Does Graves disease only effect the thyroid gland?
489850
the primary effect is on the thyroid gland, but all of the symptoms are in the rest of the body because of the enhanced action of the thyroid gland.  \n\nsymptoms would be things like weight loss, intolerance to heat, diarrhea, and goiter.
810808
Wow. What a broad question. Many people, including doctors, think that a TSH test will reveal any and all thryoid problems. In reality, there are other thyroid levels that need to be tested too. I've found great information from author and patient advocate Mary Shomon on http://thryoid.about.com and http://www.thyroid-info.com. There's also a new site at http://www.thyroidbreakthrough.com. \n\nGood luck!
47887
The thyroid is one of the larger endocrine glands in the body. It is located in the neck and produces hormones, principally thyroxine and triiodothyronine, that regulate the rate of metabolism and affect the growth and rate of function of many other systems in the body.
658473
I have Hoshimotos (my immune system attacks my thyroid). First things first. Go to as many Dr's as it takes to get "Armour Thyroid" It is older than Synthroid & it's not synthetic; It is real pig or cow thyroid. Some Dr's refuse to prescibe it, but it works! Next, if you have the cash, go to an accupunturist. That is not hoo-doo. It is really healpful for all kinds of conditions.
715282
I havent  heard this disease  mentioned in a  long while.   It's  one  of the  autoimmune  diseases,    in  which   a  part of the body is attacked by the body itself, in this  case   the body part  affected is  the thyroid  gland.     I've   never  really  thought about it,  but I suppose  it   could  always be possible  that  these autoimmune  conditions may be  becoming more prevalent  because of  the increasing contamination of our air and  water.I always  wonder, too, about all these  "air fresheners", sprays  and spritzes ,scented  candles  and suchlike  that   are  constantly   being pitched  at us for this or that purpose..  Flying insect  sprays,  deodorant  sprays  and so on..   I stay away  from all that  stuff  myself.  LOLOL  I never heard   of  anybody  dying   from the smell of  sweat...  or  from having a  few  odd flies wandering  around  the  house.\n                                                                   Anyway,  Hashimoto's Disease is certainly  a  real condition,  and I  imagine  you could probably  get  a  lot of information  about it  off the internet.
810609
I don't believe there is any correlation between hyperthyroidism and dibetes. But there are risks to a babies health if the mother is diabetic. The problem is that diabetics typically have high blood pressure, which results in less blood flow throught the moms body due to hardening  or constricting arteries, reducing the amount of blood to the unbrn child. Problems can vary, if any. I know several women that have dibetes and they never had any complications.\nCheck with your dr on the thyroid issue though.
648540
Understanding Thyroid Problems -- Treatment\n\nWebMD Medical Reference \n\nThe Basics | Symptoms | Detection & Treatment\n\nHow Do I Know If I Have Them?\n\nA doctor can diagnose hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism by testing the levels of thyroid hormones in your blood.  Doctors measure hormones secreted by the thyroid itself, as well as thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), a chemical released by the pituitary gland that triggers hormone production in the thyroid.\n\nWhen you are hypothyroid, higher quantities of TSH are circulating in your blood as your body attempts to foster increased production of thyroid hormones.  The reverse is true with hyperthyroidism, in which TSH levels are below normal and circulating thyroid-hormone levels are high.\n\nTo determine the cause of hyperthyroidism, doctors often use radioactive iodide uptake tests, which track the amount of iodide absorbed by the thyroid gland. Iodide, obtained from the foods we eat, is a key ingredient in the manufacture of thyroid hormone, so the amount of iodide the thyroid absorbs is a reliable indicator of how much hormone the gland is producing.  For this test, you must swallow a small amount of radioactive iodide in liquid or capsule form.  After a predetermined wait, the doctor places an instrument over your neck to measure how much of the radioactive iodide has gathered in your thyroid.\n\nIf the results of this test suggest that the gland is collecting excessive amounts of iodide, the doctor may then conduct a radioactive iodide uptake scan.  In this test, the doctor uses a special film to create a picture that shows the exact location of the radioactive iodide in your thyroid gland.  The scan will reveal, for example, if the iodide is collecting in adenomas, indicating that the nodules are responsible for the excess hormone.  If the scan shows that the iodide is spread equally throughout the tissue, the whole thyroid is involved in the excess production.\n\nSome doctors believe that blood tests may not be sensitive enough to detect milder forms of hypothyroidism.  Instead, they advocate monitoring your body's basal (resting) temperature.  To track your basal temperature accurately, you must closely follow certain guidelines:  Shake the thermometer below 95° F at night and place it where you can reach it without getting out of bed.  The following morning, before you get out of bed, take your temperature via your armpit for 10 minutes while staying as still as possible.  Keep records of your temperature for at least three days.  (Women should do this during the first two weeks of the menstrual cycle, as their basal temperature may rise during the latter half.)  Normal basal body temperatures fall between 97.4° F and 97.8° F.  If your basal temperature is consistently low, you could be mildly hypothyroid.\n\nIf you have one or more adenomas, your doctor will want to keep careful records of when they were first found and how they develop, since not all adenomas produce excess thyroid hormone. In fact, most of these nodules are not malignant, especially if they remain the same size over long intervals.  (Cancerous tissue, by contrast, will undergo noticeable growth.)  Nodules that appear suddenly are typically fluid-filled cysts and are often benign.  They can be evaluated with a noninvasive ultrasound exam.  If blood tests indicate that the nodules are producing excess thyroid hormone, and if you have other symptoms, your doctor will treat you for hyperthyroidism.\n\nIn any case, you should receive periodic checkups if you have a nodule on your thyroid gland, since you may become hyperthyroid in the future.  If your blood tests show elevated hormone levels, your doctor may recommend other tests, including radioactive iodide uptake tests and scans that indicate whether the nodules are "hot" or "cold."  Hot nodules, or those that are actively trapping iodide and producing too much thyroid hormone, are rarely cancerous.  But cold nodules -
1104074
Iodine does not block the formation of T3 and T4, but the key element. During the process of transformation, iodine binds with other polymers and become ionized, a state called iodide. Only when ionized, can iodine be active and interact with other elements. \n\nThe cause of goiter is iodine deficiency, and the body tries to compensate the deficiency with enlarged thryroid gland. T3 and T4 both are beneficial to goiter. The difference is T4 is usually converted to T3 by deiodinases, so T3 is considered as the major thryroid hormone, altough the plasma concentration of T4 is much higher.
