Stressed out about passing on UC to my kids!

I worry about the same thing because UC runs in my family big time. But at the same time you can't make yourself crazy over something that may never happen. My youngest son has allergeries which can be a pre-curser to other problems down the road (at least in my family it's gone that way). But like you I'm praying every day they never have to deal with UC.

My cousin has crohns, diagnoses at 20. His twin daughters diagnosed, both of them, at 15. I do believe it is a legitimate concern. I would talk to their pediatrician about possible check ups, etc.

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I know the chance of them inheriting it is dramatically increased when a parent has it.

It depends on what you consider dramatically increased. The lifetime risk when one parent has it is about 5-10%, so to me, that means a 90-95% chance they will NEVER get it in their lifetime. Not so dramatic in my mind.

When both parents have it, the risk goes up quite a bit, 30% I believe. Still, that is a 70% chance of NEVER getting IBD.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t...iO7NWl1xvn-g&cad=rja

There is a stronger genetic link for Crohn's than UC, as indicated in twins studies.

Both myself and my husband have UC. My youngest son developed UC at the age of 21, pancolitis that required hospitalization of a few days. That was about 3 years ago and been in remission ever since. You cannot beat yourself up about things you do not have control over. People don't seem to punish themselves about passing on genes for heart disease, obesity, diabetes, etc.

Life is full of risk, this is just one of them. Try not to have IBD be the defining issue in your lives, but be aware of the possibilities. I was happy to have my knowledge when my son began to have symptoms. He was diagnosed in less than 24 hours. With me, it took a month. I really think early detection and treatment is the key.

Besides, what are the alternatives? Never been born? I don't like that one...

Jan

Jan, as always, thank you for you honest, refreshing and comforting perspective. This is something I've fretted about often as our oldest is rapidly approaching the age when I was diagnosed. Like others, I flinch every time one of our kids complains of a stomach ache. I pray that my wife's genes will rule the day. In the mean time, thank you again; you truly are a credit to your profession as well as this board. Warm Regards, Steve

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I can't stop stressing out about passing on UC to my children!

The only thing you can do to control it is to not have kids. Since you already had kids, and already made this decision, there is nothing you can do to control it. So there is no point in worrying about that which you cannot control. It is like worrying about when the world will end. There will be nothing I or you can do to control that, so I waste no time worrying about it. Life is too short to be worrying about things we cannot control.

My husband and his brother and their father all have UC. We have three daughters and one of them was diagnosed with UC five years ago. It definitely does run in families unfortunately.

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Since you already had kids, and already made this decision, there is nothing you can do to control it.

While I agree completely with the sentiment, I don't totally agree that there isn't anything you can do. If you're really worried about it there are things you can do to try and mitigate the risk as much as possible. I was diagnosed young but had had problems as long as I could remember. I just thought it was normal, so you can make sure your'e on top of educating them on what's normal and what isn't in terms of their body. You can try some diets that are typically UC friendly (Paleo, SCD, avoiding dairy, etc.) You can get them on a probiotic young (it's good for 'normal' colons so you're not doing any harm). You also know what to look for, so as Jan said - instead of waiting a month you can get them right in for treatment.

LionsPride,

Those are very good points. However I think you can do all those intelligent things and still have the kid end up with IBD and that risk is still there. The risk cannot be eliminated except by not having kids, which is what I should have said.

This discussion reminds me of a discussion I had with a work colleague of mine or I should say a work contact. She is a 40 year old woman and was telling me she had negotiated with her husband to have a 3rd child, having already had two kids who are both teenagers. So she got pregnant and was telling me all the things she was doing, as far as diet, as far as monitoring her blood sugars. She seemed real proud of the militaristic regimen she had, and told me she was "really, really good at pregnancy" or something like that, and it sounded like she was, based on how well informed she was in what she was doing. Well unfortunately she miscarried that child and I am sure it was not because she did not do something right. Sometimes there is a risk, and I am sure she knew the risk, and was doing everything she could to prevent it from coming home to roost. And I guess my point was that the only way to completely eliminate any risk to be stressed over is to not have the kids. But as we know, for this poster, that horse is out of the barn, that train has left the station, and so there is no looking back now as far as the no risk situation.

For some reason the only time I ever intellectually analyze risks I cannot control is when I fly, and it is for this reason I deeply fear flying. I was never able to stop doing it and I always think about it, despite the logic involved. And it is because unlike driving a car, I feel I lack control and am powerless to do anything.

I don't agree with saying that the only thing you can do to control it is to not have kids. Breastfeeding is thought to offer possible protection from IBD. Though one study comes out that says it does and it is followed by one that says it isn't proven, like a lot of other medical research. But breastfeeding has many positive health benefits for both mom and baby anyway.

Breastfeeding and IBD

I was bottle fed, got UC. My sons were breast fed, the younger one got UC, and he was the one who breast fed longer. I'm a big supporter of breast feeding, but the evidence is not very convincing. Still, worth a shot. Of course, with kids already born and older, there is no going back for a redo!

Jan

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Breastfeeding is thought to offer possible protection from IBD.

I was breast-fed and it did not "protect" me from having 40 years of IBD (and I would also strongly advise you not to speak to my mother on this subject). The only thing you can do to completely control the situation of not having a kid with IBD is to simply not have kids, period. Everything else is speculation, rationalization/justification, and/or pure dice rolls.

The problem with controlling the situation by never having children is that one then never gets to experience the joy of having children. There are so many things that could happen to a child (other than IBD) that if one chose auto control a a possible situation by never having children the human population would come to a screaming halt.

Based on how parents on this site have handled an IBD diagnosis they've moved forward with dignity and grace. I think that's how most of us would handle it.

kathy

In our situation neither my husband or I have ibd issues and as far as we can tell no one in our family has either. My daughter has it bad enough she has recently had the j-pouch surgery. Honestly I am of the thought that it is in big part an auto immune issue. Our other daughter has had 2 different autoimmune diseases, a little easier to control and deal with. My UC daughter had, UC and also has a problem with boils which is considered to be an autoimmune disease. In some respects it's a crapshoot, in others it's where two people's genetics meet. I know if my daughters have children we will always be on the lookout for any signs of any auto-immune issue. At least as mothers they will have a bigger clue than I had, I had no clue at all and they will be able to deal with it better. And Maybe, Just Maybe, there will be better medical information to help prevent some of the horrors that so many of you all and my daughter have gone through.