What is Graves’ disease? Symptoms, treatment, more

Daisy Ridley, 32, shockingly revealed this week that she has Graves’ disease.

The Star Wars actress revealed that after experiencing hot flashes, rapid heart rate, weight loss and fatigue, she was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder in September 2023.

Ridley admitted the diagnosis was something of a shock as she initially assumed her symptoms were related to work stress. “I thought, ‘Well, I’ve just played a really stressful role; apparently that’s why I feel bad,'” she told Women’s Health, referring to her role in the 2024 film Magpie.

Here’s a look at what causes Graves’ disease and how it’s treated.

What is Graves’ disease?

According to the Mayo Clinic, Graves’ disease affects the thyroid gland. The autoimmune disorder causes the body to produce too much thyroid hormone, a condition called hyperthyroidism.

Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism, heart rate and body temperature.

Graves’ disease affects 2% to 3% of the global population and usually appears before the age of 30. Women, those with a family history of thyroid disease, smokers, and those with other immune system diseases, such as type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, are at higher risk of developing Graves’ disease.

Experts don’t know exactly what causes autoimmune diseases like Graves. Something triggers the body’s immune system to overproduce an antibody called thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin, also known as TSI. TSI attaches to healthy thyroid cells, causing the thyroid to overproduce thyroid hormones.

The condition is named after Robert Graves, an Irish doctor who first described it in the 1800s.

What are the symptoms of Graves’ disease?

Common symptoms of Graves’ disease include:

• Feelings of anxiety and irritability
• A slight tremor of the hands or fingers
• Increased sensitivity to heat
• Increased sweating or warm, moist skin
• Weight loss
• Enlarged thyroid gland, also known as a goiter
• Changes in the menstrual cycle
• Erectile dysfunction or decreased sexual desire
• Frequent bowel movements
• Puffy eyes – a condition called thyroid eye disease or Graves’ ophthalmopathy
• Fatigue
• Thick, discolored skin mainly on the legs or tops of the feet, called Graves’ dermopathy
• Fast or irregular heartbeats, called palpitations
• Difficulty sleeping

These symptoms are consistent with Ridley’s experience.

“It was funny. I was like, ‘Oh, I just thought I was sick of the world,’ but it turns out everything is working so fast that you can’t settle down,” she recalled to Women’s Health.

Ridley said her doctor described the condition as “tired but connected.”

Graves’ ophthalmopathy or thyroid eye disease

Thyroid eye disease, also known as Graves’ ophthalmopathy, affects approximately 25% of Graves’ patients. Symptoms may include:

• Puffy eyes
• Bitter feeling in the eyes
• Pain or pressure in the eye
• Puffy or retracted eyelids
• Red or inflamed eyes
• Sensitivity to light
• Blurred or double vision
• Loss of sight

Is Graves’ disease dangerous?

The consequences of Graves’ disease can be… severe.

If left untreated, Graves’ disease can lead to arrhythmias, increasing the risk of heart failure. Similarly, untreated hyperthyroidism can cause osteoporosis.

In pregnant women, Graves’ disease can cause preeclampsia and high blood pressure, as well as miscarriage, early labor, poor fetal growth, or fetal thyroid problems.

A rare but life-threatening complication of Graves’ disease is a thyroid storm, also known as accelerated hyperthyroidism or thyrotoxic crisis.

A thyroid storm is caused by a sudden and severe surge of thyroid hormones that results in fever, sweating, delirium, weakness, tremors, irregular heartbeat, severe low blood pressure, and coma.

Graves is a lifelong condition, but if treated properly, it does not affect life expectancy.

How is Graves’ disease treated?

Graves’ disease is diagnosed through a thyroid blood test, Doppler ultrasound, and thyroid imaging and scanning.

Graves’ is treated with beta-blockers, anti-thyroid medications that block the body’s production of thyroid hormones, radioiodine therapy that shrinks the size of the thyroid, and, in some cases, a thyroidectomy, an operation that removes all or part of the gland. thyroid.

Ridley didn’t specify her treatment plan, but she reported that after her diagnosis, she overhauled her lifestyle with a host of health changes, including cryotherapy and acupuncture.

Notable people with Graves’ disease

Ridley is not alone in her struggle. Rapper Missy Elliott, talk show host Wendy Williams and the late President George HW Bush have all been diagnosed with the disease.