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LAW OFFICE OF MERYL ANNE SPAT

Telephone 203.805.8256 | Facsimile 866.979.0939 | Email spatfax@gmail.com

Mail Box 2476 Waterbury, CT 06722

Offices location: 27 First Ave. Waterbury 06702

 

 

August 31, 2017 CASE STUDY  HEMOCHROMATOSIS

Today I am sharing information about a hearing held yesterday before an Administrative Law Judge for a lovely client who has been suffering from a genetic disorder, hemochromatosis. 

 

Hemochromatosis….too much of a good thing.

Useful links:  

http://www.hemochromatosis.org/#overview  http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemochromatosis/symptoms-causes/dxc-20167290

Usually, iron is an essential nutrient and is in many foods.  Iron carries oxygen (in hemoglobin) to all parts of the body.  However, these extremely useful and informative web pages tell you that Hemochromatosis is a genetic iron disorder in which the body loads too much iron.  In addition to your genes, certain types of anemia or chronic liver disease may require blood transfusions, which can cause excess iron accumulation.  The body cannot dispose of excess iron. Excess iron in the blood, if not managed and left untreated, can damage joints, organs such as the heart, liver, pancreas, joints, pituitary gland and more.  It can be fatal.

Hemochromatosis increases the risk for:

  • Diabetes mellitus
  • Irregular heart beat or heart attack
  • Arthritis (osteoarthritis, osteoporosis)
  • Cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer
  • Gall bladder disease
  • Depression
  • Impotence
  • Infertility
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Hypogonadism
  • Some cancers
  • Alzheimer's
  • early onset Parkinson's
  • epilepsy
  • multiple sclerosis
  • Huntington's disease
  • Depression, anxiety and more….

A person with Hemochromatosis can develop any of these. 

 

So, what happened at  the hearing?  My hemochromatosis client (let’s call her Janet) is blameless.  Janet raised 3 children, worked full time, never drank or smoked.  Janet always had a big garden.  After work she made a beeline to her garden, and spent time in the sun mulching, weeding and growing flowers and vegetables.  She used to crochet.  She was healthy, and she was happy.  When she hit middle age, without her knowledge, iron overload crept upon her silently with peri menopause and the gradual cessation of menses.  Instead of bringing peace and new beginnings, a woman’s “second spring” as they say in Japan, menopause brought gradually increasing joint pain, headaches, fatigue, severe depression, anxiety and even liver disease, or cirrhosis.  Her life changed.  She lost her job.  She lost interest in activities.  She became unable to complete housework.  She spent most of the day resting.  She was treated for severe depression.  She began having phlebotomy treatments weekly, draining her of blood filled with excess iron.  

 

To be clear, despite the severity and devastation of a diagnosis of Hemochromatosis, the disease is not a listed impairment in the code of federal regulations.  This is because it is a disease that causes impairment by impacting other organs and body systems.  It is not usually discovered or diagnosed, unfortunately, and is not considered disabling until it destroys and impacts the function of your liver, pancreas or other organs.  It is a global disease and will probably affect multiple organs mildly and/or just one or two body systems severely.  This makes it difficult to explain and to prove, and you will often find that treating physicians are reluctant to explicitly identify a cause of fatigue,  even if a person has cirrhosis or severe depression.  Establishing this is very difficult, but it is also very important to do.  In addition, it is critical to focus a judge’s attention on the severity of the organ system affected, such as liver disease, headaches, the depression, evidence of difficulty with persistence, pace and concentration, or the diabetes or other conditions that have developed.  

 

For more information on how to precisely prove disability relating to Hemochromatosis, feel free to contact Attorney Spat at 203.805.8256 or spatfax@gmail.com.

Attorney  Spat has represented clients afflicted with the following conditions, disorders and injuries:

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
AIDS
Anemia
Angina
Anxiety 
Arthritis
Asthma
Attention deficit disorder
Autism
Back pain
Bipolar disorder or manic depression
Bradycardia
Bronchitis
Cancer
Cardiomyopathy
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Cerebral palsy
CFIDS
Chest pain
Chronic fatigue
Chronic pain
Cirrhosis
Clinical obesity
Congestive heart failure
Congestive or chronic heart failure
Coronary artery disease
Crohn's disease
Cystic fibrosis
Degenerative disc disease
Depression, deep depression and other mood disorders
Diabetes
Diabetic neuropathy
Disc herniation
Dizziness
Down syndrome
Dysthymia
Leukemias
Lymphatic Filariasisemphysema
Epilepsy 
ESRD (end stage renal disease)
Fatigue
Fibromyalgia 
FMS 
GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)
Head trauma
Loss of hearing
Heart attack
Heart disease
Heart problems
Hepatitis
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Hip pain
Broken hip, bad neck, hurt shoulder, twisted ankle, spranged wrist, back problems, and other joint problems 
HIV
Inflammatory bowel disease
Inner ear problems
Irritable bowel syndrome
Joint dysfunction
Failure of your kidney requiring dialysis and other renal problems
Knee pain
Learning disability
Leg pain
Liver disease
Low back pain
Low IQ
Lung problems
Lupus
Lyme disease
Manic depression
Memory loss
Mental problems
Mental retardation
Mild depression
Mood disorder
Multiple sclerosis
Muscular dystrophy
Neck pain
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis of the knee and/or hip
osteochondromatosis
Pancreatitis
Panic disorder
Peripheral field problems, farsighted, nearsighted and other vision loss
Peripheral vascular disease
Personality disorder
Reflux 
RSD and reflex sympathetic dystrophy 
RSI or repetitive stress injury
Sarcoidosis
Schizophrenia
Seizure disorder
Severe allergies
Shortness of breath
Sickle cell
Sleep disorder
Spinal stenosis
Statutory blindness
Stomach problems
Stroke
Takayasu’s Arteritis
Tachycardia
Hypothyroidism and other thyroid problems
Standing, sitting, jumping and walking problems
Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 diabetes
Ulcerative colitis
Vertigo or dizziness

  Text/call  203.805.8256   spatfax@gmail.com or disabilityattorney@disabilityappeals.net.   Your inital consultation will provide you with important information, guidance, and is free. 

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