what are the symptoms of too much iron?
I get asked this question quite a bit. The truth is, I was feeling run down for several years and was experiencing joint pain in my hands, knees, and ankles for several years, and nobody could tell me why. One doctor told me it was from being deconditioned from sitting at a desk all day (I have an exciting job….)
I chalked the fatigue and aches and pains to long work hours, being out of shape and a high level of stress. I did nothing about it.
Then one day my wife signed me up for a full physical with my doctor. My doctor ran the normal battery of tests including a blood panel. She was shocked by the results. My Iron levels were off the charts. She had me do more tests and asked me to read up on Hemochromatosis as this was a possible cause for the iron overload in my blood. Further tests revealed it was in fact hereditary hemochromatosis and that my liver function was elevated from the strain…
Luckily after 6 months of regular (3 or 4 times a month), my iron levels came down, my fatigue lessened as did my joint pain. Most importantly, my liver function came back down to within normal levels. I wish I could say that after a year that my fatigue is gone and the joint pain too…. They are not, but it is much better. I'd take the healthy liver any day….
Some people experience a different range of symptoms. Here is a more complete list that I found on the Mayo Clinic website.
How to diagnose hemochromatosis?
This is some signs and hemochromatosis symptoms include:
- Arthritis, especially in your hands
- Chronic fatigue
- Loss of sex drive (libido) or impotence
- Lack of normal menstruation (amenorrhea)
- Abdominal bread
- High blood sugar levels
- Low thyroid function (hypothyroidism)
- Abnormal liver function tests, even if no other symptoms are present
- Cirrhosis - a condition marked by irreversible scarring of the liver
- Liver failure
- Liver cancer
- Diabetes
- Congestive heart failure
- Cardiac arrhythmia
In advanced stages of the disease, you may develop serious conditions such as:
Some people with advanced hemochromatosis develop a bronze color to their skin it called hemochromatosis bronze skin when iron deposits in the skin cells produce excess melanin - the pigment that gives skin its normal color. Visible iron deposits can also make skin appear gray.
Oh, and one final point: I did not have the decreased libido. I just thought it made for a racy headline… ...
And if you're going through menopause, learn how to avoid most of the discomfort here…
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