Graves’ Disease is a disease of the thyroid system. It forms part of a larger group of disorders including Sjogens syndrome, Lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. Current theories suggest that it is caused by the auto‐immune system attacking the thyroid gland. There is no known cure, but the disorder can usually be controlled by drug or radioactive iodine treatment of the thyroid itself. In a considerable proportion of cases the disorder clears up spontaneously. In others it waxes and wanes through life. It is not normally life‐threatening, but is very unpleasant for sufferers. It is clear that there is a strong family link, and that the disease is triggered off in susceptible people by stress, that is, the disorder has both genetic and psychosomatic components. The initial symptoms of all the thyrotoxic disorders include nervousness, insomnia and neuromuscular fatigue, so they can easily be confused with those of ME and with depression and other psychiatric disorders.
This combination of a partially psychosomatic origin, spontaneous remission, incurability and a confusing range of symptoms means that Graves’ Disease is widely open to misinterpretation and to the spread of misinformation. An elementary trawl of the Web produces dozens of information sources recommending all sorts of alternative medical treatments, ranging from acupuncture to lemon tea balm (I have lemon balm growing all over my garden ‐ I keep digging it up and dumping it on the compost heap. Perhaps I ought to make tea with it instead).
In one interesting anecdotal case recorded in this book “Kim … realised that the stress generated by the online controversy inhibited her healing … Two years later Kim is no longer as conscientious about following the protocols, avoids thyroid bulletin boards and feels great.” (She also avoids dairy products, eats what seems to me like a quite extraordinary amount of broccoli, and uses Siberian Ginseng.)
The Oxford Textbook of Medicine (Weatherall et al., 1996) has 14 densely‐packed pages on disorders of thyroid function, including Graves’ Disease, as part of its three massive volumes. At the other extreme, for quite a lot of disorders there are two‐ or three‐page pamphlets distributed freely in doctors’ waiting rooms, etc. I have not come across one for Graves’ Disease. Perhaps someone ought to write one.
This is an excellent book, covering the scientific basis of the thyroid disorders, the auto‐immune system, genetic factors, diagnosis, conventional medical treatments and alternative medical treatments, all in a clear comprehensible fashion, with ample references for further study both in print and online. Although the author has obviously suffered personal distress herself, the tone is resolutely upbeat and optimistic. Any Graves’ Disease sufferer or nurse who wished to be well‐informed on the subject could be recommended to read this book. I am not sure of it as a reference library text, however.
All major reference libraries should have something like the Oxford Textbook of Medicine but £33 is quite a lot for a library to spend on a paperbacked monograph on a single disease that has a relatively small number of sufferers. Someone really ought to write that pamphlet.
