HEMOCHROMATOSIS CARE

Doctor (D) : Mrs. Henry. Come on in please and have a seat. How are you doing ?

Patient (P) : I’m afraid I’m not feeling very well, and so my pharmacist advised me to take vitamin C supplements.

(D) : Your GP has forwarded me your blood tests yesterday, and we need to talk about that. (P) : I’m all ears.

(D) : Your tests reveal a high transferrin saturation level, which is the amount of iron in your blood. (P) : And so, I might be suffering from hemochromatosis, like my brother.

(D) : Maybe so. But let me first ask you a couple of questions to try and give a definite diagnosis. Are you ok with that ?

(P) : Sure, please go ahead.

(D) : Ok. So, can you tell me what symptoms are bothering you on a daily basis ?

(P) : I always feel tired, a bit depressed, my joints are sometimes a bit painful and I have irregular periods every now and then. I think I have also lost a little bit of weight.

(D) : From what you’re telling me, and according to the blood tests, and also since you have a family history for hemochromatosis, I guess we can’t rule out this condition. But the most urgent thing right now for you is to stop taking the vitamin C supplements as they favor the absorption of iron that is already in excess in your body.

(P) : And I guess I have to go through some treatment.

(D) : Yes. I’ll be advising lifestyle measures and other medical procedures for that, since, you might know, there’s currently no cure for hemochromatosis.

(P) : I’m afraid my life would go upside down then.

(D) : Not as much as you think.

(P) : Therefore, what treatment do you suggest ?

(D) : Basically, there are 2 main options. Either phlebotomy, that’s a procedure to remove some of your blood, and which may need to be done weekly at first, and maybe 2 to 4 times a year for the rest of your life; or chelation therapy, where you take medicine to reduce the amount of iron in your body; we’ll use this only if phlebotomy can’t be easily done.

(P) : And what about diet therapy ?

(D) : You do not need to make any big changes to your diet to control your iron level if you’re having treatment, but you'll usually have to avoid breakfast cereals containing added iron, iron or vitamin C supplements and drinking too much alcohol. But the good thing here is, that since your condition has been diagnosed and will be treated early on, it will not affect your life expectancy and is unlikely to result in serious problems, like diabetes, cirrhosis or heart failure.

(P) : And are there any other daily measures that I should comply with ?

(D) : Maybe just have a healthy, balanced diet, and also be careful not to eat raw sea food. Not much of a change, you see, after all.

(P) : Fine by me.