Dear Carmi,
It is nice to have you on this site. I am glad that you have found all of this information.
Please be assured that most of the severe symptoms discussed on this board are regarding thalassemia major and intermedia patients. Many thalassemia minor (carriers) are not even aware that they have thalassemia minor and they tend to live very normal lives. Also note that thalassemia trait is inherited which means that at least one of your parents & grandparents etc etc is also a thalassemia minor. Therefore your siblings, cousins etc may also be carriers. If your other family members are fine then you most likely will be as well.
For myself and my family, thalassemia minor has not been an issue. We all grew up very athletic, we are all married and most of us have children. My thal minor grandmother is 80 years old and going strong. My greatest concern is that I married a thal minor so one of my children has inherited thalassemia major. We have had some troubles with him but on the whole (thank god) he is very healthy and not much different than other children.
A few thal minors have symptoms with thalassemia, but usually if it is coupled with other problems such as sickle cell or thyroid problems. In your case, I think that you will be just fine. Yes thal minor can cause some anemia, but because we have had these hg levels all of our lives our bodies learn to accommodate. And yes, we can have some fatigue but I don't really know when to attribute that to thalassemia. My non thal friends complain about fatigue much more than I do - and the heroic thal minor moms that are on this website do MUCH more than any parent I know. My mom has thal minor, and she is 5'7" and a force to be reckoned with!!! She is tougher than anyone I know. I can't say much about the bruising, I don't think I bruise any easier than other people but you can discuss it with your health care provider.
I hope that I have reassured you that a 'diagnosis of thalassemia minor' does not mean that you have suddenly contracted a terrible disease and illness. It has always been there in you and your family. If you feel other symptoms please have them checked. Have a balanced diet, excercise and take the supplements that are talked about on this site and you should be just fine. One implication of thal minor is that you may need to be careful in selecting a mate because if you marry a thal minor you have 25% chance of have a thal major child.
Once again, it is really nice to have you on the website and I hope we can help you in dealing with any fears you may have had and that we can help you in addressing any other concerns. I am sure Andy can give you a lot more information. I'm sure that your future will be a lot sunnier than you were thinking when you were told about the thalassemia minor.
All the best and keep posting!!
Sharmin
