Normal Thyroid Function Vs. Graves Disease

When your thyroid is functioning normally, it produces the proper amounts of thyroid hormones T4 and T3, which regulate the metabolism of your body's cells. In other words, every cell in your body depends on the hormones from your thyroid to be able to work properly. Graves' disease the most common example hyperthyroidism, a condition that causes your thyroid to malfunction.

Risk

• According to "Living Well with Graves' Disease and Hyperthyroidism" by Mary J. Shomon, eight times more women than men become afflicted with Graves' disease. About five percent of Graves' disease patients are children, although most are between 20 and 40. Graves' disease is rarely fatal.

Autoimmune Disease

• Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system stimulates the thyroid because it sees it as a foreign object rather than a normal part of the body.

Hyperthyroidism and Thyrotoxicosis

• Graves' disease is the main cause of most cases of hyperthyroidism, which is when an overactive thyroid produces too much hormone, and of thyrotoxicosis, which is when the thyroid is exposed to too much thyroid hormone.

Goiter

• One of the most common symptoms of Graves' disease is a goiter, which is a bulge on the lower part of your throat where your thyroid gland is located. A goiter is a sign that the thyroid is not functioning properly.

Eyes

• Bulging eyeballs are frequently a sign of exophthalmos, a condition that is associated often with Graves' disease. If you have bulging eyeballs, your thyroid is probably not functioning normally.