Daisy Ridley has Graves’ disease. 600,000 Germans also have this incurable disease.Image: Invision / Richard Shotwell
Health & Psyche
Daisy Ridley is known from a number of films, including “Murder on the Orient Express”, “Star Wars” and “Magpie”. The latter is a psychological thriller in which Ridley played a very stressful role, as she told the English-language magazine “Women’s Health”.
After filming, she realized something was wrong. She had heart palpitations, weight loss, fatigue and shaking hands. At first, Ridley thought it was due to the stress of the film role she was playing. But then she told her doctor about the symptoms and he suspected it could be Graves’ disease.
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This is because patients often feel “tired but on edge” – and Ridley realized that this applied to her: “It was weird, I thought, ‘Oh, I just thought I was annoyed with the world,’ but it turns out that everything works so fast that you can’t calm down.”
Graves’ disease: Daisy Ridley changed her life after diagnosis
The doctor’s suspicions were confirmed, and Ridley had to make some changes in her life. Medication, a different diet and massages are now on her agenda.
The “WomansHealth” she said that she has been eating gluten-free since her diagnosis. She had already been vegan before. However, it is helpful to avoid foods that promote inflammation in the body – and unfortunately gluten is one of them.
Her exercise plan is also different. Instead of cardio and running training, she now does flexibility exercises and gymnastics. Coordination exercises with medicine balls, split squats and knee bends, for example, keep her muscles fit.
Graves’ disease: 600,000 Germans affected
Graves’ disease, also known as Basedow’s disease, is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid gland. It causes the body to produce too many thyroid hormones.
According to the German Thyroid Center, the symptoms can be “discreet and non-specific, especially at the beginning of the disease,” writes the news portal “Focus“. Later, the following symptoms often appear:
- Goiter (enlarged thyroid)
- Tachycardia (accelerated heart rate)
- Exophthalmus (Glubschaugen)
- Weight loss despite cravings
- Diarrhea
- Tremor, nervous restlessness, irritability, insomnia
- Weakness, fatigue
- Sweating, warm and moist skin
- Hair loss
Although anyone can suffer from Graves’ disease, the diagnosis is more common in women. Around 600,000 of them are affected nationwide, according to the German Society for Ultrasound in Medicine writes. The disease is rare in men.
The disease is considered incurable, but the symptoms can be treated with medication. However, Graves’ disease usually does not affect life expectancy.
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