The irony is that both testing and treatment for iron overload are simple. When serious iron overload cases are first caught, experts say, the patient may need to give up one or two units of blood a week. Once the iron level drops to normal, blood is drawn about once every three months. Iron overload occurs because the defective gene interferes with the normal function of the intestinal lining and allows too much iron to pass through to the bloodstream, where it is carried to certain organs that are sensitive to it, especially the liver. The iron causes inflammation, which damages the organs.
Many patients go for years thinking their symptoms are due to stress.
Harry Kieffer of Cordele, Ga., got that medical assessment when he saw his doctor due to fatigue, joint pain, irregular heartbeat and migraines. We thought we were being good to ourselves, but were compounding the problem. The American Academy of Pathology in 1996 called for doctors and hospitals to run iron-status tests on all new patients, but there has been little movement in that direction. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say there must be better safeguards in place to prevent discrimination by insurance companies before widespread screening can begin. But they say anyone who shows symptoms, or has a relative with the disease, should ask for a test.