muscles and tissues around the eyes resulting in puffy eyes, light sensitivity, bulging eyes, as well as blurred vision.
How Is The Disease Diagnosed?
Diagnosing Grave’s disease includes a thorough physical examination, a discussion of your symptoms, and thyroid function tests.
These tests usually include blood tests, a thyroid scan, a radioactive iodine uptake test, and a Doppler blood flow measurement (Doppler ultrasound). Depending on your health or the results of the initial blood test, your doctor will determine how to proceed with other tests and treatment.
How Is It Treated?
Since Grave’s disease is a chronic condition, doctors focus on treating the illnesses that result from Grave’s. Primarily, this is hyperthyroidism so you may be prescribed medications such as methimazole, that are meant to reduce the output of hormones from the thyroid gland.
Another option is radioiodine therapy where you’d consume radioactive iodine. Over time, this iodine will break down the thyroid.
Finally, your doctor may opt to remove the thyroid gland entirely through surgery. In that case, you may need to take medications to handle the effects of having no thyroid hormones in your system.
If you’re dealing with Graves’ ophthalmopathy as well, your doctor will develop a program for that. In mild cases, eye drops to ease irritation and sunglasses to handle light sensitivity is usually enough. In more severe cases, steroids and surgery are the likely options. Radiation therapy will only be considered in rare situations.
Though you might not have heard of anyone else having Grave’s disease, statistics show that Black people are twice as likely to be diagnosed with it. If any of the symptoms listed above sound familiar, it might be a good idea to take Wendy’s advice and “put yourself first.”