![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Jaynee on April 1, 2002, at 13:40:35
I wasn't going to do this, but I really believe everyone should be informed about this disorder. It is often, misdiagnosed as depression. It is hemochromatosis(iron overload). It is a genetic metabolic disorder that causes you to absorb to much iron from your diet. A simple test like checking your hemoglobin or hematocrit is not good enough to detect it, you can have a low hemoglobin reading and still have iron-overload. You have to check your ferritin and transferrin saturation. I was diagnosed only after the genetic test. Please do yourself a favor and read this information. It is mis-diagnosed 90% of the time.
here are some sites.
http://members.tripod.com/~hemochromatose/aart.html
here is just one of the many articles one HH.
Encore (A Special Report): Upfront
Iron Overload
By Carol Gentry03/19/2001
The Wall Street Journal
R4
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)Feeling tired and achy? Don't shrug it off as age or stress. Above all,
don't start taking iron. That could make it worse.Medical researchers are learning that many adults have a genetic mutation
that causes their bodies to absorb too much iron. The substance silently
builds up in organs and joints until midlife, when the damage begins to
reveal itself.
The disease, hereditary hemochromatosis, afflicts more than one million
Americans, making it the most common genetic disease in North America. It
can be detected with an inexpensive blood test, and the damage is
preventable, yet most cases are never properly diagnosed."Many diseases attributed to old age are actually symptoms of
hemochromatosis," says Sandra Thomas of Daytona Beach, Fla., president of
the American Hemochromatosis Society, a support group. "People in their
golden years could have a better qualify of life if they were diagnosed and
treated."Even though hereditary hemochromatosis is common, most doctors never
diagnose a single case because they aren't looking for it, says Vincent J.
Felitti, director of the Department of Preventive Medicine for the Kaiser
Permanente health plan in San Diego. Since Kaiser-San Diego began screening
adults for iron overload three years ago, it has found 500 cases; Dr.
Felitti expects to find an additional 1,400 or so among the 500,000 Kaiser
Permanente patients in San Diego."The fact is, every practitioner in the country sees a case every two or
three weeks, only they're not recognized because they come in disguised as
something else, or symptoms haven't developed yet" Dr. Felitti says.Patients come in complaining of chronic fatigue, stomachaches, joint pain,
heart palpitations, impotence or depression. After the usual medical workups
lead nowhere, puzzled doctors often send the patient home with a
prescription for Viagra or Prozac. But the iron, undetected, keeps building
up in the organs and joints, leading to arthritis, diabetes, heart
arrhythmias, cirrhosis of the liver and certain cancers.The irony is that both testing and treatment for iron overload are simple. A
"transferrin saturation" test that shows whether excess iron is being
absorbed adds only a few dollars to the cost of a routine blood test, Dr.
Felitti says. A genetic test that identifies 85% of hereditary
hemochromatosis patients is available, and though it isn't necessary for
diagnosis or treatment, it's useful in helping relatives learn they have the
disease before they develop symptoms.Treatment is simple: regular blood draws. When serious iron overload cases
are first caught, experts say, the patient may need to give up one or two
units of blood a week. Once the iron level drops to normal, blood is drawn
about once every three months.Hemochromatosis can be the result of environmental factors -- it often
occurs in Africa from cooking in iron pots -- but the hereditary form of the
disease is more common in Europe and the U.S., with a prevalence of about
four cases per 1,000. Fully 12% of the population are carriers of one, but
not both copies, of the defective gene necessary to develop the disease.The disease isn't caused by eating iron-rich foods, but by over-absorbing
the iron in a normal diet. Iron overload occurs because the defective gene
interferes with the normal function of the intestinal lining and allows too
much iron to pass through to the bloodstream, where it is carried to certain
organs that are sensitive to it, especially the liver. The iron causes
inflammation, which damages the organs.Many patients go for years thinking their symptoms are due to stress. Harry
Kieffer of Cordele, Ga., got that medical assessment when he saw his doctor
due to fatigue, joint pain, irregular heartbeat and migraines. It was easy
to believe; as production manager for a new building-products plant, he was
working 60 to 80 hours a week. "During this whole time, we took
stress-formula vitamins with iron," says Mr. Kieffer's wife, Chris. "We
thought we were being good to ourselves, but were compounding the problem."The American Academy of Pathology in 1996 called for doctors and hospitals
to run iron-status tests on all new patients, but there has been little
movement in that direction. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention say there must be better safeguards in place to prevent
discrimination by insurance companies before widespread screening can begin.
But they say anyone who shows symptoms, or has a relative with the disease,
should ask for a test.---
Posted by IsoM on April 1, 2002, at 13:49:53
In reply to Everyone should read this, posted by Jaynee on April 1, 2002, at 13:40:35
It's a disease that's much commoner in men than women because women lose blood monthly (menstrual cycle) & it takes a lot longer for the iron to build up in women. Wmoen with the disorder will more commonly show symptoms when post-menopausal.
Strange to hear more doctors aren't aware of it. Our doctor asked my son if he'd mind being tested for it during a routine blood test. He was actually found to be slightly anemic probably as he was then vegetarian.
I heard that others that a friend I had in a different province died from it & his last days were very sad. While the disease is definitely not from eating an iron-rich diet, the large amount of meat many men eat does speed the disease along its way. Doug (the friend I knew) was a large meat eater.
