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John Dennis <[log in to unmask]> asked:

>  My copy of Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary defines HC as "a
>  disorder of iron metabolism characterized by excess deposition or iron
>  in the tissues, especially in the liver and pancreas, and by bronze
>  pigmentation of the skin, cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, and associated
>  bone and joint changes."  Could it be that Tim Casey has overstated the
>  similarities between CD and HC?

Tim Casey of the Hemochromatosis Foundation <[log in to unmask]> replied:

I did not mean to imply that HC & CD were similar in their cause or effects.
I was actually commenting on the similar reaction to the two by the medical
community described in your original letter--regarded as "too rare," "not
testable," "the patient couldn't possibly know better than the doctor," etc.
It was just "ironic" ;-) that both diseases originate in the duodendum.  It
is interesting, though, that many HC patients report the same sort of
gastric problems you have described.  I doubt there is a link, but it is a
curious coincidence.  Have you or any of your associates ever scored high on
a blood test called the 'TIBC Saturation'?