Background: Graves' disease is known as a chronic and incurable disease. The typical treatment is symptom-based and consists of medications, radioiodine, or surgery. These last two treatments are routinely offered to the 50% of patients that do not respond to drug therapy. Here we report the case of a patient who was able to normalize her thyroid hormones as well as her autoimmune markers in 6 months with the exclusive implementation of lifestyle interventions.
Summary: A 34-year-old Dutch, Caucasian female diagnosed with Graves' disease since 2014 implemented lifestyle modifications, which included dietary change to an ancestral type of diet, oral health interventions, practice of kundalini yoga, avoidance of environmental toxicants (by only eating organic food, drinking filtered water, and using natural products to clean her house or for her personal hygiene) and supportive supplements when necessary. The patient did not take any antithyroid drugs or beta-blockers during this period nor any other type of medication that could have had immunosuppressant effects. After 6 months of engaging in these lifestyle interventions, her thyroid analysis normalized and no anti-thyrotropin receptor antibodies were negative.
Conclusion: This case report demonstrates that Graves' disease can effectively be put into lasting remission without conventional medical interventions. It also emphasizes the importance of a healthy lifestyle as a first line intervention for all patients but especially in the particular case of patients suffering from Graves' disease.