| Graves' Disease is a type of autoimmune disease in which the immune system over stimulates the thyroid gland, causing hyperthyroidism. Over-activity of the thyroid gland is also sometimes called "diffuse toxic goiter." The thyroid gland helps set the rate of metabolism (the rate at which the body uses energy), and when it is over-stimulated, it produces more thyroid hormones than the body needs. High levels of thyroid hormones can cause difficult side effects. This is an extremely rare disease that tends to affect women over the age of 20. The incidence is about 5 in 10,000 people.
My mother has Graves' Disease. Before she was diognosed she'd experience a lot of weird pain in her body. It's apparantly not easy to diagnose being that it's so rare, and has such broad symptoms, but once you start receiving treatment, it isn't something that should slow you down. 
My mom simply takes pills to do what her thyroid normally would (since it has been "nuked") and she's the same ol' mom she was before. | |
