THYROID DISEASE

Read and learn more about graves thyroid disease. For more, visit the Thyroid Disease website ThyroidDiseaseWiki.com.

Q: Is it possible to be on hormonal birth control with an overactive thyroid caused by Graves disease?
I am a 20 year old female who was diagnosed with Grave’s disease 4 years ago. My gynecologist told me I was not eligible for hormonal birth control because of my thyroid disease. I plan on asking my endocrinologist my next appointment. Could my endo overrule my gyno in this situation?

A: You can take birth control pills. Just be prepared for them to affect your thyroid levels. You will need to have your medication adjusted. Get your thyroid tested a month after starting on the pill. Have your medication adjusted. Repeat every month until you are totally stable again.

Q: What to eat if you have an Hyperactive Thyroid or Graves Disease? ?
I’ve heard that there are certain foods that help to inhibit your thyroid function such as raw veggies like broccoli and cauliflower, and that I should avoid eggs and yellow vegetables like squash….does anyone know of a good Diet for Hyperactive Thyroid or Graves Disease?

A: hmm if you have graves disease try to avoid foods high in iodine content..because it affacts the overproduction on thyroid in your body.
sorry wish i could help more but that all i know
now quick queston…
i saw the answer you put about GOLDLEO tag editor..
i downloaded the program and all but now everytime i try to open up songs with the directory it won’t let me..
can you please help me?…its driving me nuts..thank you

Q: does anyone have experience with having eye problems, not graves disease associated with thyroid disease?
I have dry eye, itching, burning, eye aches and blurred side vision, and was told it is from my thyroid levels. I had my thyroid removed.

A: Wish I could tell you that you are different from the rest of us, but you are not. I had thyroid cancer and the eyes have not behaved normally since. The doc thought I was crazy, but I know I am short sighted when at my age I should be long sighted and it is the removal of the thyroid I think that did it

Q: Graves Disease: does one always have thyroid antibodies?
I have/had Graves Disease and was treated with radioactive iodine in 2005. Recently I was tested for thyroid antibodies and this came back negative. Does a person usually have thyroid antibodies with Graves Disease? Thanks for answers.
If one doesn’t have thyroid tissue anymore…due to radioactive iodine treatment or removal would the thyroid antibodies still be present?

A: These are can go up and down; 5 percent of Grave’s disease patient’s do not have elevated TSI antibodies

Q: I have Graves disease (thyroid) and I don’t like taking the medicine for it.I lose my hair and get sick from
I don’t like being a guinni pig,I think I should take natural remedies rather than other prescriptions. Plus not to mention the doctor bills, I can’t afford. What would you do ?

A: Graves’ Disease is a type of autoimmune disease that causes over-activity of the thyroid gland, causing hyperthyroidism. This over-activity is also sometimes called “toxic diffuse goiter.” The thyroid gland helps set the rate of metabolism, which is the rate at which the body uses energy. When the thyroid is too active, it makes more thyroid hormones than the body needs. High levels of thyroid hormones can cause side effects such as weight loss, rapid heart rate and nervousness. This is an uncommon disease that affects 2 percent of all women at some time in their lives.
These are the most common symptoms of Graves’ Disease and hyperthyroidism:
–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
Graves’ Disease is the only kind of hyperthyroidism that is associated with swelling of the tissue around the eyes and bulging of the eyes. And rare cases, patients will develop a lumpy reddish thickening of the skin in front of the shins called pretibial myxedema. This skin condition is usually painless. The symptoms of this disease can occur slowly or very suddenly and are sometimes confused with other medical problems. Women can also have Graves’ Disease and have no visible symptoms at all.
Graves’ disease can be caused by a group of different factors that come together to cause thyroid problems, including heredity, your body’s immune system, your age, sex hormones, and possibly stress.
There are three treatments for Graves’ Disease:
–Medicine. There are some medicines called antithyroid drugs that can lower the amount of thyroid hormones made by the thyroid, causing it to make, normal levels. A doctor must give these medicines to you. Some patients who take an acute thyroid drug for 1 to 2 years have a remission from Graves’ disease; their thyroid function may remain normal even without medication.
–Radioactive iodine. The radioactive iodine damages thyroid cells, shrinking and eventually destroying the thyroid gland in order to reduce hormone levels. Like surgery, this condition usually leads to hypothyroidism, so that thyroid hormone supplement medication is needed for the rest of the patient’s life.
–Surgery. All of the thyroid gland will be removed. In most cases, people who have surgery for Graves’ Disease will develop an under-active thyroid (hypothyroidism, the opposite of hyperthyroidism), and will have to take thyroid replacement hormones for the rest of their lives.
After a diagnosis is made and a treatment is chosen, you should return to your doctor for regular follow-up visits every year to make sure that your thyroid levels are normal and for adjustments in your medicine dose if need be. (It may take some time before your levels are accurate…even if you get it taken out, you will still need medication to “fake” your body into thinking it has a thyroid)
NOW READ THIS!! If left untreated, Graves’ Disease can lead to heart problems and problems in pregnancy, and an increased risk of a miscarriage. Severe, untreated Graves’ Disease can be fatal. Thyrotoxic storm is a rare life-threatening condition that develops in cases of untreated hyperthyroidism. It is usually brought on by an acute stress, such as trauma surgery or infection. Symptoms are severe, with a pounding heart, sweating, restlessness, shaking, diarrhea, change in consciousness, agitation and confusion. Congestive heart failure can develop rapidly and lead to death.

