Question 1

how is graves' disease treated now?

Accepted Answer

Beta block + I 131: Initial treatment to control symptoms. Beta blocker sufficient for mild symptoms.  Radioactive iodine (i131) is mainstay of therapy for ablating overactive thyroid.  Some opt for medications to control hormone release but these don't work so well long term.  Surgery is option but not without significant risk such as permanent damage to nerves or loss of ability to regulate calcium.

Question 2

what is the cause of graves disease?

Accepted Answer

Autoimmune: Graves' disease is caused by an antibody mimicking the action of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) causing the gland to overproduce thyroid hormones.

Question 3

what is definition of graves disease?

Accepted Answer

Hyperthyrodism: Hyperthyroidism with end organ damage.

Question 4

what are the symptoms of graves disease?

Accepted Answer

Graves disease: Some graves' symptoms are: nervousness, more sweatings, fatigue, can't stand heat, weight loss, more bowel movements, more appetite. Signs: high blood pressure, hand tremor, clammy skin, rapid pulse, flushing..

Question 5

how exactly is graves disease diagnosed?

Accepted Answer

Blood tests: Grave's disease , a form of hyperthyroidism, is diagnosed by measuring several types of thyroid test in the blood.

Question 6

how is graves' disease typically treated?

Accepted Answer

3 choices: The most common treatment is swallowing a pill with radioactive iodine to kill the thyroid.  The least common treatment is surgery to remove the thyroid.  After either of these, a person must take daily thyroid hormone forever.  A third option involves taking pills to slow the thyroid down for 12-24 months and hoping that the thyroid works properly on its own afterwards.

Question 7

how to figure out if i may have graves' disease?

Accepted Answer

Grave's Disease: Thyroid Labs, and then usually 24 hour  radioiodine uptake test, ordered by a doctor.

Question 8

is it possible for you to die from graves disease?

Accepted Answer

Hyperthyroid heart: Hyperthyroidism puts a stress on your heart.  The rapid heart rate may be tolerable for a while in a young person, but this can lead to arrhythmias, stroke, heart attacks in older or susceptible people.  There is a condition called thyroid storm, which is rare, but involves cardiovascular collapse from extreme hyperthyroidism.

Question 9

what is considered the number one treament for graves disease?

Accepted Answer

See your doctor: The treatment should be tailored to each patient's needs. In some, medication may be sufficient, others may require radio-iodine treatment to destroy the gland. See this site for more info.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/graves-disease/ds00181.

Question 10

is there any other diease that could be mistaken for graves disease?

Accepted Answer

Graves diagnosis: Graves hyperthyroidism typically involves heat intolerance, tachycardia, palpitations, tremor, irritability, etc.  Many other things can cause these symptoms, eg. Anxiety.  With graves there is typically a goiter, elevated ft4 or t3, (liothyronine) low tsh, increased radioactive iodine uptake.  Combine the symptoms with the labs, and there is not much else that can do this, except a very rare pituitary tsh-oma.

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