Hemochromatosis Support Group
Hemochromatosis is a hereditary disease characterized by improper processing by the body of dietary iron which causes iron to accumulate in a number of body tissues, eventually causing organ dysfunction. It is the main iron overload disorder. Hemochromatosis is notorious for having symptoms that are often initially misattributed to other diseases.
Is anybody having leg pains that are most probably connected to HH. I have lots of brown spots and indentations on my legs that were at first thought to be from faulty veins. I had a full bilateral ultrasound which showed my veins to be great and the vein doctor said it must be from the HH since he could not come up with any other reason for the leg damage and the pain.
I have brown spots on my legs but no indentations. Before I was diagnosed with HH I used to joke with people that I was going rusty - it really looked as though I was. The rusty spots diminish when my ferritin levels are below 50.
For around 4 years now I have had terrible pains when walking for more than about 5 or 10 minutes and eventually I had a scan which showed that I have bone degeneration in my feet. I get pains up my shins too, to around half way up. My ankles are weak - I have sprained one of them about 3 times now and I have learnt to always watch the ground when I am walking. Since I have been having treatment I still have pain as the bones won't repair, but at least they are not getting worse.
The only other symptom that I get when my ferritin levels are high are really terrible cramps in my calves, especially when I am waking up. Again, these reduce when my ferritin levels are below 50.
I hope you can find a way of managing your pain and keeping your symptoms at bay as best you can.
Christine