316608
I had Graves Disease for 3 years - It sounds like the doctor still need to get you regulated, with the proper dosage of Levoxyl or Synthyroid. I still get my blood tested every 2 or 3 months. Check out this web site http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/graves-disease/DS00181 for additional info!! You may also have trouble when you are taking your meds. You need to take it on an empty stomach at least 2 hours before your last meal or least an hour before you eat a meal..
534273
I would see another Doctor. Synthroid is a common treatment for thyroid conditions, however without further details, Its impossible to say. \n\nAlso have a look at this information:\n\nhttp://search.yahoo.com/search?_adv_prop=web&x=op&ei=UTF-8&fr=fp-top&fr2=op&va=natural+thyroid&va_vt=any&vp_vt=any&vo_vt=any&ve_vt=any&vd=all&vst=0&vf=all&vm=i&fl=0&n=10
162383
i agree with the poster above who said that goiters can come from a lack of iodine.  however, the poster hasn't given the full story.\n\na nodule in the thyroid can be many things:  it can be a part of a multi-nodular goiter, as the poster said.  it can also be a primary hyperthyroid disease (such as Graves disease) or part of a thyroiditis.\n\nor it could be cancer.\n\nso, just taking more seaweed and fish won't necessarily be the best treatment.  i would get the nodule checked out by ultrasound.  depending on how big it is, a head and neck surgeon may elect to watch it or to take out part or all of your thyroid.\n\ngood luck
508682
There is no "cure" for hyperthyroidism. Best treatment though is medication.
129212
Hyperthyroidism is any condition that results in too much thyroid hormone being produced by the thyroid gland.  Grave's disease is one cause of this condition where the entire gland becomes "overactive" and produces too much thyroid hormone.  There are other conditions that cause hyperthyroidism, but the mechnism and nature of these conditions are different from Grave's disease.  Tumors of the thyroid, and sometimes an inflammation of the thyroid can also cause hyperthyroidism.  Your doctor can do tests to determine the cause.  So in short, Grave's disease is not synonymous with hyperthyroidism, but it is one cause of it.
491814
I've heard of a type of thyroiditis that can make you hypothyroid temporarily. Then after a few weeks- months you no longer are hypothyroid as the thyroiditis resolves.
407820
The psychiatric disturbances which accompany hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, the two commonest thyroid disorders, mimic mental illness. People with an overactive thyroid may exhibit marked anxiety and tension, emotional lability, impatience and irritability, distractible overactivity, exaggerated sensitivity to noise, and fluctuating depression with sadness and problems with sleep and the appetite. In extreme cases, they may appear schizophrenic, losing touch with reality and becoming delirious or hallucinating. An underactive thyroid can lead to progressive loss of interest and initiative, slowing of mental processes, poor memory for recent events, fading of the personality's colour and vivacity, general intellectual deterioration, depression with a paranoid flavour, and eventually, if not checked, to dementia and permanent harmful effects on the brain. In instances of each condition, some persons have been wrongly diagnosed, hospitalized for months, and treated unsuccessfully for psychosis.
889466
Well, I guess the only relation would be in the Iodide; higher iodine in the diet would mean that your thyroid glands produce more of the hormone Thyroxine and Triiodothyronine(T4 and T3) and Thyroxine is an important factor in body metabolism. Too little of it, and your body metabolises it slower, and a more than normal level in the body will cause an increased rate of metabolism in the body. What is metabolism? Go google it :)\n\nHowever, using this fact alone for weight loss is definitely not encouraged. This hormal imbalance will give rise to other hormonal imbalances in the body, most primarily, TSH, which will then affect the Pitutiary gland's production of other hormones. Not only that, your body itself will be affected by the increase in rate of metabolism, and the effects might not particualrly be good :/\n\nNot only that, too much iodine (and Potassium as well) might lead to other imbalances in the body, of which you don't want the troubles associated with it to affect you.\n\nTherefore, the best way is the plain ol' exercise :)
989129
Thyroid - your pituary is trying to persuade it to make more T3, and it's not responding properly.  It's the usual symptom of hypothyroidism, and easily treated.