probablity of diabetic children?

Question

The man I'm dating is a type 1 diabetic, as is his father and grandfather, He is his fathers only child. He doesn't want to have kids because he doesnt want to pass on the diabetes. I don't know how many of his aunts/uncles have diabetes if any of them. Diabetes does not run in may family, we're not even prone to type 2 or late onset, only diabetic in my family is married in type 2. Actually hypoglycemia runs in my family very heavily in females.
What is an honest probability to our children having the illness? I know that I will not change his mind, and i will not try to. But it greatly disheartens me to know that I will never have a child with this man.
Thank you very much

Answer 1

There is a genetic component to Type 1 diabetes. Usually the chance of passing it on is 2-10%, somewhat higher for males than females. However, in some families, the risk is much higher. This may be because people in this family carry a specific disposition or gene for autoimmune diseases and/or Type 1 diabetes. There is no such thing a "diabetes skips a generation". Although it CAN, it can also appear in any and all generations, or only occur in 1 person over 5 generations.

There is no real way to predict an exact number, but if there is a strong family history, I would *guess* in the range of 30-50%.

He may be interested to know that there are many studies looking at ways to try and prevent Type 1 diabetes in offspring. One study is called TRIGER, and looks at avoiding cow's milk from birth.

There is some evidence to suggest that a gluten free and casein free diet may help protect some infants prone to developing Type 1 diabetes, in addition Omega 3 and Vitamin D supplementation.

There are no guarantees, of course, but it can't hurt. We know that in some families with a strong history of Type 1, many also have silent Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance). By cutting out gluten from birth, we *may* be able to prevent or delay Type 1 in some of these cases. Omega 3 and Vitamin D also function as immune modulators, which may help stop the autoimmune attack that causes Type 1 to appear.

Lastly, your guy may realize how hard it has been to live with this disease, and may not want to create a child who has a higher possibility of getting it. That is his right, and no one can fault him for that.

Perhaps you could adopt. Right now there is no way to alter the genes that cause Type 1 diabetes to prevent the disease in offspring. We don't even know all the genes that cause it! That is quite some way off.

Please talk this over with him. Remember that he has some very good reasons for his feelings, and you will have to respect the fact that if you marry him, you may never have his children.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

It would be dishonest to say that there was no chance of any children having diabetes if your boyfriend has a history like that, there is a definite heritable component to diabetes (type I as well as type II) however, I don't think that chance is 100%
However, you should ask your boyfriend if he feels that his diabetes has made his life not worth living. There is no doubt that having diabetes, especially early onset, changes your whole life, requires constant vigilance, can set you apart from your peers (it just freaks some people out to see somebody injecting insulin), and will certainly shorten a lifespan, but it is a manageable disease, and you can have a fulfilling life even with it (hopefully your boyfriend has managed to enjoy his life despite the diabetes). So while your boyfriend's worries are not unfounded, are you sure that's the only thing he's worried about? Might it be the case that he doesn't want children for another reason or doesn't feel ready and this is the excuse he's using (probably even to himself).

Answer 4

2

Answer 5

I am writing to tell you what an incredible impact these methods had on my life! I have had type 2 diabetes for 27 years. For me, the worst part of this horrible disease is the severe pain I constantly get in my feet. The pain is so bad that I avoid standing and walking as much as possible. I've got to tell you that within the first month, my feet stopped hurting altogether and I can now walk totally pain free.

Believe it or not, I even danced at my niece's wedding last month, something I have not done in a many years. I've been following the book for six months now and my blood sugar is well within normal range. I feel great!

I recommend you use the Type 2 Diabetes Destroyer to naturally reverse your diabetes.

Answer 6

Type 1 is not hereditary. It is due to autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells. It should be noted that there is no known preventative measure that can be taken against type 1 diabetes. Most people affected by type 1 diabetes are otherwise healthy and of a healthy weight when onset occurs. Diet and exercise cannot reverse or prevent type 1 diabetes

Answer 7

I've been told that diabetes skips a generation, but there are obviously exceptions to this (as your beau's father AND grandfather had it). I'm not even sure how accurate this information is, though I was told this by a nurse. Also, did his father and grandfather have type 1 as well? I've been told that only type 2 is hereditary.

Answer 8

you can have gene therapy if the odds are against you.diabetes isnt the be all and end all,you can live a perfectly"normal" life with it,you just have adjustments to make to do it,there are worse things you can suffer from.will the lack of children come between you in the future.

Answer 9

There is a small chance that you children may develop Diabetes my suggestion would be to talk to someone who analizes you genes.

Answer 10

Yes there is a good probability that you could , what about adopting ?