The Iron Disorders Institute Guide to Hemochromatosis: A Genetic Disorder of Iron Metabolism [Paperback]

Wylie Burke (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1581821603 | ISBN-13: 978-1581821604 | Publication Date: April 2001 | Edition: 1

Hemochromatosis is one of modern medicine's greatest oversights. A disorder that few Americans are able to pronounce at first glance, it is an inherited disorder of iron metabolism, not a blood disease, that can be fatal if not detected in time. Commonly misdiagnosed as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, impotence, depression, and liver disease, hereditary hemochromatosis is common in people of northern European descent and is most prominent among the Scotch-Irish.

The Iron Disorders Institute Guide to Hemochromatosis is a reference book for home use. It contains helpful charts, diet and nutritional information, treatment guidelines, a glossary of terms, and compelling personal stories of people living with the disorder. Written by the top researchers and experts in university and research hospitals from all over the United States, it is destined to become the definitive source for information about the disorder for millions of families worldwide.

Undetected hemochromatosis frequently is fatal, and that is why it is emerging as one of the most important health issues of the new millenium. It's real, it's common, and it can kill you.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cheryl Garrison is an artist, writer, and cofounder and Vice President of Educational Development of the Iron Disorders Institute. The editor of the Iron Disorders Institute's publications, read worldwide by physicians and patients alike, she lives in Clyde, North Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Cumberland House; 1 edition (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581821603
• ISBN-13: 978-1581821604
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last, just what the patient ordered!, January 13, 2002

By 

Cheryl Mellan (Marietta, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Iron Disorders Institute Guide to Hemochromatosis: A Genetic Disorder of Iron Metabolism (Paperback)

I am absolutely delighted with the Iron Disorders Institute
"Guide to Hemochromatosis"!

It has been three years since our family first heard the word
"hemochromatosis", and in that time I have searched public
and hospital libraries as well as the Internet in an attempt to
find factual, non-partisan, current information; comprehendible
by a layperson. I have sifted through clinical information beyond my level of understanding, as well as reams of half-truths, non-truths and sheer conjecture.

What an education, at such an affordable price! I sincerely
appreciate the fact that the Iron DisorderS Institute has offered
the knowledge that there are MANY disorders of iron metabolism,
not ONLY the one that genetically affects our family. They
have offered education in the form of charts, diet and nutritional information; COMPLETE understandable clinical information.

The CDC tells us "Approximately one of every 200 to 400 people
is affected, while one in 10 is a carrier making this one of the most common of the known genetic disorders in the United States". Sadly, it is one of the most MISSED diagnoses. With educational materials like this book offered by experts in the field, I feel hope and confidence that my husband will successfully deal with his diagnosis; our daughters will never experience what their dad has because of their KNOWLEDGE; and for our grandchildren, iron overload will be something they deal with through lifestyle choices and yearly monitoring - it will never hurt them. Perhaps most important, what a gift to an unsuspecting public, so many of whom carry this genetic mutation, and have yet to find that illusive, lifesaving diagnosis!

My most sincere thanks!
Cheryl Mellan,

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Iron Disorders Institute "Guide to Hemochromatosis", August 13, 2001

By 

kay cash (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iron Disorders Institute Guide to Hemochromatosis: A Genetic Disorder of Iron Metabolism (Paperback)

The Iron Disorders Institute "Guide to Hemochromatosis" is a cogent book. The cover gets ones attention immediately, as it lists the symptoms on the cover. When my daddy died on July 4, 2000, I had never heard of Hemochromatosis, I am 57. He was diagnosed, too late, on July 1, 2000. After a zillion hours of searching the Internet about Hemochromatosis, I came away very angry about this "most common genetic disorder, because it is basically unknown by the layman and underdiagnosed by the medical profession, 1/250 have it and don't know it, and 1/10 carry the gene," per the CDC. (Many professionals still call it a "rare old man's disease.") Excuse me, but women have Hemochromatosis also. All that was needed was for my daddy to have had an early diagnosis, and give blood to reduce his iron level. This book is the most comprehensive and up-to-date information that the layman can read about Hemochromatosis. And the layman had better read it, because their doctors don't know about its prevelence, and many don't know to test for it. Instead the doctors continue to "well-meaningly" treat the patient's symptoms. Simple blood tests that are described in the book, can diagnose Hemochromatosis. The individual must arm themselves with this book's information and help educate their doctor. In fact, I have bought "Guide to Hemochromatosis" for a few doctors.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Iron Disorders Institute Guide to Hemochromatosis, January 23, 2002

By 

James E Hines (South Lancaster, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iron Disorders Institute Guide to Hemochromatosis: A Genetic Disorder of Iron Metabolism (Paperback)

At long last, a single source of invaluable information about diagnosis and treatment of Hemochromatosis along with many personal trials and tribulations of those who have experienced the frustrations of obtaining an appropriate diagnosis. "The Iron Disorders Institute's Guide to Hemochromatosis" is a tremendously welcome resource. I was so impressed I purchased 7 additional copies for my 5 adult children and 2 of the RNs who conduct my frequent phlebotomies.

I'm also relieved that newly diagnosed "Rusties" do not have to go through the agony of research as I did back in 1979 when I was diagnosed as a result of my younger sister's autopsy results. There was scant information available in the medical journals of the period. I recall one occasion spending more than 4 hours in a medical library only to locate a single 2 year old article about Hemochromatosis, which was replete with statements that have since been proved mythical. No one will have to endure that again with the advent of IDI's "Guide".

The "Web" has certainly provided considerably more accessibility to Hemochromatosis information, yet much of what is available still has to be validated. The "Guide to Hemochromatosis" overcomes this problem by providing in a single-source forthright testimony, easy-to-understand charts and time-tested data contributed by highly recognized scientists in their fields.

The "Guide" can reduce, even eliminate, the frustration often experienced when trying to convince a family member of how crucial it is for having the appropriate blood tests conducted to determine stored iron levels. The feedback I've received from those whom I have given this book to has been overwhelmingly positive. There is little doubt as to the value of this book in one's arsenal for educating loved ones about the insidiousness of excess iron and the damage iron can do to the human body.

I found that one can simply read individual chapters in no particular order and assimilate a plethora of knowledge without being bogged down in technical jargon. This book relates well on a very personal level. I can not emphasize enough the value of this book. It commands a highly visible location in my reading library, replacing the "Reader's Digest".

I also highly recommend this book as being very germane to every individual, worldwide, who has Irish, Scottish, or English ancestry.