Posted by Jaynee on October 1, 2002, at 11:07:22
In reply to Re: Help!!! What do I do now?, posted by Jaynee on October 1, 2002, at 11:03:37
Symptoms vary, but many Hemochromatotics experience chronic fatigue, joint and abdominal pains, diminished memory and disorientation for many years before diagnosis. In later years there could be some degree of hearing loss. Frequently, HHC is not identified as the underlying cause of disorders such as hepatitis, diabetes, gall bladder, menstrual and thyroid problems, polycythemia and iron deficiency.
As some sufferers exhibit pronounced mood swings and other personality changes such as severe depression or anger, they can be incorrectly treated for mental illness. In some cases Alzheimer's has been suspected. ONLY THE CORRECT TESTS will provide the key!
Frequently one of the earliest symptoms is arthritis of the knuckles of the first and second fingers.
The liver, heart, endocrine glands (glands of internal secretion, such as the pancreas), skin and joints are principally affected, and liver cirrhosis, cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle), diabetes mellitus, hypogonadism (deficient activity of testis or ovary) and arthritis are the usual manifestations.(iii) Common causes of death are cardiac failure, arrhythmia (irregularity in the beating of the heart), hepatic (liver) failure, hepatoma (tumour of the liver) or other malignancy, or the complications of diabetes.(iii) Before the advent of insulin, diabetes topped the list; today victims who are not discovered in the pre-cirrhotic stage, invariably die of hepatoma. Perhaps one of the most tragic affects is that of testicular atrophy in men and premature menopause in woman. Loss of libido may often antedate the other clinical manifestations of the disease.(iv)
Jul-01
poster:Jaynee
thread:121728
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020930/msgs/121807.html