You can find out more information about Graves’ Disease by contacting the National Women’s Health Information Center (800-994-9662) or the following organizations:

Graves’ Disease Foundation of America
P.O. Box 8387
Fleming Island, FL 32006
Internet address: http://www.ngdf.org

The American Thyroid Association
6066 Leesburg Pike, Suite 550
Falls Church, Virginia 22041
phone: 703 998-8890
fax: 703 998-8893
e-mail: admin@thyroid.org
Internet address: http://www.thyroid.org

Thyroid Foundation of America, Inc.
One Longfellow Place
Suite 1518
Boston, MA 02114
phone (toll-free): 800 832-8321
phone: 617 534-1500
fax: 617 534-1515
e-mail: info@allthyroid.org
Internet address: http://www.allthyroid.org

And, if you’re interested, here’s some info about me, and for anyone else who may come across your question & needs more information about thyroid problems:
I have low thyroid. If you have low thyroid…here’s a great question to answer: Can you see the floor of your house? That was what was asked of me at one point, and to my amazement, the answer was no!
Anyway, the signs are:fatigue and lack of energy. Women suffering from underactive thyroid experience heavier menstrual periods. Sluggishness and forgetfulness are symptoms of underactive thyroid problem. Other symptoms of this thyroid disorder are dry skin and hair and constipation.
If you have high thyroid, or an overactive one, the signs are: increased body metabolism. This is followed by weight loss and excessive warmth and sweating. Persons suffering from overactive thyroid experience trembling hands, irritability and rapid heartbeat or palpitations. Women with overactive thyroid or hyperthyroidism may experience shorter or lighter menstrual periods.
I take medication, and sadly will have to take 1 pill everyday for the rest of my life. There’s a blood check that they will do to see if you have low or high. Again, as I mentioned before, it may take some ups & downs until the medicine gets where it needs to be for you. I hope i’ve helped you!!

Q: Does Graves Disease (thyroid Problem) cause your hair to fall?
Im 15 and i am diagnosed with graves disease, my hair falls down alot, how can i prevent this from happening, cause its scaring me:( i dont wanna go bald or anything:(

A: No. Your hair falling out is a symptom of hypOthyroidism. Are you in treatment for your Grave’s disease? If so, you could very well have iatrogenic hypOthyroidism. Get new blood tests, and find out. If you do, shame on your doctor. You should fire him.

Q: Thyroid;Graves disease (hyper thyroid) can vitamin B supplements be a percipitating factor?

A: No. Grave’s disease etiology is unknown, but believed to be genetic.. It also may be an autoimmune. It is more common in women than men. My daughter and I both have it. It can arise following an infection, stress,physical or emotional.

Q: Do you still have Graves disease after your thyroid has been terminated by radio active treatment?
My friend wants me to ask this for her. Thanks

A: Yes, you do. Grave’s disease is an autoimmune disease. That means that it is caused by antibodies created by your body. The antibodies are created by the immune system, not the thyroid. The antibodies attack the thyroid. Destroying the thyroid does not stop the production of the antibodies. You will still have the antibodies, and you will still have Grave’s disease. The antibodies can find other things to attack besides the thyroid. Namely the skin, and most notably your eyes.

Check this out. This is what Grave’s disease of the eyes looks like:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001204/mediaindex

By destroying the thyroid, you will also be giving yourself a disease in addition to the Grave’s disease. Now you will also have hypothyroidism. You will have to be treated for the hypothyroidism for the rest of your life.

