I’m not suggesting that you do have hemochromatosis, only that it should be ruled out.

Here’s how it went for my husband: shoulder injury lead to a scan of some sort. That scan showed a spot on his lung which lead to another scan. The lung was fine but in that broader scan, his liver appeared black! We were concerned that it was liver cancer or cirrhosis. A biopsy was performed and that’s when it was discovered that his liver was loaded with iron. He underwent over thirty phlebotomies over the course of several months to remove the iron. Think of it like getting an oil change. This was about twenty years ago and I feel certain he’d be dead by now if this hadn’t been discovered in a random way.

Currently he gets his levels checked (TIBC, ferritin and percent saturation) every two months or so and if out of range, off loads some blood and makes more. Diet is not a significant factor (according to his doctors).

Prior to menopause, women shed blood regularly and make new but that changes later in life. If a person is eligible it can be idea to donate blood-mainly because it helps another human being but it can also be benefial to the donor.

When hemochromatosis is mentioned to some doctors, they look at the patient and say “I don’t think you have that” but without the separate iron panel blood tests, they can’t know.

Best wishes,
Cindy