Anonymous
    Post count: 93172

    I too had Graves for what I think was about 5 to 6 years before being
    diagnosed. The doctors told me that I was “normal”. Never drew any
    labs though. Said it was “all in my mind”. So I did not go to any doctors
    for a long time because I did not like being labeled just another
    neurotic female. I finally went to see a female doctor after the
    symptoms got really bad. I was having alot of bone pain and my hands
    and feet tingled all the time. My mother has a severe case of rheumatoid
    arthritis and I thought I was getting it also. My rheumatoid factor was
    negative but my thyroid levels were high. Autoimmune diseases run in some
    families, my mother has RA,an autoimmune disease. My paternal grandmother
    went completely gray-headed in her early 20’s, also associated with
    autoimmune disorders. So far I’m the only one with Graves, but I watch
    my children for any symptoms.