to lower your racing heart rate. These are usually given together to help you feel better while the thyroid medication is doing its job
Radioactive iodine: this is absorbed by your thyroid gland, where it causes the gland to shrink and symptoms to subside
Surgery: in some cases, for example if you are pregnant, medication is not an option. Surgery can be performed to remove parts of the thyroid that will reduce hormone production

The obvious goal of treatment is to get hormones back in balance. To support your body while this is happening, ensure you do everything you can to keep the rest of you healthy. The best way to do this is by doing 3 things: eat well, sleep more and move!

References

https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid-nodules/thyroid-gland-controls-bodys-metabolism-how-it-works-symptoms-hyperthyroi
https://medlineplus.gov/hyperthyroidism.html
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperthyroidism/basics/definition/con-20020986

Tag: Graves disease

Could you be suffering from Graves’ disease?