Baby

[Manju]

I am going to get married to a guy. He is 27 years old. But he is a diabetic Patient. My parents are more worried about the children we are going to have. Will anyway will the diabeties affect our marriage life and the children we are going to have. whats the chances of my child getting diabetes?

[SGKelloe32]

My grandfather suffers from diabetes, as did his parents, from what i know, there is a 50% risk of any children you have developing diabetes. The diabetes itself shouldn't affect your marriage, my grandparents have been happily married for 30 years and raised 2 children and 6 grandchildren. There tends to be other health problems associated with diabetes though, www.bbc.co.uk/health tends to have some good material on health queries.

[Bangkok]

I am a type one diabetic.  Diabetes can have some significant side effects, but they can be minimised by good blood sugar control (regulating what you eat and drink, testing your blood regularly and taking the appropriate amount of insulin).

 

If you have kids, there is a one in four chance that the baby will have the gene that can cause diabetes.  However, this does NOT mean that the child will develop diabetes.  For some reason, the gene needs a trigger to cause diabetes, and that it often does not get triggered.

 

If you can bring you children up in a loving family enviroment, they will have an enormous advantage.  If one of them does develop diabetes, then medical advances mean it will have less and less impact.  I travel the world on business, I eat what I fancy (sometimes not much), I monitor regularly and I enjoy life enormously.  I've just become a dad for the first time, and if my daughter is diabetic, I'll show her how to inject.  She will play sports, climb trees and not go out with any teenage boys (leastways I hope the last bit is true)

 

Can I suggest you look at the Diabetes UK Website

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/

 

Also, you should find out as much as you can about healthy eating, spotting low blood sugar, medical advances and minimising the chances of the potential health problems. 

[OBonio]

Ooh.  I didn't think diabetes was hereditory at all.  My brother is type 1.  Would this put any children I have at risk of contracting the condition?

[Ouisch]

Some information from the Colorado Health Site:

 

Question: I read through your heredity questions and answers and did not see one that suited me. My husband acquired type 1 diabetes when he was five. There is no other family history of the disease. I have no health related illnesses and there is no history of diabetes in my family except for my grandmother, who acquired type two diabetes at seventy-five. What is the risk for our children getting type 1 diabetes? Thank you so much for your time.
Answer: The risk of a first degree relative of someone with type 1 diabetes getting type 1 diabetes is about 5%. There is some information that this is a little higher if dad has diabetes and a little lower if mom does. The actual risk is really determined by which genes your children got from their dad. If they do not have the genes associated with diabetes then their risk is not increased. There are antibody tests which can indicate if there is any evidence for a reaction to insulin or the cells that produce it in the pancreas (islet cells). You can discuss the advisability of measuring these in your children with your provider.

[Bangkok]

Obonio, there is a small chance that your children might develop Type 1 if one of your parents had the gene and it was passed to you (and remained inactive) and the gene was passed to your child.  However, the statistics are hugely in favour of this not happening.

Symptoms to look for include extreme thirst,  frequent toilet trips (particularly at night), tiredness and irritability.

 

 

[ursula62]

If you love him, marry him. Worry about the babies when and if they come along - they might not. A child is a gift, not a right.

[secretspirit]

I can't answer about the genetics but we have a carpenter at work who is 60 and usually has no noticable health problems although at the moment he has a diabetes realted problem with his eyes, but at that age who doesn't have the occasional problem or two? He has worked in a physical job since he left school, has not let it hold him back and he's had children and grandchildren who I don't think have diabetes.

 

He never mentions it and is very sceptical of people who use diabetes as an excuse not to get on with their lives so it doesn't have to be completely negative and control what you do.

[kamijamey]

I am a type 1 diabetic, and have been for about 12 years.  My husband and I have a 2 yr old daughter, and she is not diabetic.  My doctor tells me that the chances of her being diabetic are slim-because my husband doesnt have any family history of it.  Thats not to say someone cannot develop type two diabetes later in life, which is commonly due to a weight problem. 

I also am now using an insulin pump, which I highly reccommend.  I havent had to give myself an injection in over two years.  The pump is a little intimidating at first, but it is worth a try for everyone.  the brand I use is MiniMed if anyone is interested. 

As long as your husband has a good doctor and follows some sort of a schedule for his eating, exercise, and testing blood sugars, he will be fine. And Your family will most likely also benefit from his healthy lifestyle.

Best of luck!

[AB Editor]

For all medical questions, we strongly advise you to seek professional advice from your doctor or a healthcare professional.  Please do not rely on, or wait for, advice from Answerbank users.

[dizzy devil]

i read this with some interest, my niece is insulin dependant , she has two children and they are both fine , please dont worry,and yes if you have any worries do go see your doctor/midwife , each person is different, my niece was told that a baby born to a diabetic parent stands the chance of being a bigger baby than normal, true or false i dont know , child number one was 6 pounds 7, and child no 2 was 9 pound  4, so as the ed said , if you worry go get expert advise ,...good luck , enjoy your life , dizzy