Q: Should i take methimizole for graves disease or should i have a thyroid erectomy?
I was diagnosed with graves disease two years ago and i go from hyper to hypo thyroid. in the last six months i have taken three pills of methimizole per day. the doctor told me that the pills cannot totally balance a thyroid and i’d like to feel normal but i’m concerned about gaining more weight

A: Are you currently hypo because of your medication? Maybe then 3 pills are too much?´

RAI (Radioiodine Ablation) is a very serious decision to be taken, consider the bad and the good effects (bad: can worsen or provoke the eye disease in Graves, and people usually turn hypo afterwards und therefore rely on hormones for the rest of your life, means you still are on meds and may not feel totally balanced either)

There are several good sources for information about all this.

Try:

http://www.thyroid.about.com

and especially for the RAI:

http://www.elaine-moore.com/gravesdisease/RAI.htm

Elaine gives a lot of good information also on:

http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/graves_disease/

Good luck.

Q: is an overactive thyroid (graves disease) a serious condition and whats the best way to fix it?

A: Graves disease is a serious disease. I have been diagnosed with it in August, and I was very bad. After my last blood test my doctor ordered me to stop taking PTU this week, I am better now. Hope that it will stay like this.

Graves disease is an autoimmune disorder which means that antibodies are attacking the thyroid and stimulating it continiously. The result is that then there are too many thyroid hormones in the body provoking rapid heart beat, sensitivity to light, weak muscles, nervousness etc. There are some other symptoms that can occur, the antibodies can affect the eyes (TED), the skin of the legs etc.

Here is a very good introductory for learning more about this disease:

http://www.suite101.com/course.cfm/19330/seminar

There is no treatment on this earth to cure the autoimmune disease so far. However the the overproduction of the thyroid can be reduced by medication. Here in the US doctors still do favor RAI (radio iodine ablation). In Europe this treatment is not recommended for Graves disease since this can provoke or worsen the eye disease (TED).

Excerpt:

“It has been reported that almost 70% of the members of the American Thyroid Association prefer the ablative approach as a first option for treatment of Graves’ patients. Physicians claim that the correct amount of I131 (Radioactive Iodine, RAI) can be administered to create a euthyroid or “normal” condition. Physicians try to adjust the dose of radioactive iodine to destroy only enough of the thyroid gland to bring its hormone production back to normal, without reducing thyroid function too much; others use a larger dose to completely destroy the thyroid. Most of the time, people who undergo this treatment must take thyroid hormone replacement therapy for the rest of their lives. (Merck Rx).

Nonetheless, a longterm study from 1965-2002 that included over 2000 patients, and was published in Clinical Endocrinology 2004, concluded that; RAI treatment of Hyperthyroid Graves’ patients resulted in 82% developing Hypothyroidism between 1 and 25 years post treatment. In 17% of patients in the study multiple radio-active iodine treatments (from 2-6 additional treatments) were needed to achieve a “euthyroid” or hypothyroid state. The ablative therapy leaves the patient without any alternative treatment options and a lifetime of hormone replacement therapy.

Anti-Thyroid Drug (ATD) therapy involves the prescription of immunomodulatory drugs like Methimozole (MMI) or Propylthiouracil (PTU). These strategies allow the patient to maintain their own Thyroid, and 30-55% of patients will become euthyroid following ATD therapy, an option lost to those who no longer have their Thyroid. The standard school of thought has been 12-18 months of treatment and then the removal of the ATD therapy. However, in a paper published Clinical Endocrinology 2005 a study of patients that remained on ATD for an average of 4 years (some as many as 10 years) had a remission rate of 88%. Additionally, another study found in Thyroid 2000 vol. 10 demonstrated that GD patients that exhibited a “smooth” decline in their antibody levels, or population, after ATD therapy was said to be a predictor of remission. In 36 out of 44 patients, or 82%, exhibiting a “smooth” decline of TSI levels were antibody and symptom free 1 year after the removal of the ATD therapy.
It has been reported that almost 70% of the members of the American Thyroid Association prefer the ablative approach as a first option for treatment of Graves’ patients. Physicians claim that the correct amount of I131 (Radioactive Iodine, RAI) can be administered to create a euthyroid or “normal” condition. Physicians try to adjust the dose of radioactive iodine to destroy only enough of the thyroid gland to bring its hormone production back to normal, without reducing thyroid function too much; others use a larger dose to completely destroy the thyroid. Most of the time, people who undergo this treatment must take thyroid hormone replacement therapy for the rest of their lives. (Merck Rx).

Nonetheless, a longterm study from 1965-2002 that included over 2000 patients, and was published in Clinical Endocrinology 2004, concluded that; RAI treatment of Hyperthyroid Graves’ patients resulted in 82% developing Hypothyroidism between 1 and 25 years post treatment. In 17% of patients in the study multiple radio-active iodine treatments (from 2-6 additional treatments) were needed to achieve a “euthyroid” or hypothyroid state. The ablative therapy leaves the patient without any alternative treatment options and a lifetime of hormone replacement therapy.

