I am a 76 year old woman diagnosed at 70 because I injured a knee with no sign of injury on x ray or manipulation examination. After six weeks I saw a young locum GP who took blood tests. No RA nor osteo A nor any wear and tear. More blood tests and within six weeks. confirmed 2 x C282Y. After 18months of Venesection I am fitter than I was at 40. All those years of niggling issues, including duodenal ulcers, woman's troubles, sore bones....with no apparent reason and all it took was a fresh out in the community GP! Thank goodness as the way I was going I don't think I would still be here
I'm a C282Y homozygote myself. I found out when I got a 23andMe done around 9 years back. I was in my early thirties and had very high ferritin level, around 500 (I'm can't remember the unit of measure).
I was still in the Army at this point and after they confirmed the diagnosis, they sent me to the installation's blood bank and had them take a pint of blood out of me every week for 12 consecutive weeks until I was borderline anemic.
Nowadays I donate blood when I can (I'm in the O-Neg, CMV-Neg Master Race, so the Red Cross is always happy to get my blood) and get a "therapeutic phlebotomy" at the VA every 4-8 weeks. It's enough to keep my ferritin levels in the double digits.
Certainly something mysterious here! Great changes are driven by fine differences at the margins, plus time. And then, at the centre, are traditions and processes which people barely know why they do, both for good and ill. 🤔
The Celtic Curse: Haemochromatosis & Agriculture
I am a 76 year old woman diagnosed at 70 because I injured a knee with no sign of injury on x ray or manipulation examination. After six weeks I saw a young locum GP who took blood tests. No RA nor osteo A nor any wear and tear. More blood tests and within six weeks. confirmed 2 x C282Y. After 18months of Venesection I am fitter than I was at 40. All those years of niggling issues, including duodenal ulcers, woman's troubles, sore bones....with no apparent reason and all it took was a fresh out in the community GP! Thank goodness as the way I was going I don't think I would still be here
Fascinating!
I'm a C282Y homozygote myself. I found out when I got a 23andMe done around 9 years back. I was in my early thirties and had very high ferritin level, around 500 (I'm can't remember the unit of measure).
I was still in the Army at this point and after they confirmed the diagnosis, they sent me to the installation's blood bank and had them take a pint of blood out of me every week for 12 consecutive weeks until I was borderline anemic.
Nowadays I donate blood when I can (I'm in the O-Neg, CMV-Neg Master Race, so the Red Cross is always happy to get my blood) and get a "therapeutic phlebotomy" at the VA every 4-8 weeks. It's enough to keep my ferritin levels in the double digits.
Certainly something mysterious here! Great changes are driven by fine differences at the margins, plus time. And then, at the centre, are traditions and processes which people barely know why they do, both for good and ill. 🤔