Posted by Jaynee on April 1, 2002, at 20:26:24
In reply to Hemochromatosis » Jaynee, posted by IsoM on April 1, 2002, at 13:49:53
Actually with regards to females and HH, you are wrong. I am only 37 and I started to really show symptoms in my late teens. We(females) would have to lose a lot of blood during our menses to get rid of the amount of iron we absorb.
You said your son had anemia. Did that show up on his hemoglobin, or did the doctor actually do a full iron study? Most people just don't understand the disorder or how common it is. They now know 1 in 27 Irish has the full blown disorder. 1 in 4 Irish carry the gene. Just carrying the gene, can cause you to absorb to much iron. So if you are irish get tested.
Here is a interesting article on HH and treatment resistant mental illness.
J Clin Psychiatry 1997 Feb;58(2):74-8
Related Articles, Books, LinkOut
Iron overload among a psychiatric outpatient population.Feifel D, Young CW.
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093-8620, USA.
BACKGROUND: Iron overload has been suggested to be an unrecognized cause of psychiatric
morbidity. This study sought to estimate the prevalence of iron overload in a large outpatient
psychiatric clinic. METHOD: A retrospective review of screening blood chemistries was
conducted on 661 active outpatients at a large, university outpatient psychiatric clinic to identify
elevated iron status results (plasma iron, percentage of iron saturation) suggestive of iron
overload. Patients with positive profiles were asked to undergo a subsequent blood chemistry to
confirm positive results (plasma iron, percentage of iron saturation, plus plasma ferritin). Patients
with positive repeated iron chemistry results were considered likely candidates for iron overload.
RESULTS: Twenty-one patients (3.2%) were identified as meeting one of the criteria suggestive
of iron overload on initial screening reports. Thirty-one percent of those who underwent
subsequent, confirmatory testing (5/16) continued to meet one of the criteria. On the basis of
these results, we estimated a 1% (3.2 x 0.31) prevalence rate of likely candidates for iron
overload. A review of these patients' charts indicated that they carried an unexpectedly high rate
of bipolar affective disorder (80%) as a diagnosis and were, without exception, atypical in that
they were resistant to conventional psychiatric treatment and lacked a family history for this
disorder. The prevalence of positive iron overload profiles on a routine blood chemistry was
similar to the prevalence of positive thyroid abnormalities based on TSH results in this population.
CONCLUSION: Blood chemistry profiles suggestive of iron overload may be associated with a
small portion of treatment-resistant psychiatric patients. Routine screening for iron abnormalities,
especially in treatment-resistant patients, should be considered. Further studies are required to
determine the causal association, if any, between iron excess and primary psychiatric illnesses.PMID: 9062376 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Posted by IsoM on April 2, 2002, at 11:39:07
In reply to Re: Hemochromatosis (Iso), posted by Jaynee on April 1, 2002, at 20:26:24
Thanks for the clarification, Jaynee. The information about women is from the medical liteature I've read but with you having it & what you described, I think I'd rather believe what comes from the horse's mouth (so to speak). I had no idea it affected the Irish so much. Any idea where they originally got the aberrant gene from? I'm interested in the history of genetic disorders.
The doctors performed a full test on my son with his permission. There was renewed interest in hemochromatosis in our area (not sure what triggered it) & they were doing full testing of any volunteers willing to to be part of a study. Mt son thought 'why not?' & decided to participate. It was only as a result of all the tests that they found him anemic too.
He's now eating meat again. It was from a long stay in the hospital (suicidal) that he developed a dislike of meat. They prepared so much meat, 2-3 times a day, & badly prepared to boot, that put him off meat.
Posted by Jaynee on April 2, 2002, at 17:37:31
In reply to Re: Hemochromatosis Info » Jaynee, posted by IsoM on April 2, 2002, at 11:39:07
Well I am glad they found out your son has anemia. It just makes me leary when someone says they have anemia. Because usually they don't do the proper tests. I hope your son is doing better. If he still has anemia, he just has to chase down any meat or pasta with orange juice, or take vitamin C when he eats an iron rich meal. Vitamin C increases the absorbtion of iron. Of course I stay away from Vitamin C and take grape seed extract instead. What is also interesting is St. John's Wort decreases the amount of iron a person absorbs as well. There was also something about SAMe as well, with regards to iron, but I can't remember what it is.
With regards to the history of Hemochromatosis, I believe there is an article on one of the sites I forwarded. The gene (Cys282) which I have both, they believe started with the Celts. Funny thing is my back ground is Norwegian and a bit of English. Of course the Vikings kidnapped many Celts or Irish. Anyways they believe that people adapted to starvation by absorbing more iron from their meals. Of course it would have been more beneficial for women, since losing blood during birth was a big problem, and having more iron increased the chance of survival for the baby. I have read a few articles on this and it is interesting. This so called mutation, is actually an adaptation of the human body to survive. Carrying the gene is only a problem in this society, or time of life, because everything is fortified with iron. I was created to survive a famine, go figure. "Bronze Diabetes" is a very good book to read if your interested. They find most people with hemochromatosis are very strong and athletic. I used to run track in University, so maybe there is truth to that statement. The good news if it is caught early, it is easy to solve. You just become a very good blood donor, and save many lives, including your own.
Anyways, I hope your son is doing better.
Karyn
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.