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Grave’s disease is an autoimmune condition that makes the thyroid overactive. The thyroid sets the pace of your body’s chemistry, so too much of its hormone can leave you hot, shaky and losing weight, with a heartbeat that will not settle.
It is caused by a thyroid stimulating antibody that overstimulates hormone production. Hyperthyroidism means having too much thyroid hormone; it has several causes, including thyroid nodules and thyroiditis. The Thyroid Foundation of Canada says Grave’s disease is the most common cause in Canada.
It can also affect the tissues around the eyes, called thyroid eye disease. That is part of the same condition, not a separate problem, and can behave differently from the thyroid. Grave’s disease is also not an underactive thyroid, which is more common here and treated the opposite way.
Symptoms range from none to marked, and the eyes and thyroid do not always track together.
Some things cannot be changed:
Others can often be worked on, usually with support from a health care team:
Diagnosis starts with blood tests: TSH plus thyroid hormone levels, since in hyperthyroidism the hormones are high and TSH is suppressed. Finding the cause is the second step, because treatment differs. TSH receptor antibodies point to Grave’s disease specifically, and a radioactive iodine uptake test and thyroid scan separate it from nodules or thyroiditis. An eye examination is added where the eyes are involved.
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There are three main routes for the thyroid, plus care for the eyes. A health care team may discuss:
Each route has a different trade-off, and which fits is a decision for you and your clinician.
Treatment works on the thyroid, not on the autoimmune process behind it. About 20 to 30% may achieve remission after antithyroid medicine, leaving most to choose between longer treatment, radioactive iodine or surgery, and the last two often trade an overactive thyroid for an underactive one. Thyroid eye disease can progress even when thyroid levels are controlled. Canada also has no national surveillance figure for Grave’s disease. Research is looking at predicting relapse, at treatments aimed at the antibody, and at earlier care for the eyes.
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This page is written in plain language for people considering clinical research. It is general health information, not medical advice, and it does not replace a conversation with your own doctor or nurse practitioner.
Hyperthyroidism is the state of having too much thyroid hormone in your body. Grave's disease is one cause of it, and the Thyroid Foundation of Canada says it is by far the most common cause in Canada, affecting perhaps one in every 100 people. Other causes include thyroid nodules and thyroiditis. The distinction matters because treatment depends on the cause, which is why blood tests for TSH receptor antibodies and sometimes a radioactive iodine uptake scan are used to identify what is driving the overactivity rather than only measuring hormone levels.
It can, but severe eye disease is uncommon. The Thyroid Foundation of Canada says clinically evident eye problems may occur and that only approximately 5% of cases are severe, with changes such as bulging eyes, redness, watering, swollen lids and difficulty moving the eyes. A 2026 review in Canadian Eye Care Today puts the estimated incidence of thyroid eye disease at about 4.2 per 100,000 people a year, affecting women about 3.7 times as often as men, and lists smoking and thyroid levels that are not under control among the modifiable factors. Sudden vision change, new double vision or severe eye pain needs urgent assessment.
It depends which treatment. The Thyroid Foundation of Canada says about 20 to 30% of people may achieve remission after 12 to 18 months of antithyroid medicine. Radioactive iodine, which HealthLink BC describes as the most common treatment, often results in an underactive thyroid afterwards and then thyroid hormone replacement, and surgery to remove the thyroid means lifelong replacement. That trade-off, between the risk of the condition returning and the near-certainty of needing replacement hormone, is one of the main things to weigh, and it is a decision for you and your own clinician.
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