Having Crohns and Having Kids

[RedWhiteNews]

I have Crohn's disease and I'm wondering if anyone knows what the odds are of my children developing it. I don't have any kids yet but plan on doing so soon, once my current flareup is under control. I'm a man and my female partner does not have Crohn's nor does it run in her relatives.

On an unrelated note, is it hard to raise healthy kids when you as a parent have health problems?

 

[nogutsnoglory]

There is no way to predict whether your kids would have it or not. They are likely at an increased risk but that doesn't mean they will develop the disease.

Once you have kids there are very expensive tests by Prometheus labs that could possibly predict whether someone is at risk for developing IBD. These tests don't come without criticism and I'm not knowledgeable enough about them to know the level of accuracy in terms of its predictions.

 

[Jennifer]

Hi RedWhiteNews, I encourage you to give this a read. http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=41922

 

[kimmidwife]

Very interesting and informative read! My daughter right now says she does not want to have kids because she doesn't want to give them Crohn's disease. This makes me sad and I keep explaining to her that just because she has it doesn't mean her kids will. Well she's only a teen hopefully she will change her mind when she is older.

 

[Jennifer]

I used to say the same thing kimmidwife yet changed my mind. Still don't have any yet but plan on it eventually.

 

[plaidknitter]

I have a kid who does not have crohns so far (knock on wood!) but does have a major birth defect and extremely complex medical issues. But she is still awesome! Stuff happens. You could have a perfectly healthy kid become disabled in a car accident. When you become a parent there are zero guarantees even though some risks are higher or lower than others. But you love your kids, so you find ways to make things work.

 

[jancapper]

hi I have 3 children a son and twins boy n girl all grown up now , my eldest son was diagnosed with crohn,s at the age of 21 then my other son was diagnosed when he was roughly the same age , my daughter has been ok so far, but I have now been diagnosed a few months ago with crohns, I asked my consultant if my daughter should get checked out and he said only if she gets the symtoms , both my sons have had parts of there bowel removed , and I have a stricture , I,m currently on modulen to completely rest my bowel , I,m on day 6 and really finding it so difficult with being so hungry , I,m just weaning off steroids now, I hadn,t even heard of the disease till my sons were diagnosed ,the consultant told me I had the crohns gene and ive passed it on to my sons , I was devastated when he put it to me like that , I think I,m the lucky one as I,m 50 my sons were so young , horrible disease !! i hope you find the answers your looking for best wishes jan x