Patient with ‘iron overload’ finds relief donating blood
Dr. Keith Roach
Question: I’m a 59-year-old Caucasian woman. My iron level was tested, at my request, during my recent annual physical. The results showed that both my iron and iron saturation were high. My physician ordered a ferritin level and a hereditary hemochromatosis DNA test. The ferritin came back normal, but the hereditary hemochromatosis DNA test came back indicating that “two copies of H63D mutation were identified.”
My doctor was uncertain about these results, so he consulted with my gastroenterologist, who said, “If her ferritin is normal, she does not have hemochromatosis.” This still left me with no action plan as to what to do about having too much iron. So, I decided to see a liver specialist just to be certain about whether I have an issue that needs to be addressed. In the meantime, I gave blood, and the next day I felt like a million bucks. — A.
Answer: Hereditary hemochromatosis is a genetic condition in which iron is absorbed at too high a rate, even when iron levels are normal. Based on the genetic test, you have two abnormal copies of the gene, but because you don’t have iron overload (the ferritin is the best test for iron overload), you are unlikely to develop any problems. The abnormal gene mutation you have two copies of, the H63D, confers a lower risk than the more severe genetic abnormality C282Y.
Only about 1 percent of women with your genes will have iron overload, versus 50 percent of women (and 85 percent of men) with two copies of C282Y. Women tend to develop symptoms of iron overload later in life than men do, since they are partially protected by menstrual blood loss. However, premenopausal women can develop iron overload, especially those with the C282Y mutations. Donating blood periodically is fine; since your iron levels are slightly high, you will help others and might also help yourself by donating.
Q: What is the problem if a person eats ice regularly? I read once that it might be a deficiency in a vitamin or something else? — J.T.
A: Ice eating, a specific form of pica (a condition where people crave and eat substances of no nutritional value), is associated with several nutritional deficiencies, but the most common is iron deficiency.
One study showed that eating ice improves alertness in those with iron deficiency anemia; however, ice eating is not good at all for your teeth. Also, any iron deficiency should prompt a search for where the iron is being lost.