what is grave's disease?

Answer 1

Graves' disease is the most common form of hyperthyroidism. It occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your thyroid gland and causes it to overproduce the hormone called thyroxine. This abnormal immune response can also affect the tissue behind your eyes as well as your skin, usually on your lower legs and feet.

When you have too much thyroid hormone in your system, your body's metabolism rate can increase by 60 percent to 100 percent because thyroxine regulates your cells' metabolism. A higher metabolism can lead to a number of health problems, such as an irregular heartbeat or anxiety.

Graves' disease is rarely life-threatening. Although it may develop at any age and in either men or women, Graves' disease is more common in women and usually begins after age 20. The disorder is uncommon, affecting about five in every 10,000 people in the United States.

There's no way to stop your immune system from attacking the thyroid gland, but treatments can decrease the production of thyroxine.

It's also fairly common for your eyes to exhibit mild signs of a condition known as Graves' ophthalmopathy. In Graves' ophthalmopathy, your eyeball bulges out past its protective orbit. This occurs as tissues and muscles behind your eye swell and cause your eyeball to move forward. Because your eye is so far forward, the front surface of your eye can become dry. Cigarette smokers with Graves' disease are more likely to have eye problems.

Graves' ophthalmopathy may cause these mild signs and symptoms:

Excess tearing and sensation of grit or sand in either or both eyes
Reddened or inflamed eyes
Widening of the space between your eyelids
Swelling of the lids and tissues around the eyes
Light sensitivity
Less often, Graves' ophthalmopathy can produce these signs and symptoms:

Ulcers on the cornea
Double vision
Limited eye movements
Blurred or reduced vision
Graves' dermopathy
Another uncommon sign of Graves' disease is reddening and swelling of the skin, often on your shins and on the top of your feet, called Graves' dermopthy.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Graves disease is an autoimmune disease which causes hyperthyroidism. This means that your own immune system attacks your thyroid in a way that causes higher thyroid hormone levels. These are the symptoms associated with Graves Disease.
trouble sleeping
fatigue
trouble getting pregnant
frequent bowel movements
irritability
weight loss without dieting
heat sensitivity
increased sweating
muscular weakness
changes in vision or how your eyes look
lighter menstrual flow
rapid heart beat
hand tremors

Treatments include medication that lowers thyroid hormone output, radiation therapy and surgery.

Answer 4

I realize precisely what you're going via. I used to be identified with Graves approximately three months in the past, and I might alternatively undergo with an overactive thyroid than have the iodine cure and emerge as with an underactive one. Start out at the cure, I am taking Neo-Mercazole two times an afternoon on the second. It will take a minimum of a couple of months for them to discover the correct dose so that you can take longer term. If you'll be able to get it beneath manage with cure, do it. It's a far higher alternative in the end. My medical professionals are predicting 18 months of cure then I must be competent to manipulate it myself. The challenge with Graves is that your frame is generating thyroid antibodies. In part of all Graves sufferers, those antibodies assault your thyroid and emerge as harmful it besides. There is not any solution to give up this going down, regardless of while you get cure. You have a 50% threat of getting an underactive thyroid as soon as the Graves burns itself out. Good good fortune, I wish you get it beneath manage quickly.

Answer 5

Making dietary changes is your first line of defense in treating hypothyroidism. Learn here https://tr.im/i3PXG

Many people with hypothyroidism experience crippling fatigue and brain fog, which prompts reaching for non-nutritional forms of energy like sugar and caffeine. I’ve dubbed these rascals the terrible twosome, as they can burn out your thyroid (and destabilize blood sugar).

1. Just say no to the dietary bungee cord. Greatly reduce or eliminate caffeine and sugar, including refined carbohydrates like flour, which the body treats like sugar. Make grain-based carbohydrates lesser of a focus, eating non-starchy vegetables to your heart’s content.

2. Up the protein. Protein transports thyroid hormone to all your tissues and enjoying it at each meal can help normalize thyroid function. Proteins include nuts and nut butters; quinoa; hormone- and antibiotic-free animal products (organic, grass-fed meats, eggs, and sustainably-farmed fish); and legumes.

Answer 6

These two are right, I'm just going for my two points, thank you.

Answer 7

Graves' disease can be diagnosed from the results of one or two tests, your doctor may use several methods to double-check the findings and rule out other disorders. An analysis of your blood will show if the levels of two hormones -- thyroxine and triiodothyronine, which are produced or regulated by the thyroid -- are higher than normal. If they are, and if levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone in your blood are abnormally low, you are hyperthyroid, and Graves' disease is the likely culprit. Blood analysis can also detect the presence of the abnormal antibody associated with Graves' disease, but this test is somewhat expensive and generally not necessary.

To confirm a diagnosis of Graves' disease, your doctor may conduct a radioactive iodine uptake test, which shows whether large quantities of iodine are collecting in the thyroid. The gland needs iodine to make thyroid hormones, so if it is absorbing unusually large amounts of iodine, it obviously is producing too much hormone.

