24 September 2019

Haemochromatosis

A little over ten years ago two of my relatives were diagnosed with haemochromatosis, have you heard of it? It is a genetic blood disorder also known as "iron overload disorder". It was suggested that all members of the family be tested and when my results came back I discovered that I didn't have haemochromatosis I do however have two of the genes that cause it which puts me in the medium-risk category for iron overload. A few months ago, I had started to feel extremely tired, thinking that I might be anemic I had a blood test done, turns out rather than my iron levels being low they were in fact way too high. 

The only treatment for women past childbearing years, which I am, is to become a "therapeutic blood donor", so once a month, for three months that's exactly what I became. My last blood donation was a couple of weeks ago and I'm due to have a blood test next week to see if having blood taken has worked in lowering my iron levels, hopefully, they will be okay and from now on I will only have to give blood every three months instead of monthly. 

High irons levels may not sound like a bad thing, but left untreated it can lead to some major health issues such as cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes and congestive heart failure. People most at risk for haemochromatosis are those of Northern European descent, if you would like to know more about it this website, has some very good information.

2 comments:

  1. Wow that is so interesting....I'm sure you feel really good about donating blood as well as it's so needed.

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    1. Yes, Kathy, it is a good feeling knowing that my blood is helping others. I was worried that because of the high iron levels it wouldn't be able to be used so I was relieved to find out it could be.

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