Expecting Doom, Got a Shock From Sweet Tooth to Rust Proof: Life with “Interesting” Blood Results

There are few things that make the stomach drop quite like waiting for blood test results. It’s a bit like waiting for exam results, except instead of maths, it’s your actual insides being graded.

I was booked in for a venesection today due to having the ‘Celtic Curse’ it’s the Viking in me …otherwise known as haemochromotosis ….try saying that with your mouth full….basically my body stores too much iron and I start to rust….

As usual I was not looking forward to it. I had the bloods tested last week and I knew I was due a session with a nurse with a big needle…not to mention getting my blood sugars checked for the auld diabetes…

So you can imagine my surprise when my phone rang first thing…it was the practise nurse phoning to discuss my blood results…shit

This was a big day for my haemochromatosis check-up (ferritin) and HbA1c (the sugar scoreboard). Given I had two weeks in Croatia abusing my body and a few weekends on the beer …..They are two little numbers, but with the power to turn me into either a health saint or a medical cautionary tale.

I’d convinced myself it was going to be grim. In my head, the nurse was ready to tell me:

• “Your ferritin is through the roof — we could use you to anchor ships.”

• “Your HbA1c is so high we’re amazed you didn’t walk in here humming the Coca-Cola theme tune.”

But instead, what I got was… are you sitting down Ciaran…….ooooh no and then…

‘I have surprisingly good news for you Ciaran’

My results were

✨ Ferritin: 70 down from 170….For someone with haemochromatosis, that’s a gold-star number. Calm, steady, not plotting to turn my organs into rusty scrap metal.

And

✨ HbA1c: 47 down from 87 in 3 months Not perfect, but far from disastrous. Solidly in the “you can still enjoy the odd treat without guilt” zone.

I blurted out the bad word worst than Feck…you know the one I mean….and hurriedly apologised to the nurse…..so on a bit of a high I was chatting away and she said ‘how’s the blood pressure….talk about taking the wind out of my sails…..’ but it’s the next thing to work on….

So After days of bracing myself for the worst, I walked away with results that were — dare I say — reassuring.

I left the phone call feeling like I’d passed a test I hadn’t studied for.

The lesson?

1. Worrying doesn’t change the results (but it does rob you of sleep).

2. Sometimes your body behaves better than you give it credit for.

3. Good news deserves to be celebrated — preferably with a beer but I will settle this week for a cup of tea

So for today at least, I’m not rusting, I’m not syrupy sweet, and I’m feeling pretty good about it. Long may it last.