This autoimmune disease is also calledGraves disease.
Thethyroidis a butterfly-shaped gland that sits in the front of your throat.
It produces hormones that regulate many critical functions in your body, including your metabolism and brain function.
Verywell / Michela Buttignol
Symptoms of Basedow’s disease can be wide-ranging, including anxiety, diarrhea, and skin abnormalities.
As the name suggests, TSH stimulates the thyroid, telling it to increase hormone production.
In Basedow’s disease, your immune system attacks TSH receptors, which cells use to communicate messages.
Your thyroid cant tell the difference between the attack and the messages that come through those same receptors.
And because the receptors keep getting attacked, your thyroid just keeps pumping out the hormone.
What Is an Autoimmune Disease?
Autoimmune diseaseis friendly fire inside your body.
In autoimmunity, the immune system mistakenly identifies healthy tissues as foreign invaders.
Basedows disease can present in a couple of different ways based on what complications it causes.
Only a small percentage of people with Basedows ever have it.
This symptom is also called pretibial myxedema.
Symptoms strike the shins and sometimes the tops of your feet.
The skin there gets thick, red, and lumpy.
Graves dermopathy usually doesnt cause any pain, but it may in some people.
Basedows Disease Symptoms
Basedows disease causes the same primary symptoms as other types of hyperthyroidism.
They can include:
Complications
Graves ophthalmopathy and dermopathy are unique to Basedows disease.
Your are at higher risk of developing other autoimmune conditions if Basedow’s disease is present.
Propycil is considered the safest choice early in pregnancy.
Radioactive Iodine
This treatment destroys thyroid tissue to reduce hormone production.
Radiation builds up in the tissue and destroys them.
This is considered a cure for Basedows.
The word radioactive sounds ominous, but this treatment has been shown to be safe.
That means you should probably take synthetic thyroid hormones for the rest of your life.
Typically, theyre taken in pill form once a day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the thyroid do?
Your thyroid gland produces two hormones: triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4).
These hormones are used to regulate your metabolic rate.
What triggers Basedows disease?
Is Basedows disease curable?
Many people who are cured this way, though, end up with not enough thyroid hormones.
Its common to need thyroid hormone supplements after these types of treatment.
A Word From Verywell
The thyroid gland is critical to keeping your body functioning and healthy.
Symptoms can be not only unpleasant but unsettling, as well.
You may never be completely free of thyroid medication and occasional symptoms.
However, proper treatment can get you back to feeling good and living fully.
University of Michigan Health, Michigan Medicine.Thyroid hormone production and function.
National Organization for Rare Disorders.Graves disease.
National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Graves disease.
American Thyroid Association.Hyperthyroidism (overactive).
