Your thyroid gland, located in the back of your neck, is responsible for producing your hormones. Graves disease, a common immune system disorder, causes an overproduction of your thyroid hormones. An overproduction of thyroid hormones is called hyperthyroidism. The cause of Graves disease is a malfunctioning of your body’s immune system. It is supposed to fight diseases by targeting foreign substances, bacteria and viruses, but it does not do that. For some reason, that many medical professionals do not understand, your body produces antibodies to part of your thyroid gland cells.
Typically, your thyroid regulates your hormones by releasing your pituitary gland located in the base of your brain. However, the antibody associated with the disease, called thyrotropin receptor antibody, acts like a pituitary hormone. It overrides your normal thyroid regulation. This is what causes your thyroid hormone to overproduce. In addition, Graves’ disease causes a buildup of specific carbohydrates in your eyes’ tissues and muscles. It is not know why this happens.
1. Anxiety
Anxiety is a disorder that causes you to frequently worry and fear events and everyday situations. The fear and worry is excessive, intense and persistent. The feeling is repeated and sudden. It also may have peaks. For instance, you may sudden fear may intensify within minutes of occurring. This is called a panic attack. The intense worrying occurs for no real reason. This means you experience this disorder for no reason at all.
Anxiety may interrupt your daily activities or prevent you from going to certain places or events. Some symptoms associated with this disorder may begin in childhood and continue into adulthood. However, the symptoms may occur because of a particular disease such as Graves’ disease. These signs include sweating, trouble sleeping, increased heart and feeling of doom. You may have trouble concentrating or experience rapid breathing.
2. Hand tremors
A tremor is an involuntary movement which causes you to move repeatedly. Shaky hands, commonly called hand tremors, is not a life-threatening condition. However, it can make daily tasks such as hold items hard to complete. If you hands are shaky, it may be an early warning sign of a degenerative or neurological disease. For instance, the most common cause of hand tremors are Parkinson’s disease or Graves’ disease. You may not notice the tremor at first. As the condition continuous to develop, your may notice your hands shaking. Not everyone who experience hand tremors will need treatment. If treatment is needed, you may be prescribed primidone or propranolol. Surgery is also a treatment option.
3. Heat sensitivity
Heat sensitivity, also called heat intolerance, is the feeling overheated when the temperature in your environment increases. This may cause you to sweat heavily. Heat intolerance develops slowly and lasts for hours. The causes of heat intolerance includes taking certain medications like amphetamines and stimulants. Menopause, too much thyroid hormone and caffeine may also cause you to become intolerant to heat. Other sides of heat sensitivity includes nausea, vomiting or feeling faint. Treating heat intolerance depending on the underlying medical condition. For instance, you may have to decrease the amount of coffee you consume. A cool bath or shower may also relieve symptoms associated with heat sensitivity.
4. Weight loss
Many people try to lose weight from time to time. They may go on a diet. However, a decrease in body weight without dieting or exercise is called unintentional weight loss. In some cases, you may lose a lot of weight because of an illness. The involuntary weight loss can be associated with Graves’ disease, cancer or arthritis. Losing weight may cause a decrease in your muscle mass, fat or body fluid. When you lose too much weight, you lack the needed nutrition your body needs.
5. Fatigue
Being tired and feeling overworked is not unusual. This is called temporary fatigue because you are able to identify the cause of your tiredness and find a likely remedy such as extra sleep. Unrelenting exhaustion is different than temporary tiredness. It last longer and is not relieved by extra rest. You may experience reduced energy and weariness over time. Your concentration and motivation suffers. Fatigue can negatively impact your psychological and emotional wellbeing. Treating fatigue involves treating the underlying cause of the condition. The underlying cause may involve lifestyle such as alcohol use, jet lag or medication. The cause may involve a disease such as Graves’ disease.
6. Irregular heart rate
An irregular heart rate is called dysrhythmia. It is an arrhythmia that causes the heart rate to beat abnormally. A normal heart rate beats 50 to 100 a minute. Having an irregular heart rate interrupts that number because it slows or increases that number of beats per minute. This is not a disease. Instead, it is an indication that you may have a medical condition such as Graves’ disease, coronary artery disease or injury from a heart attack. An irregular heart rate accompanies other signs such as shortness of breath, dizziness, faintness or angina. Angina is called chest pain because of the reduced blood flow to your heart’s muscle.
7. Puffy eyes
Puffy eyes, also called the swelling of the eyes, occurs because of an excess of fluid in your eyes’ connective tissue. The excess fluid is called edema results in bagginess under your eyes. In addition, puffy eyes can happen because of injury, trauma or infections. Other signs associated with swollen eyes include impaired vision, discharge and excess tear production. You may experience itchy and red eyes in addition to puffy eyes. If the puffy eyes happens in connection with Graves’ disease, you may experience your eyeballs bulging out of your eye sockets.
8. Enlarged thyroid
A goiter is an abnormally large thyroid gland. The size of your thyroid does not mean that it is not working properly. Your gland becomes enlarged because of a medical conditions like lack of iodized salt. Symptoms of an enlarged thyroid includes a tight feeling in your throat, coughing, breathing difficulty and hoarseness. Goiter treatment depends on the size of your enlarged thyroid. Treatment may include medication, surgery and observation.
