People in New Mexico with Graves’ disease are dealing with a debilitating medical condition that can be frustrating and difficult to manage. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to produce too much of the thyroid hormone, causing an overactive thyroid or hyperthyroidism. People with Graves’ disease experience a wide range of symptoms that mimic other illnesses or conditions, often making diagnosis difficult.
Some Graves’ disease sufferers complain about symptoms like a sudden loss of weight, hair loss and irregular heartbeats. Women often experience a change in their menstrual cycles. Some people who have Graves’ disease also suffer from thyroid eye disease, also called TED, which is a very serious condition that can result in a complete loss of vision.
With TED, patients experience an array of troubling symptoms. Eyelid retraction, where the eyelid is pulled back so that more of the eyeball is showing, is a very common symptom. People who have this symptom find it difficult to fully close their eyes. Another common TED symptom is dry eye where the insides of the eyes feel very gritty, almost like there’s sand inside of them. Red, swollen eyes are another common symptom. The problem with this particular symptom is that it mimics allergies or regular eye infections, meaning that a lot of people end up being misdiagnosed. Some people with Graves’ disease also end up with drastically changed facial features, which can be an emotionally devastating side effect.
One of the biggest risks with Graves’ disease is that if it’s left untreated or not diagnosed in time, it could lead to partial or complete vision loss. It’s critical for patients to get an accurate diagnosis so that treatment can begin as soon as possible. People who are suffering from Graves’ disease because they were misdiagnosed may benefit by working with attorneys who have experience working on cases of failure to diagnose and misdiagnosis.
