Your thyroid is a two-inch long butterfly-shaped gland in your neck right above your collarbone. It’s one of the endocrine glands that make hormones. The thyroid controls the rate of many activities of your body including how fast you burn calories, your body temperature, your nervous system functions and how fast your heart beats. You know, your metabolism.

If the gland isn’t producing enough hormones, it’s called hypothyroidism. It can make you gain weight; feel fatigued, and sensitive to cold temperatures. If your thyroid is too active, it makes more hormones than you need and the result is weight loss, increased heart rate and sensitivity to heat.

Today, we’re going to explore the most common cause of hyperthyroidism which is Graves’ disease also called toxic diffuse goiter. Named for Robert Graves, an Irish physician, who described this form of hyperthyroidism about 150 years ago, this disease is an autoimmune system disorder.

What does that mean? The National Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases Information Service explains: “Normally, the immune system protects the body from infection by identifying and destroying bacteria, viruses, and other potentially harmful foreign substances. But in autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body’s own cells and organs.

“With Graves’ disease, the immune system makes an antibody called thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) — sometimes called TSH receptor antibody — that attaches to thyroid cells. TSI mimics TSH and stimulates the thyroid to make too much thyroid hormone. Sometimes the TSI antibody instead blocks thyroid hormone production, leading to conflicting symptoms that may make correct diagnosis more difficult.”

The most common symptoms include nervousness or irritability (all the time, not just at Christmas!), fatigue or muscle weakness, heat intolerance, trouble sleeping, hand tremors, rapid and irregular heartbeat, frequent bowel movements or diarrhea, weight loss and goiter.

What’s a goiter? It’s when the thyroid is enlarged causing the neck to look swollen and can interfere with normal breathing and swallowing.

“A small number of people with Graves’ disease also experience thickening and reddening of the skin on their shins. This usually painless problem is called pretibial myxedema or Graves’ dermopathy.

“In addition, the eyes of people with Graves’ disease may appear enlarged because their eyelids are retracted and their eyes bulge out from the eye sockets. This condition is called Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO),” according to NEMDIS.

Anyone can develop Graves’ disease, but it’s most prevalent in women and usually occurs before the age of 40. There is some risk factor in family history. Having other autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis can increase your risk. If you’re genetically susceptible, emotional or physical stress can trigger the onset of Graves’ disease as can pregnancy.

And, you knew I’d find it, the Mayo Clinic states, “Cigarette smoking, which can affect the immune system, increases the risk of Graves’ disease. Smokers who have Graves’ disease are also at increased risk of developing Graves’ ophthalmopathy.”

Your health care provider can often diagnose the disease based on a physical examination and your medical history. Blood tests and other diagnostic tests will confirm the finding. The disease is most often treated with radioiodine therapy. Antithyroid medications and surgery to remove the thyroid are sometimes used.

There are federally funded research studies and clinical trials under way to better understand, prevent and treat this disease. National Institutes of Health-supported scientists are investigating the natural history, clinical presentation and genetics of thyroid function disorders to further understand all thyroid diseases.

Kathy Hubbard is a trustee on Bonner General Hospital’s Foundation Board. She can be reached at 264-4029 or [email protected].