Paternal Diabetes - Risks in having children

[sindjo]

Hi there!

I would appreciate any feedback on this issue...

My husband has Type 1, Juvenille diabetes, and was diagnosed with it at the age of 14.  However, nobody in his family (immediate or distant) has ever been diagnosed with it, to his knowledge.

To my knowledge, there is noone in my family that has ever been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, only my grandmother that was diagnosed with Type 2 when she was 50.

We just got married this year, and are eager to have children.  I am desperately trying to collect information on the risks of having children under these conditions, but have not been able to find anything satisfactory.

My husband's doctor has said there are no inheritance factors, but so far I have found that there are (mainly through the American Diabetes Association website)...

I am very hesitant to go ahead with our plans for having offspring, until I gather enough information on the risks involved.

If you or anyone you know has had to deal with this issue, or if you have any information you think might be useful, please let me know.

Thank you so much!!!

[jdrf team dm]

Dear Angie,

I am the JDRF Moderator for this forum. You raise many valid questions, but the original question was posted so long ago I am afraid it will be archived before you get the responses to help you. I would love to see you post this as an orginal question and I can promise that you will recieve some very helpful information. Type 1 diabetes is a complicated disease, but it can also be very misunderstood. I can assure you that I know of many couples where one person has it and they are still together after 40 years and still well. Obviously, this is not always the case.
The genetic issue is one of the misunderstandings. Many children do not have a history of type 1. My father-in-law, who did have it, had five children, none of which have diabetes and out of all of the grandchildren that he had, only my son was diagnosed with it. I have been a JDRF volunteer for 16 years and have worked with many, many other volunteers with no history what so ever. That isn't to say that genetics don't ever play a part.

None of us here are physicians, but volunteers with life experience and our own personal knowledge. I will chime in along with everyone else if you read this and post. The new threads recieve the most attention because not everyone scrolls down this far. I apologise that I didn't catch this on the 10th.

We look forward to a new post. We have many resources of information on possible studies and I would also suggest that you add what kind of control your fiance maintains of his diabetes. Diet, blood sugars and A1c's, etc. This will be the first question that you are asked.

Sincerely,

dm

[Angie Mcpherson]

Hi,
  My fiance is twenty-six years old and has type 1 diabetes. My
family is against me marrying him because they feel he may have complications later on (they are especially concerned with the fact that he become impotent) and that i would suffer too. Also, they have addressed the issue of my children developing the disease. I have also done some research on the disease and never really knew how serious it was. I am very scared that something may happen to him and that I cannot satisfy my family with my decision. I need advice on how to convince my family and how my fiance can significantly reduce the chances of him developing complications. PLEASE HELP!
               Thanks,
                      Angie

[Rubydoo]

I have been diabetic for 19 years (Type 1) and I had children at the age of 24 an 26. As far as I know, I also am the only one in my family with type 1 going back generations. From everything I have read and studied, type 2 diabetes is far more a genetic thing than type 1. I was told that the chances of my children developing type 1 diabetes is not much greater than someone who does not have it. My kids are 13 and 16 and no sign of the disease. And I am the one with diabetes. I personally, would not worry about it as you do not have diabetes. Having my children is a far better experience with diabetes than not having had them. This disease would not have stopped me from having my kids, I just looked after myself and had a great medical team.Good luck with whatever you decide.

L

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Sindjo,
You've come to a good place for info. We're not physicians, but are diabetics and/or parents of diabetics with lots of experience.

It is surprising to read that your hubby's doc said there's "no inheritance factors," because research tells a different story. JDRF funds much of the diabetes research worldwide and lots of it deals with trying to understand the genetics of our disease. Some believe that while we think of Type 1 as "a disease" it might turn out that it's a common symptom/result of several potential defects. Anyway, here's a great website to begin your own research:
Http://www.jdrf.org
Click on RESEARCH (just below the JDRF logo on the top left)
I searched on the phrase Genetic and found several articles with research results.
One of those is from 2001 entitled, "Genetic Collaboration Reaches Milestone".

I would suggest taht you try to find a pregnancy "team" that has folks who specialize in high risk pregnancies. I'm not suggesting that yours would be high risk, but folks inthose groups are often skilled & experiences workign with diabetic women thru pregnancy and they will likely have good info on the genetic issues as well. You might be able to have an office visit or consultation.

Finally, if your hubby is not being followed by an endocrinologist or diabetologist in the mgt of his diabetes, I'd like to recommend he look to find one. Folks who specialize in diabetes are much better armed and better informed (current) on the etiology, mgt, and life issues related to diabetes.

Good luck with your family planning. Whether you decide to have your own biological children or to welcome adopted children into your home, parenting is an extraordinatry experience.

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Sindjo,
You've come to a good place for info.  We're not physicians, but are diabetics and/or parents of diabetics with lots of experience.

It is surprising to read that your hubby's doc said there's "no inheritance factors," because research tells a different story.  JDRF funds much of the diabetes research worldwide and lots of it deals with trying to understand the genetics of our disease.  Some believe that while we think of Type 1 as "a disease" it might turn out that it's a common symptom/result of several potential defects.  Anyway, here's a great website to begin your own research:
Http://www.jdrf.org
Click on RESEARCH (just below the JDRF logo on the top left)
I searched on the phrase Genetic and found several articles with research results.
One of those is from 2001 entitled, "Genetic Collaboration Reaches Milestone".

I would suggest taht you try to find a pregnancy "team" that has folks who specialize in high risk pregnancies.  I'm not suggesting that yours would be high risk, but folks inthose groups are often skilled & experiences workign with diabetic women thru pregnancy and they will likely have good info on the genetic issues as well.  You might be able to have an office visit or consultation.

Finally, if your hubby is not being followed by an endocrinologist or diabetologist in the mgt of his diabetes, I'd like to recommend he look to find one.  Folks who specialize in diabetes are much better armed and better informed (current) on the etiology, mgt, and life issues related to diabetes.

Good luck with your family planning.  Whether you decide to have your own biological children or to welcome adopted children into your home, parenting is an extraordinatry experience.