Hi everyone,
Hope you don't mind me posting
My husband was diagnosed T1 last month, he's doing really well managing his sugar and things are good
I was just wondering, will having diabetes effect us trying to have a baby? I read an article stating that T1 can effect sperm and it's just been playing on my mind!
Also, can T1 be hereditary? I also read that some where!
I really hope you don't mind me asking, these questions may seem really stupid.
Thanks so much,
Kirstie xx
Hello,
Always a bit of a roller coaster with a new diagnosis but sounds like he's handling it alright. As long as he's working on getting his sugars controlled I wouldn't be too worried about it affecting fertility. There aren't a lot of studies about male fertility and T1 diabetes, but there is some evidence that prolonged high bloodsugars can cause issues with sperm DNA - but again, I wouldn't be too worried since he's working on getting it controlled better.
T1 is hereditary, but it also seems like luck of the draw. I'm the only person that we know of on either side of my family going back 4 generations. I know a family that also can't find anyone in their family tree previously diagnosed, but all 3 sons ended up with it.
- Neither parents having T1 means there's a 1/100 chance the child will have T1.
- A mother with T1 who has a child conceived before she's 25 has a 1/25 chance of the child having T1.
- A mother with T1 who has a child conceived after 25 has a 1/100 chance of the child having T1 (so same as non-diabetic parents).
- A father with T1 means the child has a 1/17 risk the child will have T1.
- And finally, a parent who was dx by the age of 11 means the child's risk of T1 doubles (for example, I was dx at 10 and I'm 29 so that means my child's risk is 1/50).
(Information from the American Diabetes Association)
Again, it's really just the luck of the draw. I know lots of folks who have T1 who have kids who are over 20 and haven't been dx so far, and there's some that end up with 1 out of a few kids dx so it could happen, but it's not enough of a reason for me personally to not have a kid. And lots of folks like me who can't find any history and get it anyway.