Treatments:
The two most frequently used treatments involve disabling the thyroid's ability to produce hormones.
One common approach uses a strong dose of radioactive iodine to destroy cells in the thyroid gland. This procedure attempts to halt excess hormone production by thinning the ranks of cells responsible for manufacturing the hormones. The amount of radioactive iodine you receive depends on the estimated size of your thyroid -- determined either through a physical exam or by ultrasound -- and on the gland's level of activity, as indicated by the results of an iodine uptake test. Despite its destructive effect on thyroid cells, the iodine used in this procedure will not harm surrounding tissues and organs.

At the beginning of the treatment, you will be given a capsule or liquid containing the radioactive iodine. Either way you take it, you should not feel any effects as the substance enters your system. Most of the iodine will gather and remain in your thyroid; excess amounts will be excreted in your urine. It is a good idea to drink several extra glasses of water per day for about a week after the treatment to help flush the material out of your body as quickly as possible. To be on the safe side, you should also limit contact with infants, children, and pregnant women for at least seven days after you ingest the iodine.

You probably won't notice any changes in your body for several days after taking the radioactive iodine, but if your thyroid gland feels inflamed and sore, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin can offer some relief. Over the next several months, the thyroid's hormone secretion should gradually begin to drop. During this time you need to see your doctor for periodic checkups to determine how well the treatment is progressing. Chances are good that a single dose of radioactive iodine will be sufficient to correct your hyperthyroidism. However, if your condition hasn't improved three months or so after your initial treatment, your practitioner may give you a second dose of iodine. Once the doctor has decided that your Graves' disease is effectively under control, you will still need to have routine checkups to make sure that your thyroid levels remain within the normal range.

Although radioactive iodine treatments are generally safe, they cannot be given to pregnant women because the chemical may destroy the thyroid gland in the fetus. Therefore, you must make sure that you are not pregnant before you take radioactive iodine for Graves' disease. It is best to let several months pass after your last dose of radioactive iodine before you become pregnant; confirm the length of time you should wait with your doctor. Except during these periods following the treatment, radioactive iodine poses no health risks for women who want to become pregnant, and it will not affect the fertility of either women or men.

Antithyroid drugs such as propylthiouracil and methimazole (Tapazole), which interfere with thyroid hormone production, can be used to treat Graves' disease. After you begin treatment, it may take several months for your hyperthyroid symptoms to subside. This is because the thyroid has already generated and stored enough hormone to keep it circulating at elevated levels. Once the stores are drained, hormone production should drop to its normal level. Although your disease may seem to go away entirely, you might still need drug therapy to keep your thyroid operating properly. Even if your case of Graves' disease does go into remission and your doctor says it's safe to stop taking your medication, you will need to be evaluated every year or so to make sure your hyperthyroidism has not returned since relapse is common.

Beta-blockers such as atenolol (Tenormin), propranolol (Inderal) and metoprolol (Lopressor), frequently prescribed to treat heart disease and high blood pressure, are also used by some patients to alleviate the heart palpitations and muscle tremors that characterize Graves' disease. Before prescribing beta blockers for this condition, however, your doctor needs to know if you are asthmatic or have any kind of heart trouble. These medications aren't a cure; instead they are given to block some of the effects of thyroid hormones. They are used in conjunction with other treatments.

Radioactive iodine treatments and antithyroid drugs are usually effective in slowing down thyroid hormone output, but in some cases surgery is the best approach for Graves' disease. If you develop the disorder before or during pregnancy, for example, or if you are reluctant or unable to undergo radioactive treatment or are allergic to antithyroid medication, your doctor may recommend subtotal thyroidectomy, a relatively safe and simple procedure in which most of the thyroid gland is removed.

Because many conventional remedies severely limit the thyroid's ability to manufacture thyroid hormone, they increase the chances that you will develop hypothyroidism, a potentially serious condition marked by insufficient thyroid hormone production. Therefore, if you have undergone any treatments for Graves' disease, you must continue to see your doctor for periodic checkups to make sure the problem has not been overcorrected, causing your thyroid hormone levels to drop too low.

Some degree of eye complaints occur in 25-50% of those that develop Graves' disease but most can be managed with the at home remedies discussed (see below). Surgery is rare and reserved for the those with severe symptoms.

Graves' disease patients with eye problems can find temporary relief from the redness, swelling, and pain through a number of drugs, including prednisone, methylprednisolone, and dexamethasone. However, these medications should not be used for long periods of time, as they can lead to bone loss, muscle weakness, and weight gain. Vision problems and severe cases of eye protrusion can often be corrected through radiation therapy and surgery. A person who has Graves' disease should also see an eye doctor. Make sure to ask your doctor about any possible complications before undergoing surgery.

At-Home Remedies

If your lids cannot close completely over your eyes, use eye patches at night. This will help keep your corneas from drying out.
Use over-the-counter or prescription artificial tears to moisten your eyes whenever they feel dry.
If your eyes are red and swollen in the morning, sleep with your head elevated.
Wear tinted glasses to protect your eyes from bright light, sunlight, and wind.