Hi all,
I saw a post inquiring about the "lone wolves" out there - those of you who got type 1 with no history of it in your family. I'm the opposite. My father had it and my sister and I both have it. Does anyone else out there have that situation? Where a direct relative (parent, sibling, child) also has it? How does that affect your decision on family planning?
Thanks!!
My endocrinologist's sister, brother, and father all have/had type 1.
I also have a neighbor who has two kids with type 1.
I have a (completely unsubstantiated) theory. I think those of us who are type 1's diagnosed in adulthood are less likely to have relatives with type 1. Just anecdotal information on my part, but interesting nonetheless
we have a Group here for those with Multiple family members with type1
http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/familieswithmultiplememberswithtype1
please join!
I'm the lone wolf, 45 years type 1. No one on either side. Lots of my ancestors were MDs on both sides, and we know a lot about our family history, type1 seems to never have come up.
My paternal grandfather had type 1 (I think he was diagnosed not too long after insulin discovered). I'm an only child, but none of my cousins (or aunt or uncle) have diabetes. I'm just the lucky one!
I found out after I was diagnosed that my paternal Great Uncle was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes in the 30s.
I think the ADA websites states the risks pretty well: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/genetics-of-diabetes.html.
"In general, if you are a man with type 1 diabetes, the odds of your child getting diabetes are 1 in 17. If you are a woman with type 1 diabetes and your child was born before you were 25, your child's risk is 1 in 25; if your child was born after you turned 25, your child's risk is 1 in 100.
Your child's risk is doubled if you developed diabetes before age 11. If both you and your partner have type 1 diabetes, the risk is between 1 in 10 and 1 in 4.
There is an exception to these numbers. About 1 in every 7 people with type 1 diabetes has a condition called type 2 polyglandular autoimmune syndrome."
Wow. I wonder if that's why he became an endocrinologist. And wow, both kids. That must have been hard. Thanks for your reply!
Zoe, That may be. My sister and I were both diagnosed at 20, but my dad was at 6. 20 is still pretty young.
Thank's Marie B!! I will check that out! That's a big help.
Most people I know who have diabetes are lone wolves... I feel like that's the norm..
Thanks for your reply, Leata. Wow, I can't imagine having diabetes that long ago.
Thanks, Capin101! I have read that on the ADA's site. I was just told by a genetic counselor that my child's risk would be higher because my sister and I and my father all had type 1. I'm just asking around now to get a better idea of what that means in real life. We're gathering information on this because we're thinking of starting a family.
You might also want to check out the Trial Net project, Emjaybee which is doing testing of Type 1 relatives.
I had no relatives w/ any involvement since 1984 until just recently, sometime over the holidays last year, I learned from my aunt of a somewhat distant (3rd maybe? Mom's cousin's kid...) cousin who had been dx'ed at 29. I was dx'ed at 16. Then very recently, my sister's BG has been elevated poss T2, they are investigating...
Yes, I keep reading about that on these boards. I'll check it out.
Thanks, acidrock23. Hope your sister is doing okay!