‘The Boys’ star Erin Moriarty reveals Graves’ disease diagnosis

Erin Moriarty is opening up about a recent medical diagnosis.

The actress behind Starlight on The Boys announced that she has been diagnosed with Graves’ disease on Friday.

“Autoimmune disease manifests differently in everybody/every body,” Moriarty wrote on Instagram. “Your experience will be different from mine. My experience will be different from yours. Perhaps greatly, perhaps minutely.”

The Jessica Jones actress said she initially assumed her persistent exhaustion came from a different source. “One thing I can say: if I hadn’t chalked it all up to stress and fatigue, I would’ve caught this sooner,” she said. “A month ago, I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease.”

Moriarty added that her treatment has helped her substantially. “Within 24 hours of beginning treatment, I felt the light coming back on,” she said. “It’s been increasing in strength ever since. If yours is dimming, even slightly, go get checked.”

Moriarty ended her post with a call for her followers to treat themselves with care and seek medical help. “Don’t ‘suck it up’ and transcend suffering; you deserve to be comfy,” she wrote.
“S—‘s hard enough as is.”

The actress included a screenshot of a text message conversation with her mother from May 9. “I’m serious; I really, really need relief,” the text read. “I feel nauseated tonight. I feel so s— and removed from who I am. I can’t live like this forever. Or that long.”

Moriarty also wrote in her text exchange that she doesn’t have even “a passing five seconds” where she feels normal. “It’s not just fatigue — it’s an ineffable, system-wide cry for help, and I don’t know how long I can remain in this state.”

Her post on Friday included a later text message to her father that she presumably sent after her diagnosis when she was beginning treatment. “I already feel a world of difference,” she wrote. “Primary thought (as of now): ‘Damn, this is how I’m supposed to feel? I’ve been missing out!'”

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Graves’ disease is an autoimmune condition that causes hyperthyroidism, the overproduction of thyroid hormone. The condition can cause symptoms like exhaustion, irritability, unintentional weight loss, hand tremors, and skin discoloration, according to the Mayo Clinic.

About 1 percent of Americans have Graves’ disease, according to Yale Medicine. The condition is not fatal, but if it is left untreated, it can lead to serious health complications, including heart failure or strokes.