If you are experiencing symptoms of Graves’ disease, you should see your doctor to be tested. In order to diagnose Graves’ disease, the doctor will first ask about your personal and family medical histories and will also ask about your symptoms. He or she will perform a physical examination, which involves checking your eyes for signs of irritation or protrusion and checking your throat for signs of goiter. He or she will likely check your pulse rate and blood pressure, which may be elevated if your thyroid hormone levels are increased. The doctor will also look for signs of trembling or restlessness that can also accompany the disease.

If the doctor has any reason to suspect Graves’ disease or another thyroid problem, he or she will order blood tests to determine your levels of certain hormones. There are many different types of tests that might be performed, depending on your symptoms. The most commonly performed tests usually measure levels of the two thyroid hormones thyroxine (T3) and triiodothyronine (T4) as well as levels of a hormone released by the pituitary gland called thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). TSH is the hormone that normally signals the thyroid gland to release T3 and T4. In Graves’ disease, the autoantibodies substitute for TSH by mimicking its function. This greatly lowers the levels of natural TSH (because its job is already being done by another molecule) while elevating the levels of T3 and T4. Other types of hyperthyroidism besides Graves’ disease may cause elevated levels of TSH as well as T3 and T4.

Another test of thyroid function is the radioactive iodine test, which involves administering a small amount of radioactive iodine into your body. Since iodine is used by the thyroid gland to make T3 and T4, measuring how fast radioactive iodine is taken up and used by the thyroid gland can be an indication of the overall activity level of the thyroid. High levels of iodine uptake indicate hyperthyroidism while low levels indicate low thyroid function (hypothyroidism).