Hi, Sleepless:
You need to get yourself to a doctor, and have your thyroid checked, along with a complete physical. What you have may or may not be Graves, but only a doctor is going to be able to make that determination. Even if it turns out to be stress related, at least you will know what to do for yourself, to bring the symptoms under control. If it turns out to be Graves, or something else distinctly physical, you will have done yourself a huge favor by getting on top of it earlier rather than later. The racing heart is a particularly troublesome symptom. I also recommend that after having the physical, you ask for copies of your lab reports and blood work, so that you can ask questions of your doctor about any numbers that prove to be out of the normal range. I was told, initially, that I had no problem with my thyroid, when the bloodwork showed that three out of the four thyroid tests were “out-of-range” in the hyper zone. Doctors sometimes make judgement calls about whether something is out-of-range enough to warrant consideration. In my case, it turned out I had Graves.
Also, Graves patients do not necessarily have the eye problems or the skin lumps. Having thyroid problems is much more prevalent than the other symptoms. I think I read where only about 1% of Graves patients get the skin problem. The percentages on eye problems is much higher, but even then, severe problems occur in less than half of Graves patients. So don’t think that because you don’t have the gamut of symptoms that it couldn’t be Graves.
Bobbi
