New in the UK

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New in the UK
« on: August 08, 2010, 12:52:45 PM »
Hello, I'm an American living in the UK. My doctor here just diagnosed me with Alpha Thal after months of blood tests and two months of iron therapy. I'm still not exactly sure what it's all about or what kind I have, etc. As a background I'm 34 year old male. The Dr. said all of my levels were within normal ranges, iron, hemoglobin, etc. but that there was some swelling in my blood and that my liver had enzymes? and my spleen was a bit swollen. I was told that I have "lots of small pale red blood cells". I've just had more blood work done to determine if the "blood swelling" is due to any sort of arthritis. I don't fit any ethnic profile for Thal that I've been told so it all seems a bit odd.

However I did have severe kidney stones 10 years ago and again last year that seemed odd for my age, and I wasn't consuming anything in any decent amount that would cause them. I also am fatigued a lot, and sick very often, and have bad pains in my elbow and wrist joints. When I was 7 I had thumb-sized red spots on my legs that made me unable to walk for a short time. No one really knew what it was at the time, and I remember being told something to the affect that my "blood cells were bursting" granted, I was a child. I've also been vegetarian since I was 12 and vegan for the last 7 years (although I'm back to being just a vegetarian now).

Maybe none of that has anything to do with Thal, I'm just trying to figure it all out. It does seem to be a reason behind some of my health problems, but maybe it's not like that.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2010, 04:07:10 PM by blehpunk »

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Offline Andy Battaglia

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Re: New and confused in the UK
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2010, 02:10:32 PM »
Hi blehpunk,

It does very much sound like alpha thal trait. We have a list of foods, drugs and chemicals to avoid with alpha thal. It is thought that alpha trait is mostly asymptomatic but from what we hear in our group, this is not always the case. Check this link and try to avoid what is on this list because they can cause a higher rate of blood turnover. The small, pale blood cells will already have a higher turnover rate and these substances can accelerate this. The one thing you should absolutely supplement is folic acid, as this does help build red blood cells and is always recommended in alpha thal. You should also read some of the posts here from others who have the same condition. I do believe that most of the health issues you mention are related to alpha trait, but aside from folic acid, little is known to improve things for alpha thals. Hopefully, the doctor has discontinued the iron, as it will not have any positive effect unless you are also iron deficient and this can be determined by an iron panel (blood tests).
Andy

All we are saying is give thals a chance.

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Offline nice friend

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Re: New in the UK
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2010, 04:30:55 AM »
Hi blehpunk,
 :welcome2 , i hope you'll find this site very helpful .. dont hesitate to post your question and feel free if you wanna share sumthing with us ... i hope to hear more from you in future ...

Best Regards
Tale Care
Umair
Sometimes , God breaks our spirit to save our soul.
Sometimes , He breaks our heart to make us whole.
Sometimes , He sends us pain so we can be stronger.
Sometimes , He sends us failure so we can be humble.
Sometimes , He sends us illness so we can take better care of our selves.
Sometimes , He takes everything away from us so we can learn the value of everything we have.

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Umair

 

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