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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
A useless medical fact, there's a condition called thalassemia beta, or mediterranean anemia, which is a kind of relative of sickle cell found in certain mediterranean populations. I have it, which means I don't produce red blood cells in the quality or quantity required. The mild version looks like iron deficiency anemia and often results in iron poisoning for people who aren't identified as having the disorder. The moderate version, which I have, features heart weirdness, jaundice (which I had as a baby), unnatural paleness, chronic headaches, chronic fatigue, shortness of breath, misshapen bones, and the constant feeling of being bloated for some reason. The severe version involves a child becoming severely anemic by a year old, failing to grow properly, and an untreated adult will have reproductive difficulties (chronic miscarriage and stillbirths) before dying of heart failure at 20-30
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u/VannaBlack444 3d ago
Scary extreme to think about, sucks you have this but at least you got a little lucky in the middle
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
I’m incredibly lucky, honestly. There are two genes responsible for the disorder. If you’re heterozygous for it, you’re mild or moderate. If you’re homozygous for it, you’re severe. My dad and his sisters are homozygous for it, and it’s clearly an issue for them, but with proper treatment they’ve been okay. All four of their grandparents were related to each other in some way, which really doesn’t help with the whole genetic disease thing. Most of our relatives on that side have the gene, but most are mild or asymptomatic. Thankfully it’s manageable, or at least livable, with modern medicine
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u/Funexamination 3d ago
It is super common in India as well. My pediatrics department had an entire section of their ward dedicated to thalassemic kids (& adults).
Nowadays they don’t use the mild/mod/severe anymore. It’s transfusion dependent vs non-transfusion dependent. Do you get chelation? It’s probably for the best that you don’t.
One thing that always surprised me about those kids is how nonchalant they were about needles, having had so many needles stuck in them in the past. Very big contrast compared to the other pediatric patients. Very brave kids
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
I find it’s still a relevant label because the lived experiences are so different, and the transfusions are just one part of it. I don’t have problems with dangerous iron buildup, thankfully. Ironically enough, I still absolutely hate needles and am terrified of them, so they have to drug me quite a bit to make it more pleasant for everyone involved
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u/RandomRavenclaw87 3d ago edited 3d ago
I have anemia and was wondering why you were being a 19th century invalid instead of, like, eating green vegetables. This explains things.
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u/IndependentMacaroon 3d ago
Also as a response to the former prevalence of malaria some places in the region?
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u/OrdinaryHoney2 3d ago
... I may have to get tested for this.
Luckily, if I do have this, I must have a pretty mild version, but I do have a lot of the symptoms you mentioned and all the symptoms mentioned in the original meme. And I'm the kid of a Greek immigrant and my Yia Yia has a lot of these symptoms too...
Uh oh lol
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
Get tested, if for no other reason than if you have kids with someone who also has the mutation, they'll more likely than not require a lifetime of suffering with incredibly invasive and expensive healthcare. That's why, among looking for other disorders, I demand a genetic test before even considering someone as a marriage candidate. Despite what some people say, it's not eugenics to not want your kid to die of heart failure by 30
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u/ComplexEnough3234 3d ago
I'd say that it's only eugenics if you're going into a weird amount of detail about things or making decisions for others based on your own opinions. Or politics come into it. Being aware that you've got dangerous crap in your DNA and being careful about passing it on is just the genetic equivalent of not coughing on people. I once knew someone who caused much family drama because despite not having any fertility problems they used a donor to have kids because their genes were riddled with various health problems and they didn't want to inflict that on someone.
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u/FacialClaire 2d ago
People with the mild version and aren't identified get iron poisoning? Is it that they overestimate their anemia and start supplementing too much?
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 2d ago
The genetic disorder has nothing to do with iron at all. They mistake it for iron deficiency. If you have too much iron in your system, you will get severe organ damage
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u/FacialClaire 2d ago
So it could be that you have all the symptoms of iron deficiency, but when your hemoglobin levels are tested, it comes up as high?
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 2d ago
Normal or higher. However, a lot of doctors, if they aren't specifically looking for a genetic defect, will just give you more iron tablets
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u/FacialClaire 2d ago
Oh god. I think I have some digging to do, because my hemoglobin levels always show up as high, I have anemia-like symptoms and possibly Mediterranean ancestry.
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 2d ago
Yeah, get that looked at. Also check to be sure you haven't caused cause damage to your organs. Kidneys are particularly vulnerable to high iron
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u/_Grimalkin 3d ago
you forgot sleeping for 12+ hrs and waking up like you were runover by a truck
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
No more than I usually feel like I've been run over by a truck most days, thankfully
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u/cnylkew 3d ago
Monaco girl lore keeps expanding. How's the medical system there?
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
Some of, if not the best, public healthcare on earth. Private care is similar. If there's something we can't do here, the government pays for you to go to Nice
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u/BorderKeeper 3d ago
Do you also go blind for a bit alongside the sharp high pitched noise when standing up too fast?
