Graves’ Disease Symptoms

Graves’ Disease: Introduction

An autoimmune disorder, Graves’ disease leads to overproduction of thyroid hormones due to an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism). Graves’ disease is also referred to as thyrotoxicosis in medical terms, which means a toxic condition due to thyroid over-activity.

In this condition your immune system starts to produce a type of antibody that affects cells of the thyroid in such a way that they begin secreting increased amounts of thyroid hormones.

What are the Graves’ Disease Symptoms?

The symptoms of Graves’ disease are very much similar to those of hyperthyroidism. Among common signs of Graves’ disease include bulging of the eyes that makes the orbit of your eyes to protrude forward.

Known medically as Graves’ ophthalmopathy, it affects those with this condition with a range of severity, and in some, can cause the eyes to become swollen and inflamed. It may also lead to cause double vision.

Graves’ disease is among the commonest reasons that lead to malfunctioning of the thyroid gland. This is especially true for women who are aged between thirty and fifty years.

Some signs and symptoms for Graves’ disease:

• Tiredness
• Excessive sweating
• Itchy skin that can make it red and thicken
• Nervousness
• Insomnia
• Shortness of breath
• Double vision
• Weak muscles
• Irregular menstruation
• Increased appetite
• Breast enlargement (in males)
• Tremors

You may also suffer from goiter (swollen thyroid gland) as well as inflamed tissues of the shins. You can experience Graves’ disease signs such as nervousness or irritability. The disease can also affect functioning of your brain.

Graves’ disease symptoms also include restiveness and feeling uneasy along with chattering and overreacting in unwarranted situations.

Graves’ disease can cause complications such as thyroid storm. It is a life threatening condition that can lead to congestive heart failure, coma or even death. Thyroid storm comes on suddenly and may result from a stressful event.

The signs and symptoms of thyroid storm include extreme irritability, high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, vomiting, high fever, delirium, and coma. Left untreated, it can prove fatal.