[mamabear November 2, 2008 at 5:42 pm Post count: 484]

#1020011

I am responding to this here:

JCWRN wrote

JCWRN wrote:Thank you for allowing me to join. I have been trying to find out what other systems, can be involved or effected by having Graves, the autoimmune Dx. Are we more prone to ACS? Strokes? Because of the auto immune Dx/Hypotyroidism? Does the autoimmune part affect any other system besides the thyroid. I had I131 about 11 years ago .. I am in my 50s.. I am wondering what will happen next?
Thank you for your time.
Judy

Hello and welcome Judy. I can only say that having an Autoimmune Disease in the family doesn’t necessarily mean you will get that particular one. It means that there is a likelihood that you might get some form of autoimmune disease.

My mother(whom is my birth mother) has never had any issues related to her autoimmune system. But she swore when I was 18 that I did, the Gyno’s notes even stated "mother wants TSH because she fears daughter is HypterT". My blood work always proved to be fine though and it was hard to keep hearing "it’s all in your dear" from dr’s. I don’t blame them, but I was angry for them not trying to find out what was the problem.

I got the flu the very first time when i was 26 back in Nov 1999, by Feb of 2000 I had a waking pulse of 80-90 and it only got worse as i got out of bed. I went to a dr. who took 3 weeks to say that my TSH was 0.03 by the time I saw an Endo that I trusted he said my TSH was 0.01 and everything else looked fine so he wanted me to try PTU because I was looking to get pregnant and this drug would be better to be on had I gotten pregnant. I

Came to find that my Paternal Grandmother had HypoT and my Paternal Aunt had a Goiter that was surgically removed back when i was about 8 but she has no clue what it was so I researched it. Other Paternal Aunt has HypoT as well. My biological father does not have any of these issues.

Maternal side, Uncle has Hashi’s so does his daughter, my cousin. My other Uncle had Graves and so did his daughter. I think they both did RAI and my cousin is huge and her mother says it’s for the best because she didn’t want her to do the drugs like I did. I don’t speak to them either. Long story lol

NOW my mom was just diagnosed last year with Hypothyroidism and the dr. started her on replacement drugs that she was doing nicely on. Then she was hit with Crohn’s disease and we thought at her very young age of 53 that we wouldn’t see her again. She had us young (sister is 36 and I am 35), so for her to be this sick at this young age is hard on all of us.

I know that having an autoimmune disease doesn’t mean you will get that one or any of them. Knowing your family history is so helpful. And believe me I have been searching and asking for 10 years and I always find something new out. No one likes to talk but they dont have much of a choice with me being in their ear.

I am sure that others will have more professional information for you but I thought I’d pop in and give you a little bit of first hand experience with the autoimmune diseases that run in my family.

[npattersonModerator November 2, 2008 at 7:18 pm Post count: 398]

#1075637

What a lot of autoimmunity/thyroid. I guess that takes care of the genetic part?! What I have always been told is that compared to a population of people without autoimmune disorders, we will have a slightly higher number of occurances of another autoimmune disorder than the number of autoimmune disorders that the "normal" group will develop, but that number is not statistically significant.

If there are a lot of different autoimmune disorders in your family (diabetes, lupus, arthritis,…the list is quite long) your chances are obvbiously greater, because you now have an additional genetic factor influencing your health. Throw in a lack of support system, living in a huge city vs. living in a small town, health habits (smoking, nutrition, exercise…that list goes on, too). There are some things you have control over, other things that you do not (gender, age, your genetic predispositions).

Educate yourself as much as possible (get a family history when possible); learn about the illnesses that "run" in your family; change the things you can; and get a yearly physical with a doctor that will listen to your concerns and check for them. At that point, you have to give yourself a break. You will have done everything you can. You deserve to live a worry-free life (not one where you don’t pay attention, Scarlett!)

