A sure fire way to end Crohns

The actual chances of your kids having Crohn's is about 3% or lower. It's not a high risk. It would be much higher if both parents had Crohn's.

It's an interesting question, but I think the answer would be no because there are 'carriers' of Crohn's, who don't have the disease themselves but can still pass on the genes. In my case for example, my mum doesn't have Crohn's herself, but she got the genes from her side of the family (which has a history of Crohn's) and passed them onto me and my brother. My brother has two children. So far neither have Crohn's and hopefully never will, but they could pass on Crohn's to their children or children's children.

The thing is, even with all the fancy diagnostic tools at their disposal today, doctors still can miss Crohn's and take years to diagnose it. Go back to a time when colonoscopies didn't exist (i.e. before 1969) and how likely do you think it would be that somebody would get a Crohn's diagnosis? On top of that genes can be recessive and skip a few generations before finally expressing themselves and exerting an effect. In other words you could easily have a family history going back several generations that you have no idea about.

Which country are you from though, if you don't mind me asking? You've got me curious now >_>.

I see the way Crohns changes someones life, and I think I would be ridiculed w/ guilt if I passed it onto my child. Plus its expensive having a kid haha

and to be honest, someone w/ Crohns is alot of work and alot to put up with and alot of stress/anxiety etc. I dont know how my mother puts up with me.

Parents naturally worry about their childrens well-being, but if I had to worry about it, PLUS Crohns, its too much for me.

Why cant we all live healthy to 100, and then peacefully die. UGH, I wish I was never born.

I agree completely with @Labrodite. I would much rather exist with Crohn's than not exist at all, and I know my husband and family feel the same way about me, in spite of it being so much work sometimes. And as a parent already, with two kids, I would feel so sad for my kids if they had Crohn's, but I love them so much and would gladly put up with the difficulties in caring for them and worrying about them than to not have them at all.

Also, by your way of thinking, if we did that with every single disease and every single carrier, we'd kill off all of humanity in a single generation.

I see both sides and definitely don't see this disease as a reason not to have children. With that said I do not want children and my disease was a factor in that decision and not the entire reason.

My father has UC and a mild case at that. Has never been on prednisone or been hospitalized. Sometimes I can see how hard it is on him to see me so sick and why is my case so much worse than his.

I didn't make lemonade, but I did make hot water w/ fresh squeezed lemon. I've noticed it really helps calm my stomach.

Whatever decision you make, I commend you for seriously considering the impact on another person's life beforehand. I was misdiagnosed until my only child was already 11 years old, so I didn't knowingly bring her into the world with that as a possibility. A lot of us probably fall into that category of not knowing until after our children were born. It's not a straight shot anyway inheritance-wise, but it skips around within families. Two of my nephews have Crohn's though their parents don't. I have Crohn's, but my parents didn't. I'm not sure about my daughter. She has GI problems for sure. So the disease wouldn't be eliminated by your proposal - it would only eliminate you as parenting a child with the possibility of having Crohn's.

For what it's worth, I don't think you meant to make it sound like a pro-eugenics comment. I deleted the rest of my post. I knew I should have kept my thoughts to myself.

Post Edited (JaSanne) : 8/7/2016 5:49:52 PM (GMT-6)

@NOCT I agree with you.
My main issue with this question, and it's absolutely nothing against you, Billo, just the way the question is phrased which I don't think you intended, and maybe it's just me...it is not just questioning whether or not to have kids because that is a personal choice everyone has a right to decide and if you really think you can not provide the support for a child no matter what the out come than by all means don't have kids, but the way the question is phrased it brings in society which in a way basically supports eugenics and I would be fearful of some one new to crohns reading this and feeling like they might be a blight on society or that their children might be.

Perfectly healthy adults can have children that end up with cancer too, do they see it coming? Nope. It's the risk you take. Many people don't have preexisting conditions so they never think about illness. We have it at the front of our minds because of our experiences so of course the first thing we do is think about whether our children will go through the same, but really life is suffering and as long as people are alive there will be suffering to one degree or another but how you deal with it makes the difference.

