[ZX5chica]

darkpuppet,Nov 29 2006, 03:11 PM Wrote:I'd rather be a regular donor than go on blood thinners.

question tho... could this be caused by dehydration?  I played beach volleyball the night before, which is a) extremely high exertion and b ) takes about a day to get my hydration levels back to square one. 

but don't get me wrong, I drink a lot of water, but my system uses a lot... I have friends that could survive with one water bottle on the same bike rides I'd be consuming nearly 4L of....
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No, it wouldn't be caused by dehydration... the point is that there is too much iron in your system.... I talked about the 4 iron molecule that bind to the hemoglobin molecule... well, essentially you have more than these necessary 4 molecules (maybe you have 5-6 iron per hemoglobin). The iron has nowhere else to go, so it builds up in your other organs, and could lead to potential problems such as organ failure (worse case scenario... don't get scared).

Hemochromatosis is caused by a gene mutation... therefor, it's genetic. There do not seem to be any other causes. As for treatment, I looked it up in some books for you, and the main treatment is intensive blood donation for a period of up to one year (ie: donating a few pints on a monthly basis), and then once your iron levels are normalized, you become a maintenance donor, donating every few months.

The reason the blood donation works is because when you lose blood, your body senses that you need more (it's funny how we work, really). So it starts to create more hemoglobin molecules... which allow you to take these iron deposits from your organs to be used to create the molecules... therefor, it gets rid of any of the excess molecules by creating and ridding your body of blood.

Eventually, your iron levels will regulate. Don't worry though... this is a bit more in depth than you may have wanted me to go, but rest assured, you're going to be fine!!