What is Graves' disease? Daisy Ridley shares diagnosis

Marie-Claire Dorking
Updated

Star Wars actor Daisy Ridley has revealed that she has been diagnosed with Graves’ disease, having suffered symptoms while filming psychological thriller Magpie.

The 32-year-old shared that she received her diagnosis last year after her doctor encouraged her to visit an endocrinologist after she started experiencing symptoms including a racing heart rate, weight loss, fatigue and tremors.

“I thought, ‘well, I’ve just played a really stressful role; presumably that’s why I feel poorly’,” Ridley told Women’s Health magazine.

When the doctor described that Graves’ can make you feel “tired but wired”, Ridley says: “It was funny, I was like, ‘Oh, I just thought I was annoyed at the world’ but turns out everything is functioning so quickly, you can’t chill out.”

Graves’ disease is an autoimmune condition where the immune system produces antibodies that cause the thyroid to produce too much thyroid hormone, according to the NHS website.

Since her diagnosis, Ridley has embraced daily medication alongside adopting lifestyle changes including using infrared saunas, cryotherapy, massages and acupuncture.

As well as continuing with her vegan diet, the actor has also gone gluten-free.

Daisy Ridley at the screening for Young Woman And The Sea, she has been diagnosed with Graves' disease. (Getty Images)
Daisy Ridley has revealed she has been diagnosed with Graves' disease. (Getty Images) (Samir Hussein via Getty Images)

Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disorder that can cause overactivity of the thyroid, which is a small gland situated in the front of your neck.

The condition involves your immune system creating antibodies, called thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins (TSIs), which trick the thyroid gland into producing more hormones than is necessary.

According to Thyroid UK around 75% of people with an overactive thyroid have Graves’ disease. Other names for it include Basedow disease, Parry disease, and Graves’ hyperthyroidism.

Thyroid hormones control the way your body uses energy, so it affects almost every organ, the National Institutes for Health (NIH) said on its website.

People with Graves’ disease can develop other conditions such as Graves’ dermopathy (also called pretibial myxedema), a skin condition or Graves’ ophthalmopathy also known as thyroid eye disease which causes eye problems.

Ridley, pictured at a recent screening. (Getty Images)
Ridley says she was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition last September. (Getty Images) (Kristina Bumphrey via Getty Images)

Common symptoms of the condition include having a fast or irregular heartbeat, fatigue, loss of weight and feeling irritable.

Shaky hands are also a symptom, alongside frequent bowel movements and an enlarged thyroid gland, called a goiter.

Thyroid UK says other symptoms of Grave’s disease can include

  • feeling nervous or anxious

  • difficulty sleeping

  • feeling irritable or having mood swings

  • being thirstier than usual

  • needing to pee more frequently

  • tiredness

  • muscle weakness

  • diarrhoea

  • feeling itchy

  • losing interest in sex

Symptoms can develop gradually and may initially be mistaken for anxiety or stress, according to the Graves’ Disease and Thyroid Foundation.

Around three quarters of those with an overactive thyroid are living with Graves' disease. (Getty Images)
Around three quarters of those with an overactive thyroid are living with Graves' disease. (Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Like many autoimmune conditions, the causes of Graves’ disease are not clear. However, it mostly affects young or middle-aged women and can run in families.

Smoking can also increase your risk of getting it, according to the NHS.

The treatment options for Graves’ disease depends on your age, any other conditions you have, and if you’re pregnant, but they will aim to lower the amount of the thyroid hormone to manage symptoms.

Treatments can include medication, radiation therapy and surgery - sometimes doctors may need to remove part or all of the thyroid.

Ridley isn’t the only famous face to open up about being diagnosed with the condition.

In 2010, Australian singer-songwriter Sia confirmed in a tweet that she had Graves’ disease. While rapper Missy Elliott shared she first started struggling with the disease in 2008.

Additional reporting PA.

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