Childless?

I read an article saying "Since UC is genetic, it is probably wise for its sufferers to remain childless. After all, no one wants to pass along such a serious condition to a descendant." I'm sorry but nobody in my family has ever had a problem with their colon nor stomach?? I'm only 17 I know it's really early to think about children but??

If one parent has an IBD (either UC or Crohn's) there is a 50% chance of passing it on to their offspring, according to Dr. Kevin Rioux doing a study on the inheritance and genetics of IBD.

My mom had UC, I'm the youngest of her 6 kids to get Crohn's BEFORE my mom even got her UC triggered, my IBD was triggered first and so far, the only one of 6 kids that got it, 2 others including me have IBS, we don't know if mom had IBS too but not likely since her stomach wasn't always horrible (flares) even though she never used any meds for her IBD because of her bad reactions to the few she tried. She also had depression which I also got as well as my son, my daughter has IBS, and my granddaughter has some gut issue going on since she was born (my daughter's daughter) my son doesn't have kids, but I think he also has a messed up gut which we're working on getting figured out.

Parents pass things down to their kids, it's a fact of life, good and bad, it's how life works...to have kids or not is a personal decision (before I had mine we weren't aware of IBD in our family or even the IBS since at that time, my mom's UC wasn't triggered yet cuz she didn't get sick until some time after me and I didn't get sick until my first (daughter) was just over a year old so we had no idea about IBD affecting our family.

Naturally I hate suffering and knowing anyone else is too especially if it has anything to do with me, but it's out of my control, always has been and always will be....doesn't make me feel any better about it but there's nothing I can do now, I can't go back and change it, but I do wish I would have had some knowledge because as much as I love my kids, I personally would have made different choices had I known what was in store for me, that's how I feel about it, it's up to others to decide for themselves and I don't judge anyone for choices they make.

Which article is that? If it's online can you provide a link to it?

pb4 said...
If one parent has an IBD (either UC or Crohn's) there is a 50% chance of passing it on to their offspring, according to Dr. Kevin Rioux doing a study on the inheritance and genetics of IBD.

That sounds way too high. Sure it's not if two parents have IBD, there's a 50% chance of passing it onto their offspring?

Anyway, Crohn's is deffo genetic in my case, but the vast majority of my family still don't have it when you consider all the aunts, uncles and cousins I have. It can also skip generations. My two nephews may never develop IBD, but their kids or their kids' kids could - by which time hopefully they'll actually have some medications which work for everybody and not just a select few.

I'll never have children now - not there was any chance I would have done - but that's not 'cos of the Crohn's. I'd be more worried about passing on my family's genes for mental illness than I would passing on Crohn's, but that's because I think mental illness ruins lives. So does IBD, but not as much.

Nadica said...
I read an article saying "Since UC is genetic, it is probably wise for its sufferers to remain childless. After all, no one wants to pass along such a serious condition to a descendant." I'm sorry but nobody in my family has ever had a problem with their colon nor stomach?? I'm only 17 I know it's really early to think about children but??

This is a bad article.

There are some aspects of UC/IBD that have genetic vulnerabilities. But there are many more diseases that have stronger genetic links, and this advice is not made.

I think you read a bad article from a depressed and unreliable source.

Post Edited (DBwithUC) : 5/12/2016 8:49:35 PM (GMT-6)

I have never had a professional tell me not to have children because of UC. In some ways, I guess I am lucky because I've never wanted children. I would say the UC would be the "icing on the cake" but I wasn't planning on having children regardless, so it was not a consideration in my decision. I never wanted any, long before I had a diagnosis of UC.

I have seen people say things like this here and there on the internet, and while I wouldn't prefer to have UC, I don't think it's that conclusive that your children would have UC just because the parent/s do. I don't have any UC in my family as far as I know - many of us don't, you can get this illness regardless.

I think Alice is right, everyone has struggles. I have never seen people with other mental/physical conditions told not to have children. In fact, I see people with all different stages of cancer having trying to have kids. I've seen people freeze eggs knowing they were going to undergo chemotherapy. Is there anything wrong with that? I don't think so. I wouldn't do it myself, but that's their prerogative. I don't want children, so I say I wouldn't knowing I have no intent of having children... I've seen people with all sorts of AI conditions having children. You can live a full life with many conditions. I've seen very old men father children... women in their late 40s with higher risk pregnancies going for it...

Actually, since having UC surgery, I no longer have UC and though surgery wasn't ideal, it has solved my problem. I would say that is a much better "worst case", than many other illnesses. Everyone has good and bad traits, UC was probably not the worst of my inherited character traits. My parents passed some really terrible environmental conditioning my way, such as stubbornness, negativity... things that impact me every day and there is no remission from these traits.

You're very young. It's better to focus on you, achieving your goals, finding love, then decide if you want children. In my opinion, children should be the product of being in the right relationship, not the conquest of a person's life. It's easy for me to say that though because I never wanted any. Even when I found mr. right it didn't change my mind in the slightest.

Just becuse there are genes that have been identified in pts with Ibd does not mean those genes will be turned on.
I have communicated with several Ibd specialist regarding fertility as this was something I was concerned with when I was diagnosed.
I know several people with Ibd and their children are ok.
I know someone who is 70 and has several children and grandchildren who are all ok. This article is seemingly a piece of work. Did the authors have the credentials to write it? Who sponsored it?

This is sad. I had both my kids before I developed UC (age 38) and in my family, the only other person to have IBD is my maternal grandmother and she had CD. My paternal grandfather also had some issues with bleeding, but they always came about when he quit smoking but never had a concrete diagnosis.

It's a personal choice.......with my family health history, there was no way in hell I was going to be a part of procreating the BS. A bigger plus is that my brother has no children. There is an unbelievable calm about it.

Having a child is a personal right in most countries...it doesnt mean everyone should.

q