Erin Moriarty – an actress known for her role as Annie January on the Amazon Prime Video Show The boys-recently announced On Instagram she has Graves’ disease. Although Moriarty, 30, did not share precisely, which led to her diagnosis, she noticed that she initially broke her symptoms: “If I hadn’t all called it to stress and fatigue, I would have imprisoned this earlier,” she wrote and encouraged her followers to pay close attention to their own health. “” Don’t suck it “and go beyond the suffering; you deserve to be comfortable.”
What exactly is Graves’s disease? We asked experts what the situation appears and what the management looks like.
What is Graves’s disease?
Graves’ disease – which affects approx 1% of people In the US there is a car -immune disorder that occurs when the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone. “Your immune system attacks your thyroid gland and ensures that the thyroid hormone over produces, which we all need at normal quantities,” says Dr. Stelios Mantis, an endocrinologist at Rush University System for Health. “But with excessive quantities – what is what happens when it is produced in Graves disease – it can cause some adverse effects.”
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Patients often ask Dr. Ossama Lashin, medical director of the thyroid center in the Clinic Cleveland, why they got Graves’ disease. Research suggests that there is one genetic; There are also Environmental factors that can play a roleIncluding a history of certain viral or bacterial infections (such as Epstein -BARR -Virus), too much or little iodine and some medicines. Gender also makes a difference: “It is more common in women – five to 10 times more often, depending on which studies you refer,” he says. And although it can appear at any age, people are often diagnosed in the 1930s to 50s.
What kind of symptoms can it cause?
When people have too much thyroid hormone, this ensures that everything in their bodies “goes fast”, says Dr. Charit Taneja, an endocrinologist at Northwell Health. “People will come in with heart palpitations or feel that their hearts are right,” he says. “They can vibrate or vibrate, or feel restless and anxious” – sometimes to the point that they cannot sleep at night. Patients often describe unusually hot and sweat exaggerated. They may also have fallen unintentionally, although they are so hungry that they eat more than normal, because their overactive thyroid gland ensures that their bodies burn a lot of calories.
“It is difficult to miss – the majority of patients are that something is wrong, such as:” I am not, “says Lashin.” I can’t sleep, my heart racet, I sweat a lot, I lose nothing and I have not changed anything. “People with an overactive thyroid gland tend to seek care” would not have any of them with an underactive thyroid gland. “
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There can also be physical changes. Some people develop an enlarged thyroid gland in their necks, also called a goiter. “The gland can grow in size, so that people notice swelling on the lower part of their neck,” says Lashin. “That does not happen for everyone, and it happens to varying degrees.”
That is a sentiment that Moriartye repeated in her position. “Auto -immune disease manifests itself differently in everyone/every body,” she wrote. “Your experience will be different from mine. My experience will be different from yours. Maybe huge, maybe meticulous.”
How is Graves disease diagnosed?
Graves’ is usually diagnosed by a combination of blood tests, a physical examination and, occasionally, a thyroid scan. Doctors look for low thyroid -stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and high thyroid hormone levels (T3 and T4). “The SLAM dunk would be thyroid-stimulating antibodies”-such as thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin or tsis-“are positive,” says Mantis.
Some patients undergo a radioactive admission and scan of iodine, which can permanently diagnose Graves’ disease. But it is more invasive, he adds, and not always necessary. Most doctors rely on blood work and “good, thorough physical examination” to determine that someone has digging. “
A rare but serious complication
Over 1 in 3 people With Graves disease, eye problems develops and in the most serious cases that can mean thyroid eye disease. Although it is often associated with Graves’s disease, it can also occur with other car -immune diseases when the immune system wrongly attacks the soft tissue behind the eyes, which leads to an inflammation and bulge of the eye.
“It is very visible,” says Taneja. “We call it prophetosis, which means that your eyes bulge forward. It is daunting when it happens, but it is something that happens with Graves’ disease.”
Patients often tell Lashin that their eyes look different, so he asks them for an old photo or an old driver’s license. When they compare them, the change can be striking. Other times family members point to the change, he says.
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Thyroid eye disease can also be painful. “There is dryness and a kind of grain, such as a sandy feeling in your eyes,” says Taneja. “Some people will complain about excessive tearing.”
Thyroid eye disease is a challenge to treat, but there are newer medicines that can make a difference, he adds. Even people with Graves’ disease who have no eye problems are generally encouraged to see an ophthalmologist routinely to ensure that they do not develop complications.
A ‘thyroid storm’
Untreated or poorly controlled Graves disease can lead to a ‘thyroid storm’, which is a rare but potentially life -threatening complication. It happens when thyroid hormone levels increase rapidly, which increases the heartbeat, blood pressure and body temperature. “The person burns a lot of calories, break down a lot of tissue and produces a lot of heat, and all these things can continue to a point where the body systems can no longer compensate for that stress,” says Lashin. “It is a serious condition that requires intensive care treatment” in the hospital, often included Antithyroid medicines, iodine solution, cooling blankets and respiratory treatment.
How is Graves’s disease treated?
When someone gets the diagnosis of Graves disease, he usually starts a daily medication called Methimazole, which helps to reduce the production of hormones of the thyroid gland. Some also take beta -blockers to manage symptoms such as fast heartbeat and tremors. Although Moriarty did not disclose her treatment plan, she noted that her regime helped her to feel better immediately: “I felt the light coming back within 24 hours of the starting treatment,” she wrote on Instagram. “Since then it has increased in force.”
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That is a common experience, says Taneja. “People tend to feel better soon,” he says. “The fear gets better, the heartbreaking gets better and some people who have unintentionally lost a lot of weight will get that weight back.”
Most people stay at least 1.5 to two years of oral medication, and some do so well that they achieve remission. “I would say that there is a 50% chance that people will come from the medication,” says Taneja. “Then there is the other half that needs more long -term treatment, and it is hard to predict how long they need it.” In more advanced cases, he adds, patients may eventually need a different type of treatment: either radioactive iodine therapy, which destroys thyroid cells or surgery to remove the whole or part of the thyroid gland.
Mantis hopes that the post of Moriarty about Graves’s disease will encourage people to take their own symptoms seriously, even if they are vague, easily write off as normal stress, or feel too random to be related. “It is important to listen to your body,” he says. “If something feels wrong, talk to your provider.”
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