Anti-Thyroid Drug (ATD) therapy involves the prescription of immunomodulatory drugs like Methimozole (MMI) or Propylthiouracil (PTU). These strategies allow the patient to maintain their own Thyroid, and 30-55% of patients will become euthyroid following ATD therapy, an option lost to those who no longer have their Thyroid. The standard school of thought has been 12-18 months of treatment and then the removal of the ATD therapy. However, in a paper published Clinical Endocrinology 2005 a study of patients that remained on ATD for an average of 4 years (some as many as 10 years) had a remission rate of 88%. Additionally, another study found in Thyroid 2000 vol. 10 demonstrated that GD patients that exhibited a “smooth” decline in their antibody levels, or population, after ATD therapy was said to be a predictor of remission. In 36 out of 44 patients, or 82%, exhibiting a “smooth” decline of TSI levels were antibody and symptom free 1 year after the removal of the ATD therapy.”

Full article:

http://autoimmunedisease.suite101.com/article.cfm/causesofhyperthyroidism

This article is on the long term effects of the RAI destruction of the thyroid

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/graves_disease/60453

Sorry for all this information, I did a lot of research on this since I really want to get better and I just hope this might help you understanding this disease better. Everybody with Graves should reduce his iodine intake (bread – potassium iodide for example and dairy are high in iodine), since the body takes all the iodine it can find and uses it to produce thyroid hormones. The less iodine, the better one gets… I did…

Q: can overactive thyroid / graves disease affect a male conceiving?

A: Well, men shouldn’t be conceiving anyway, so………

Q: Looking for info on Graves Eye Disease w/o thyroid involvement…?
My double vision / retracted eyelid have been diagnosed as Graves Disease but my thyroid test came back normal. Are there any other symptoms that can occur? Can this type of graves be treated other than correcting the eye symptoms w/ surgery?

A: all my books link Graves Disease to thyroid..sorry i cant help more..e

Q: I was diagnosed with Graves Disease and given radioactive iodine to kill my thyroid.?
I am on levoxyl now but wonder if i still have graves disease. is this something that you have for the rest of your life or did it go away when i had my thyroid killed?

A: Grave’s disease is an autoimmune disease. It is defined by the presence of antibodies attacking the body, not by hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism is only one symptom of Grave’s disease. You have only alleviated that one symptom, and replaced it with another (hypOthyroidism.)

So you still have Grave’s disease, and you will likely have it the rest of your life, due to having the RAI. If you hadn’t had RAI, you would have a good chance that you would have had a remission of the Grave’s disease at some point, but that’s unlikely now.

Watch your eyes very carefully, and get to the doctor at the first sign of trouble. Once you have RAI, Grave’s disease tends to attack the eyes.

Keep up with your blood tests. Every six weeks until you are totally stable and symptom free. Then at least every six months for the rest of your life.

Q: is the difference between an overactive thyroid & graves disease? if so what is it?

A: “Hyper” means “over” in Greek. The thyroid hormones regulate many aspects of our metabolism, eventually affecting how many calories we burn, how warm we feel, and how much we weigh.

Role of thyroid gland in the body:

Thyroid hormones are produced by the thyroid gland. This gland is located in the lower part of the neck, below the Adam’s apple. The gland wraps around the windpipe (trachea) and has a shape that is similar to a butterfly formed by two wings (lobes) and attached by a middle part (isthmus). These hormones also have direct effects on most organs, including the heart. Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which there is an excessive amount of thyroid hormones circulating in the blood because of an overactive thyroid gland. In healthy people, the thyroid makes just the right amounts of two hormones, T4 and T3, which have important actions throughout the body. These hormones regulate many aspects of our metabolism, eventually affecting how many calories we burn, how warm we feel, and how much we weigh. In short, the thyroid “runs” our metabolism. These hormones also have direct effects on most organs, including the heart which beats faster and harder under the influence of thyroid hormones.

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.

Q: Graves Disease – what else does it affect apart from thyroid and eyes?
My doctor want’s me to remove my thyroid gland in order to fix my hyperthryoidism symptoms. BUT, I believe that i will still have Graves Disease anyway. What other organs etc can be affected please?

Thanks

A: I had Graves and had the radioactive iodine treatment…it is painless and has worked for me. the only time that the thyroid is removed is because of a growth on the thyroid. If it is just Graves ask your doctor about the radioactive treatment. You will then have to take thyroid replacement hormone for the rest of your life but its no big deal. Graves causes heart palpitations, sweating. muscle soreness, sleeplessness, thinning hair, depression among other problems…just go through with the treatment and you will feel much better.