# Graves Disease & Thyroid **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 8, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graves-disease-thyroid/673470 "2013-11-08T23:58:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blingbling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@blingbling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blingbling)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graves-disease-thyroid/673470/1 "2013-11-08T23:58:15Z")
My friend has an overactive thyroid & Graves disease. Will removing the thyroid make her well? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graves-disease-thyroid/673470/2 "2013-11-09T00:13:42Z")
Possibly, but only if less drastic measures have failed. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graves-disease-thyroid/673470/3 "2013-11-09T00:24:06Z")
With appropriate follow up medication (synthetic thyroid hormones for life, possibly Vitamin D and calcium for a month or a few months after surgery), then it has a good shot - [as good as the other options, with low risks with an experienced surgeon](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9243264). Graves’ Disease is an autoimmune disorder which can lead to hyperthyroidism. Removal of the thyroid will take care of the hyperthyroidism, but it does not cure the autoimmune disorder itself. While, theoretically, Graves’ Disease can cause other problems with the skin, heart, circulation or nervous systems, usually it doesn’t, once the thyroid is gone. Almost all of the symptoms of almost all of the patients with Graves’ Disease are caused by its impact on the thyroid. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graves-disease-thyroid/673470/4 "2013-11-09T00:24:14Z")
I’ve had both Graves Disease and Thyroid cancer. There’s lots of treatments out there for thyroid disorders and this is probably the kind of issue where getting a second and third opinion is a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graves-disease-thyroid/673470/5 "2013-11-09T00:24:16Z")
Generally overactive thyroids are treated with medications to reduce their output of thyroid hormone. And over time, most of them burn out and then the person is hypothyroid and needs thyroid supplements. That commonly happens in Grave’s disease. Surgery can be necessary, but isn’t needed for most garden-variety cases of Grave’s. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graves-disease-thyroid/673470/6 "2013-11-09T02:43:50Z")
Correct, Qadgop, and some drugs are used to relieve the symptoms of thyroid storm. The most common is reserpine, an old, old antihypertensive that’s almost never used for that nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graves-disease-thyroid/673470/7 "2013-11-09T02:59:33Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > . . . some drugs are used to relieve the symptoms of thyroid storm. The most common is reserpine, an old, old antihypertensive that’s almost never used for that nowadays. Really? Sorry, but ‘cite’, please. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graves-disease-thyroid/673470/8 "2013-11-09T15:35:49Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The most common is reserpine, an old, old antihypertensive that’s almost never used for that nowadays. Reserpine is an old, old treatment for thyroid storm and has been displaced by much better drugs in recent decades. It’s almost never used for that nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graves-disease-thyroid/673470/9 "2013-11-09T17:11:08Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Reserpine is an old, old treatment for thyroid storm and has been displaced by much better drugs in recent decades. It’s almost never used for that nowadays. Amazing! Despite once pretending to be an endocrinologist, I was NOT aware of that. I even searched PubMed before asking for a cite. I now realize that the reason I missed it there was I had some filters on from a previous search. In any case, thanks! Ignorance fought!