<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
Note:   I am not a physician (yet).   Just a very well informed patient who
rescued himself from medical misdiagnosis by reading relevant medical
research and persisting against great opposition by doctors determined not
to "waste" money on "unnecessary" medical tests.   My "qualifications" are
that I was eventually proven right on every point by numerous objective
tests (MRI, liver biopsy, etc. etc.)    I can supply references for the
ideas below from the mainstream medical literature for anyone interested.
 
Hemochromatosis (iron overload) is the most common genetic disorder in the
US  with an estimated incidence of around 1 in every 400 people homozygous
for this condition.    (Estimates for the number heterozygous for this
condition are as high as 10% of the general population.)    This means that
probably about 4 people on this list have a genetic predisposition to iron
overload as well as celiac disease.
 
In untreated celiacs the genetic tendency for iron overload is possibly
somewhat compensated for by  the malabsorption caused by untreated celiac
disease, even to the point of actually benefiting the celiac condition by
preventing any iron deficiency.  (At least this was my experience).
Ironically (Pun intended!)  the hemochromatosis is not merely "unmasked" by
a gluten free diet - it may be worse in a celiac patient on a gluten-free
diet than it would in someone with hemochromatosis but no celiac disease.
This is because the phytates in most grains markedly reduce the absorption
of iron*.
 
The problem may be doubly compounded when a celiac (having discovered the
great benefits that appropriate nutritional supplements can confer to
someone recovering from malabsorption) takes iron supplements - often
routinely included in multivitamins.   In my case, even though I was taking
no iron containing supplements, problems from iron overload began to
surface about  seven years after going gluten free.   Untreated iron
overload can be disabling  (my arthropathy was such that I could not remain
standing for more than 30 minutes) and ultimately fatal (cardiac arrest,
hepatoma, etc. etc.) if untreated BUT treatment is safe, inexpensive and
100% effective IF instituted early enough.   Symptoms can even be reversed
it treated soon enough  (I can now do step aerobics with the best of them).
 
 
FOR CELIACS IN GENERAL:  Iron deficiency should not be inferred on the
basis of anemia (there are other causes).  Any suspicion of iron deficiency
should be checked by direct testing.  Iron supplementation should not be
taken without having your iron functions tested and discussed with a
physician.  If you serum iron concentration is elevated (> 60%) and your
serum ferritin is high (> 700) you should be checked by a qualified
specialist for iron overload
 
FOR CELIACS WITH KNOWN IRON OVERLOAD:  I would be very interested in
sharing information about this unusual combination with anyone else
affected.  Please e-mail me at <[log in to unmask]
 
TO PHYSICIANS:  Admittedly this topic might best be handled by physicians.
Unfortunately it seems to be too specialized to receive any professional
attention at this time, as far as I can determine.  (I have not been able
to find any discussion in the medical literature (although my search
ability is currently very limited as I cannot afford commercial rates for
Medline and the medical libraries no longer carry the Index Medicus in
hard copy.)
 
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*In fact, Hemochromatosis may be a classic case of "overdominance" -
similar to sickle cell disease, where the homozygous condition (two copies
of the allele) is detrimental, but the heterozygous condition (one copy of
the allele) confers a substantial benefit.   Genetic problems caused by
overdominant alleles generally affect a much higher percentage of the
population than other genetic problems because the beneficial effect of
those having one copy counterbalances the detrimental effect of having two
copies (as one copy of the sickle cell allele protects against malaria, for
example).  Thus one copy of the hemochromatosis allele may protect against
a tendency to iron deficiency caused by grains (a relatively recent**
addition to the human diet).
 
**in terms of evolution