Too much iron is bad for you
Too much iron is bad for you |
| Monday, 13 August 2012 16:12 |
| Andrew Chapman knows about loose iron. His magnificent photographic study of Australia’s woolsheds includes many sheets of rusting corrugated iron. But Andrew had iron problems of his own.
Haemochromatosis is a scary long word. It means inherited iron overload disorder. About 1 in every 200 Australians have the genes and may experience chronic fatigue and aching joints. If they load up more iron they may develop liver problems, diabetes, arthritis, heart problems and loss of sexual functions. Andrew didn’t know he had haemochromatosis until 2001. He been becoming unreasonably tired. A diagnosis of extremely high iron levels in his blood led to 10 years of regular health management and slowly regaining the strength that he had lost. Then, in late December of 2010, his liver began to fail. By early February the following year he was lying in a coma with only two days to live when a donor liver became available. He received the transplant and his life was saved. But if Andrew had been diagnosed with haemochromatosis when he was younger, before he built up an iron overload, he need never had had this trouble. Management consultant Alan Hough, 52, from Botany in New South Wales, was first diagnosed with Hereditary Haemochromatosis when he was 43. For Alan, his diagnosis has been a good luck story, diagnosed at a relatively early age before damage had been done to his body’s organs. It has also been a good luck story for his father, who was also diagnosed with the disease and subsequently began treatment, after the recommended testing of family members. Alan says that he is very grateful to be have been diagnosed early, and finds the quarterly program of venesection (removal of blood) to be a small price to pay to manage the condition. Unfortunately this condition is often overlooked. Many people, like Andrew, have years of fatigue and ill health before they are diagnosed. Sometimes it is too late. August 13th to 19th is Haemochromatosis Awareness Week. Haemochromatosis Australia, the not-for-profit support and advocacy group, is keen to make people more aware of the condition. Their message is For more information visit www.haemochromatosis.org.au or call the Haemochromatosis Information Line 1300 019 028 ### Andrew Chapman is happy to discuss his experience with haemochromatosis on air. He may be contacted on (03) 9752 1492 Mob. 0418 557 590, [email protected] , www.bigcheez.com.au Alan Hough may be contacted on (02) 9316.9924 – 0407 132.848 For more information on haemochromatosis Ben Marris, President Haemochromatosis Australia HAEMOCHROMATOSIS AWARENESS WEEK PUBLIC INFORMATION EVENTS Sydney Information Session and AGM Port Macquarie Information Session Brisbane Haemochromatosis Seminar Hobart Art Exhibition Adelaide Information Session Perth Information Session Sunshine Coast, Queensland Information Session Melbourne Information Session Gold Coast Information Session HAEMOCHROMATOSIS AUSTRALIA • It is a not for profit group run entirely by volunteers. The groups medical advisors include some of the leading academics and clinicians in the field of haemochromatosis, including – Prof Emeritus Lawrie Powell, Prof John Olynyk, Prof Martin Delatycki, Prof Darrell Crawford, Prof Katie Allen For more information www.haemochromatosis.org,au HAEMOCHROMATOSIS Early symptoms include joint pains, fatigue, weakness and sexual dysfunction. If untreated it can lead to serious and potentially fatal symptoms including diabetes, liver cancer and cirrhosis, heart failure and osteoarthritis. Despite being so common (one in 200 have the genetic pre-disposition) it is not well known and is frequently overlooked. Often only the individual symptoms are treated and the underlying cause is not recognised. Tests for the condition are simple and cheap. If iron studies show raised ferritin on two occasions, or if a first degree relative is diagnosed, then then a genetic test is covered by Medicare. If people are diagnosed early and treated then haemochromatosis is no barrier to a normal healthy life. Treatment is simple, drug free and uncontroversial. Regular venesection, like giving blood at a blood bank, unloads iron. Often this can be done at the Red Cross Blood Service and the blood is useful. |