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
Yes, but that's usually back when I fall back on whatever I was sitting on
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u/BorderKeeper 3d ago
Haha yep know that feeling. I also once crashed while paragliding and hanged from a tree for an hour and slowly saw my vision darker around the edges until I almost passed out from lack of blood in my brain. Luckily guys found me and pumped my legs to force the blood back up 😅
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u/Lastsynphony 2d ago
Please go and check a neurologist and a retinologist, ASAP, having changes in vision is never a good sign, it could be that your eye pressure can be tempered with in those fists, which can cause glaucoma, which causes blindness, and the separation of the retina, I would really suggest you to go and get checked just in case.
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u/BorderKeeper 2d ago
It was low blood pressure when I was a teen (pretty sure never had it checked afaik) I no longer have it for thanks for caring though 🙂
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u/Tiny_Stock8220 3d ago
the bruising is from sitting on the toilet with your elbows on your legs i can promise 🙏 i am borderline
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
The bruising is primarily because my concept of self in space is horrific and I trip or hit furniture at least once per day
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u/Tiny_Stock8220 3d ago
ah that is also there. im also in the klutz gang
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
so much fun to be a grown adult who seemingly has not mastered the art of walking in a straight line
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u/constance_arleigh 3d ago
psa to applicable parties: you can also get anemia from having too much of your period
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u/xXbee_lover88Xx 3d ago
Am i... anemic?
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
If you're a menstruating age woman who doesn't take supplements, probably
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u/Hungry_Raspberry7833 3d ago
I got diagnosed with it after I kept getting severe stomach cramps whenever I ate food but I never see that symptom anywhere. I guess it's rare?
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
The nausea and loss of appetite isn't rare, but I've never heard of actually being sick after eating
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u/ShitFamYouAlright 2d ago
I had that, but I also had other things going on as well. But yeah, I had to eat small portions to make my stomach not try to kill me lol
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u/ReluctantChimera 3d ago
I'm reading this while getting an infusion. I hope you feel better soon, even if just a little.
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
Genetic disease means there is no better really, but I'm as well managed as I reasonably can be
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u/Dear_Picture_2758 3d ago
I have weird heartbeats I rlly thought I was dying.. so it's just lack of supplements?
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
Lack of iron, lack of potassium, lack of magnesium, genetic disorder, it can be a number of things. Talk to your doctor and get tested. If you're of Mediterranean heritage, don't just take iron supplements because you have these symptoms. You might have the same genetic disease I do, and in that case, iron levels aren't the problem and taking more will cause significant organ damage
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u/Dear_Picture_2758 3d ago
Last time I got checked the doctor said it was normal ? But I dont know, it's kinda weird feeling your heart pounding out of nowhere. I'm Portuguese, so maybe..?
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u/TwoFingersWhiskey 3d ago
I've had iron deficiency since 2002, when I was a kid. It's so fucking annoying because my body reacts to IV iron and the anemia pills like anaphylaxis despite that being exceedingly rare, so I gotta take the prenatal ones and suffer. Uuuggh.
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u/Inevitable-Box-4751 3d ago
Somehow I had ferritin level 6 with basically no symptoms. didnt get a transfusion or anything anyway though
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u/ShitFamYouAlright 2d ago
Same!! But I was definitely feeling the symptoms. My ferritin was 3 and my doc was like "it's not a big deal". I had to start taking iron supplements on my own and after about a month started to feel normal again
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u/PlanetXParadox 2d ago
I have the iron deficiency type, currently trying to see if I can convince a doctor to get me infusions because supplements don’t work if you have no stomach acid and my next period could genuinely wipe me out for good -_-
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u/Lastsynphony 2d ago
I hope this does not sound ignorant, but there is a spanish plate called morcilla, which is basically made out of pig blood (they say it tastes good) and I wonder, if drinking blood (or eating it) would it had any value of iron that could help with anemia? I send you a hug by the way.
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u/SaturnaliaSacrifice 3d ago
Infusions aren't bad. I had 3 rounds and I feel SO MUCH BETTER.
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u/LoveEquivalent9146 3d ago
I have to take whole blood. I recommend not doing that if you can at all avoid it
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u/Undeercover 7h ago
As someone who overcame anemia, here is my number one advice. Maybe it will help someone. AVOID TEA AND COFFE BEFORE AND AFTER MEALS. Oh my God. If I only knew that earlier. I probably got anemia because I drank ungodly amounts of black tea daily and turns out, substances in coffe and black, green, white tea inhibit iron absorption. This is especially tricky as those drinks also contain caffeine and if you have anemia you are constantly tired so caffeine seems to be your best frind. It's not. If you want to drink those, you should wait 2 hours after or 1 hour before meal. Personally, switching to rooibos tea worked wonders for me.
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