I Am Iron Man ...er Woman

[kitten_kaboodle]

I found out last week that I have hereditary hemachromatosis. It's a fairly rare genetic disorder that means I absorb iron too well. That doesn't sound bad, except that the body doesn't have a way to filter iron from the blood. It just keeps floating around, stores itself in the bone marrow and in your organs (liver, kidneys, heart, brain).

Comments

[sideband]

So... maybe you could "cure" yourself by donating blood once a month? Seems that'd get rid of the blood, and go to a good cause, too.

Just a thought...

[kitten_kaboodle]

Unfortunately, the Red Cross can't use my blood. I'm not sure if it is because of the high iron or if it's because the condition is genetic, or what, but there it is. I asked, because both of my parents have always been big donators. I have only donated once and it was a big ordeal (because my veins are absolutely BURIED and hard to find) and the main reason I still have trouble (22 years later) even having blood drawn.

[kitten_kaboodle]

Do you know if his is genetic? Some people have the gene for it and some don't.