After reading Barmybrummie post, which I thought was a good idea, I thought I would post something about hemochromatosis.
Hemochromatosis is a hereditary. Problem, although it can miss a generation or two.
It took me thirty years to find a doctor who found my problem.
Two of my brothers have since found that they suffer from it also, and having asked their doctors to look into it, the doctors didn’t know what they were talking about, this was about 20 years ago
Hemochromatosis is to much iron in the blood, it can damage your organs, including your heart.
So if you are feeling tired all the time, or have aches and pains, been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, ask your doctor for a blood test for iron.
If he says your iron is good, ask for a printout.
Look at the ferritin.
My ferritin needs to be about 36, if it gets to 45, I know because I am in pain. RR 2005 4.4 petrol
Any spelling mistakes are the fault of spellchecker
Previous MG J2, CITROEN light 15 x 2 gone unfortunately
Present MERC 180e, RANGE ROVER L322, JAGUAR XJS, MERC 280SE, MG F, JAGUAR S-Type 6v 2003, jaguar s-type 8v 2004, Ford Cougar

Funny you should mention this. My symptoms match your almost entirely, was at the doctors just a few days ago about it, and now waiting on blood results

good luck
its not a big deal it you have it
its quite manageable, as long as you find out early on
as it took so long for me to find out, the damage had been done and its not repairable RR 2005 4.4 petrol
Any spelling mistakes are the fault of spellchecker
Previous MG J2, CITROEN light 15 x 2 gone unfortunately
Present MERC 180e, RANGE ROVER L322, JAGUAR XJS, MERC 280SE, MG F, JAGUAR S-Type 6v 2003, jaguar s-type 8v 2004, Ford Cougar

my father and I both have it to no ill effect luckily. Keep off the Guinness and broccoli/spinach though!!

I´m 43 now, diagnosed 13 years ago, quite by chance. My whole family has it…me, two brothers, sister and mother. We think dad had it, but died due to it - he didnt know he had it.

The´celtic curse´is the most common undiagnosed genetic disorder in the world. Hugely common but most dont know they have it, let alone heard of it. Its an absolute miracle my doctor spotted the signs of high iron. most GPs dont, which is a crying tradgedy.

As knares said, its not a big deal, so long as you get rid of blood regularly. My iron is stubbornly high, so I´ve been having monthly bloodlettings this year, easy enough, but at such an interval knocks me for six for a couple of days after.

Any way, great post - thanks for sharing @knares!  2012 4.4 TDV8 Westminster - Baltic Blue, Jet interior
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Without wishing to jump on another horse, I have one allele for haemachromatosis, that is I have high ferritin levels and as Dolphinboy says, it’s no big deal. Keep an eye on the foods and drink that contain high iron, be prepared to give blood every 3 months or so (they love a high iron content) and be aware, but not concerned.

The thing I am really worried about is my irrational love of the L322. I have private health insurance and they say it’s not covered and that I shouldn’t go on holiday for more than a week without being prepared to suffer withdrawal symptoms.

Treatment is expensive, not guaranteed to fully cure the various issues and as one treatment arises, another condition pops up.

Im the complete opposite... I have Ulcerative Colitis/Crohn's disease and have to have 3 monthly iron infusions and a second for my ferritin levels a week later...

I'll pop round with a couple of pints later, Craig.

Funny you should mention this knares, my brother in law got diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 8 years ago at the age of 50. Sadly he passed away last year aged 58. He had so many tests done but nothing was ever diagnosed. After reading about your symptoms, I suspect that's exactly what he could have had.
He was a true gent, his life was working hard to provide for my sister and son, always there to help the next person, yet slowly you could see the change in him, always tired, didn't want to get up out of bed, that really wasn't him.
Good idea to share information on certain illnesses that are rare and hard to diagnose.

Barmybrummie yes, my brother was like that, he had always been active, then slowly, after a while, he couldn't get out of bed till about 10am, then could only do about 4 hours work if he was lucky,
when i told him about my problems and said go and get tested, his doctor didn't know what to do, told him to come back in three weeks while she looked in to it, after some treatment he said he felt like a 16 year old and back working, after some tests they said he had (if i remember right) pulpy kidney or liver or some thing.
he is ok now i think
an other brother went to the doctor to get tested and the doctor just ignored him, never did any tests, years later he felt he was going down the same path as we had, went to a doctor and now he to is having treatment. RR 2005 4.4 petrol
Any spelling mistakes are the fault of spellchecker
Previous MG J2, CITROEN light 15 x 2 gone unfortunately
Present MERC 180e, RANGE ROVER L322, JAGUAR XJS, MERC 280SE, MG F, JAGUAR S-Type 6v 2003, jaguar s-type 8v 2004, Ford Cougar

At least you all ok and getting treated for it now. If I knew about this years ago, he might still be around. But unfortunately, he slid in to depression on feeling helpless as he was always there to help anyone. Stay healthy everyone.

just as a side line
a lady whose husband had died seven years earlier, showed me a photo of them, taken not long before he died.
i looked at the photo for a minute or so, and i said, he has Hemochromatosis.
she grabbed the photo and looked at it, then turned to me, and said, how do you know.
i said, he is rusting away, look how dark his skin is.
she said, well he did but that wasn't his main worry, he had cancer.
Hemochromatosis dose turn the skin dark if you have it bad enough. RR 2005 4.4 petrol
Any spelling mistakes are the fault of spellchecker
Previous MG J2, CITROEN light 15 x 2 gone unfortunately
Present MERC 180e, RANGE ROVER L322, JAGUAR XJS, MERC 280SE, MG F, JAGUAR S-Type 6v 2003, jaguar s-type 8v 2004, Ford Cougar