Interesting perspectives. My two cents. I don’t believe that CD per se is genetic. From my limited research and looking at my son’s family history it is just the predisposition to autoimmunity that is genetic not the actual disease. My son has CD, and he was diagnosed and showed symptoms before his dad. His dad’s CD developed about a year after our son was diagnosed when he stopped smoking. They have other autoimmunity on their side such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and MS. Always reminds me of that saying I read often "genetics loads the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger”. Would I have children knowing that they will / might / have develop an autoimmunity disease ? Hell yes. This disease as horrible as it is, and as debilitating as it is DOES NOT define him. It makes him stronger. He is going to do important things with his life still (already has big plans).

Elaen said...
Interesting perspectives. My two cents. I don’t believe that CD per se is genetic. From my limited research and looking at my son’s family history it is just the predisposition to autoimmunity that is genetic not the actual disease. My son has CD, and he was diagnosed and showed symptoms before his dad. His dad’s CD developed about a year after our son was diagnosed when he stopped smoking. They have other autoimmunity on their side such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and MS. Always reminds me of that saying I read often "genetics loads the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger”. Would I have children knowing that they will / might / have develop an autoimmunity disease ? Hell yes. This disease as horrible as it is, and as debilitating as it is DOES NOT define him. It makes him stronger. He is going to do important things with his life still (already has big plans).

There is a genetic factor to IBD (UC and CD) I've been sick with CD for 25 yrs and have had a lot of time to research plus being a member of the CCFC helped since they send literature with updates and info on IBD....My mom had UC but she developed her UC a couple of yrs after I got sick with CD first (because her UC was triggered later than mine) the problem is, they still don't understand how it gets passed down like they do with MS for example, which they do know how it passes. I am the youngest in my family and so far the only one that has developed IBD out of all my siblings, but I have 2 nieces that have it as well (and I have a ton of nieces and nephews).

Research has found many genes that are linked specifically to IBD as well, but it's not clear why exactly it gets triggered for some of us but not all. IBD (CD, UC) can most definitely can be inherited, doesn't mean it always will be and there's no way to determine if you will pass it on or have it passed on to you from you parent(s)/family members...There is actually a -10 to 15% increased risk of developing IBD if one parent has an IBD and the % goes higher if both your parents have IBD.

There are some cases in which almost all family members have IBD, there seems to be a genetic factor for many IBDers but not necessarily all (according to science) but since how it can be passed is still unknown, that's not to say that any blood relative that has an IBD could be enough of a link for it to be passed (not just if the/a parent(s) have it). A study done with twins where one has IBD shows that the other twin will have a 40-60% chance of also developing it.

Ever wonder how many past relatives you've had they could very well have ended up with an IBD had it been triggered before they passed away? I'm sure it happens.

One last thing, for crohn's there is a gene located on chromosome 6 that is "scratched" which causes it to malfunction allowing toxins in rather than keeping them out and it is linked specifically to crohn's (refer to Dr. Kathy Siminovitch).

The following is from WebMD;

"Is genetics connected to Crohn's disease?
Brothers, sisters, children, and parents of persons with IBD, including Crohn's disease, are slightly more likely to develop the disease themselves. about 10% to 20% of people with Crohn's disease have at least one other family member who also has the disease. The condition is more common in certain ethnic groups, such as Jews, and is more prevalent in Caucasians.

Is this tendency toward IBD and Crohn's disease passed genetically? Scientists have identified a gene associated with Crohn's disease. This gene helps the body decide how to react to certain microbes. If the gene has changed or mutated in some way, your body's reaction to microbes may also be different from the normal reaction. Over time, IBD or Crohn's disease may develop. People with Crohn's disease have this mutated gene twice as often as people who do not have the disease."

I had my children after my diagnosis...so far both are healthy. My husband is healthy but I have Crohn's and depression and anxiety. One of my children has my learning disabilities and mental health issues and my other child has a sensitive bowel or IBS....I feel like crap sometimes but we all face challenges I am not a person who grew up wanting to get married or/let alone be a mother but once my partner and I decided to start a family (about one year before my first diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis) I was in and committed but I struggled with anxiety about anxiety or depression my mother is a insulin dependent diabetic...the list goes on and on We just did it and if they get any condition I hope growing up with one chronically ill parent and one physically healthy parent and how we manage our daily struggles - to getting through the totally FUBAR crap life can throw at you will help them. It can be overwhelming to be a chronically ill parent but I try and do my best...