Pumping Iron
Ivan Morris on Haemochromatosis, a potentially life-threatening condition, become increasingly common, caused by an excess of iron in the blood.
It came as a severe shock 9 years ago, for an apparently ‘full-of-life’ 56-years old, to be told that he was living with a ‘virtual time bomb’ lurking in his genetic makeup, capable of destroying the ‘rude and ignorant’ health that he had enjoyed all of his life. To be diagnosed with Haemochromatosis – a potentially life threatening condition that one had never heard of without any prior inkling that anything was ‘wrong’ - was a bit of a blow.
Apart from vaguely noticing that I felt more tired than usual after playing 36-holes (!) of golf and my ankles hurt, I wasn’t aware of any symptoms that could trigger the notion that there was anything wrong with me other than I was growing old gracefully.
When one of my three brothers, who had been blessed with similar good health to my own, underwent a rigorous, health and stress scan and was diagnosed with Haemochromatosis (Dietary Iron Overload) - it was like an unexpected bolt from the blue to all of his siblings. It was forcibly impressed upon all four of us that ‘H’ ran in families and that we all should have blood tests as soon as possible.
When it materialized that I, too, was ‘H’ positive but the other two boys had ‘escaped,’ I can remember thinking how awful and gruesome the treatment of venesection (blood-letting) sounded. Now, 9 years later it is no more than a simple matter of routine and hasn’t caused me a moment of anxiety. I feel fitter and have more energy at 65 than I had at 55 and am looking forward to at least another twenty years of a normal life expectancy.
At the time of our diagnosis, nobody in our family had ever heard of iron overload let alone understood its significance. But there was no getting away from the fact that a pair of unpronounceable genes that we had inherited would be with us for the full duration of our lifetimes and was capable of destroying body organs as surely as the iceberg that sank the Titanic - if it were not treated.
Looking back, it seems strange now that when I phoned my own GP and asked him to arrange for the blood tests to be done, he openly admitted being surprised and intrigued. Although, my Doc had heard about ‘H’ during his studies, he had never actually come across it in practice. I would be his first case.
Nevertheless, the blood tests he carried out were simple and straightforward and ever since my Doctor tells me that he has seen a regular stream of patients with ‘H.’
I was given common sense advice on diet that included two surprise elements; one drinking orange juice with meals was a banned ‘no-no’ and I was ordered to always finish a meal with a refreshing cup of tea! Nothing very life changing or dramatic there, you will agree.
Since I was diagnosed, I cannot help noticing the way the number of ‘H’ patients attending my local haematology clinic has escalated. Apart, from the word being spread amongst the GP fraternity, the family aspect of the condition means that diagnoses tend to be made in twos and threes rather than singly.
As I said, right from the beginning my iron levels began to fall at a consistent rate. It was like clock work. After just over one year my ferritin count was as low as 20 (anything below 120 is considered “safe”). These days, I only have to be checked at 3-monthly intervals. Whatever is going to kill me eventually, it won’t be Haemochromatosis!
Furthermore, I was extremely happy to be told by a surgeon that regular venesection is an excellent protection against a possible stroke or heart attack because the blood is kept “flowing nicely and never allowed to thicken”.
Instances of the ‘H’ condition in Ireland are extraordinarily high; 20% are carriers, 5% of those have the “full monty”. If that percentage of the population had the swine flu it would be deemed a ‘disastrous epidemic.’
Nobody dies from ‘H’ directly but the effect of iron overload on organs like the heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas not to mention the pain and discomfort when it lodges in joints; knees, ankles elbows has the potential to be catastrophic. ‘H’ may be an incurable condition but controlling it is relatively inexpensive. Treating ‘H” would eliminate at least one of the underlying causes of more serious (and expensive) disorders.
As time has gone by, it is frustrating that representations by the Irish Haemochromatosis Association to the Dept. of Health go largely ignored even when there is such obviously valuable, cost-saving knock on affects. In a perfect world, the entire population should be screened for ‘H’ as a matter of routine. Unfortunately, it remains the responsibility of the individual to initiate testing.
An overload of iron lodged in the system, looks for a weakness or predisposition to attack. Latent diabetes is one of the disorders that can be aggravated and as we all know diabetes is a big killer and one of the most troublesome and expensive conditions to treat. Treat ‘H’ effectively and you will reduce chronic diabetes considerably and the state would be saved billions.
I am particularly annoyed that all of the blood taken from me has been wasted, by being incinerated or thrown down the drain because of some out of date clinical protocol. There is nothing wrong with ‘H’ blood per se. Indeed, it seems to me that many an anaemic patient might benefit from a little extra iron.
How “ironic” it would be if any of the “venesected” had to face a serious operation sometime and there were complications due to a shortage of blood?
All it would take is for a consent form to be signed donating the blood at the time of venesection, subject to the blood being tested, which happens with all donated blood anyway. The blood of ‘H’ patients in the USA and GB is considered acceptable for re-use. Why not here? The Blood Banks are always looking for new blood donors. I’d happily give them mine but they are not allowed to take it.
Further information is available from the Irish Haemochromatosis Association by accessing the website: http://www.haemochromatosis-ir.com/.
