could i have inherited porphyria

Question

hi , just wondered if anyone can help......... my sister died in 1994 aged 29 from porphyria , its a disease i dont know a lot about , my sister and i were not close ....i have been feeling ill for about 3 months now...i have pain in my lower abdomen and pain in my lower back which radiates down to my calf muscles and up my spine to the back of my head causing headaches , i have acid reflux , and i keep getting hot flushes or sweats , i occasionally have numbness in my left arm , i have constipation , but that is nothing new , ive always had it for as long as i can remember, i dont really know the signs of porphyria ...please help

Bethany32 · Answer

For more accurate results get a dna test done. Until then it does not hurt to take precautions. Lower the salt in your diet, remove foods that are on the do not take list, remove any medications on the do not take list, eat a multivitamin daily, a low iron pill, a vitamin d pill, a vitamin c pill, and eat more carbs and sweet fruits, and lots of water, and 100% fruit juice. 600 carbs a day should help. And remember stress can set off attacks, so relax. Dont raise your heart beat too often. This will help until you get the results, and the worse that can happen is you get healthier ;)

DrSharma · Answer

Hi there. Porphyrias are a group of inherited disorders of certain enzymes in the heme biosynthetic pathway. There are various forms like acute or hepatic, which affects the nervous system, causing abdominal pain, vomiting, neuropathy, muscle weakness and seizures. Hallucinations, depression, cardiac arrhythmias, tachycardia etc. cutaneous variety will have photosensitivity, blisters etc. you could have inherited it as a part of family disease. This is diagnosed through spectroscopy and biochemical analysis of blood, urine and stool. show yourself to a neurologist for the needful examination. Take care.