[cathycnm November 2, 2008 at 11:33 pm Post count: 284]

#1075638

JCWRN, Mamabear and Nancy – In the initial question, stroke, etc were brought up. Cardiovascular complications can happen with thyroid disease. Hyper tends to be an overworked heart and things like atrial fib. With hypo, even subclinical (meaning TSH is all that is abnormal) there are some changes with the lipids in the blood that can increase the risk for atherosclerosis. I was at a conference last month and the endo presenting gave a case presentation of subclinical hyper and hypo and why both should be treated due to risk of cardiovascular changes if left untreated.

Interesting on genetics and Graves. My mom had it – according to what I read only a slightly elevated risk (3% I believe) of getting the disease. My sister is hypothyroid. I find genetics fascinating – surely we will know more about that in the coming years. Cathy

[jlw November 6, 2008 at 1:16 pm Post count: 22]

#1075639

When I was first diagnosed, I was at a loss for why. After looking into it, I found that it was an autoimmune disorder. My mom has chronic fatigue system and my grandmother has another auto immune disorder. So, I would have to say that there is some genetic tie in there. My mom was not surprised at all when I told her about it being autoimmune related. It kind of made it all click for her. I also called my sister and told her to get a complete blood work-up.
Maybe we could sell it to science? ” title=”Smile” />
jlw

[grneyeladydi November 7, 2008 at 8:05 am Post count: 16]

#1075640

I was reading this post and I remembered that I read somewhere that someone that has autoimmune disease in there family may be prone to other autoimmune diseases. I finally found what I read and will post it below. I actually found this on the Graves’ Disease Foundation.

Although Graves’ disease most frequently occurs in women in the middle decades (8:1 more than men), it also occurs in children and in the elderly. There are several elements contributing to the development of Graves’ disease. There is a genetic predisposition to autoimmune disorders. Infections and stress play a part. Graves’ disease may have its onset after an external stressor In other instances, it may follow a viral infection or pregnancy. Many times the exact cause of Graves’ disease is simply not known. It is not contagious, although it has been known to occur coincidentially between husbands and wives. Of research importance, the Graves’ gene in DNA has not yet been identified.

I am a person that has had previous autoimmune diseases and I for one think this played a huge part on my getting Graves. In 1984 I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystist which is an autoimmune disease affecting the bladder. After treating this for 13 years I finally went into remission. Unfortunetly I recently found out that it’s back in full force. I know that stress can make these types of diseases rear their ugly heads. From all the stress I’ve endured with trying to treat Graves has made my other disease come out of remission. I strongly feel that any family that has had autoimmune diseases should be more careful of getting any of these types of diseases. They should try to watch their stress levels (which I know isn’t easy). I hope this helps some.

[kallikat November 7, 2008 at 10:09 am Post count: 29]

#1075641

I envy all of you. I was adopted at birth, so I have no clue about my genetic history. It certainly makes filling out med forms easier (LOL). But it means I get tested for ALOT of things every time I see a new Dr. Unfortunately, thyroid disease was never a concern for any of my doctors until I developed "storm-range" symptoms.
I am keeping a health journal for my 2 grown sons and future grandchildren. My youngest son is in the Army and I made sure he put down on his initial exam form that I had Graves. The Army Dr checked his thyroid and it was normal (yeah!). My oldest son and his wife are expecting their first child and he insisted the Dr check his wife’s thyroid level at her first prenatal visit (normal – yeah!).
I really, really wish I had been armed with the info ammo I’ve given my kids.

[spenanelson November 8, 2008 at 2:00 pm Post count: 33]

#1075642

I was adopted as well and I found my birth mother as well.

I have a sister who has Crohn’s disease and her doctor was not surprised to here that another sybling had an autoimune disease as well. He said that they were not realted byt in the same family.

I have also met several others with GD who have Lupus or other autoimune disease.

The best thing to do is to be as educated on GD as possible and try to live the best possible healthy life you can.

It is a tough disease.. but a good support system, good Endo and a healthy lifestyle can make the journey easier.

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