Type 1 Couple - what shoud we do???????

[JOKO123]

Both my husband and myself are type 1 diabetics and have had it for 25 and 30 years respectively.
we are in our early 30's and would love to have a child of our own however, there is a risk of passing on the diabetes susceptibilty genes to our child.
Knowing that the risk is there, what would you do?

I do not need statisical info just an honest answer. Any other type 1 couples out there, in the same boat???

[Forum-VOL-CB]

I'm not part of a type-1 couple, but I'm the mother of a type-1 17-year-old girl (who already has names picked out for future children) and the wife of a man with a host of genetically-based health issues: type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and a history of autoimmune diseases on his father's side, which is where my daughter seems to have inherited her diabetes.

We knew NONE of that when we married and had kids. It saddens me that one child has diabetes and the other has the risk of all sorts of things (MS, Crohn's and RA all appear in aunts and great-aunts). But do I wish we never had them? ABSOLUTELY NOT. They are beautiful, smart, life-loving girls with great futures ahead of them. One has to manage a disease, and the other might have to manage something herself one day, but everyone has to deal with challenges in life. Some have emotional issues, some have damaged families, some have to deal with cancer or accidents or who knows what.

So that's my two cents. Do what your hearts tell you. Future children may develop diabetes, or maybe they won't. Maybe they'll have other burdens. But that doesn't mean they won't be happy, wonderful people.

Good luck to you.

[AMBlass]

I am a type 1 diabetic, but I'm also single so I can't answer from a personal perspective. I wanted to tell you about a woman named Kassie Gregorio Palmer who is a type 1 diabetic and married to a type 1 diabetic. She and her husband have 2 boys, both do not have diabetes. She writes a blog called Noncompliant, http://noncompliant.blogspot.com. She also wrote a book called When You're a Parent with Diabetes and you can visit that website at www.parentswithdiabetes.com.

Obviously you have to study the statistics and make a decision that you and your husband are comfortable with and can live with. If you don't chose to have biological children, there is adoption too. Whatever you decide, I hope you and your husband have a good life together!

[JOKO123]

Thank you

[mj2007]

I am single and do not forsee children in my immediate future.  I am a type 1 diabetic and pro-adoption.  I have seriously considered what I will decide when the time comes for me to have children.  At this point in my life, I feel it will be best for me to adopt.  That will ultimately be a decision made when I am married, however I am very much in favor of adoption over a birth child.  This is not because I am scared that my child will have diabetes, but more concerned about other disabilities.  There are many risks involved for both the mother and the child, and I would rather avoid those and go a different route.  I know diabetic women who have carried and delivered perfectly healthy children.  Before becoming pregnant, just do your homework. You will have to be very strict and keep excellent control before and during your pregnancy.

Ultimately, you have to weigh the pros and cons.  My choice is adoption but I am 100% in support of people having their own children.  Who's to say I don't adopt a child and a few years later they develop diabetes or some other disease?

Follow your heart and go with what you think will be best for you and your family.