Hereditary risk of T2.

[gardengnome42]

My question involves my son in law. My daughter would always believe the doctor and not question his advice, she also thinks I spend too much time on the internet and that it isn't healthy to do so. She would also believe everything the NHS said without question, so she is sceptical if I mention anything that I've learnt on this site or any other. I joined this site myself when my dr told me I was prediabetic and I did my best to become informed and hopefully reduce my risk.

I was talking to my daughter's mother in law recently and she mentioned that her husband has diabetes which surprised me, I knew his brother had it and also their father before that. None of them were/are overweight or lead a sedentary life except the brother.. Son in law's father had prediabetes for quite a few years apparently and was diagnosed with T2 a year or so ago [ he's in his mid 70's ]. His wife complacently said 'It's only a little bit of diabetes, not a problem'. I didn't say anything to her but thought you either had T2 or you didn't and it IS a problem, and one to be avoided if at all possible, She then added that it runs through the male side of the family as though it was perfectly normal for all the males to develop it and presumably thinks my son in law will too in time. He's in his 50's and leads a healthy life style, certainly I wouldn't have thought there was anything that could be improved upon in that department. he does have hypertension though and takes pills for that and statins too as his brother died suddenly 2 years ago of a stroke in his 40's. So his risk ipresumably high.

I would dearly love to be able to warn my daughter that her husband has a big risk of developing diabetes because of the hereditary factor but fear I would be derided if she learnt I had got the info off the internet. What is the best thing to do/say without seeming interfering?

 

[Indy51]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Personally, I'd be inclined to keep the information to myself lest I gave the impression of an interfering in law.

Type 2 can have a very strong genetic component which the family seem to be aware of, so presumably your son-in-law is already aware of it. How seriously they choose to take it is really up to them.

In my experience people are usually only convinced by doing their own research. If your daughter is already making comments about reading stuff on the internet, it sounds like she has a fairly closed mind and saying something would probably only get her back up.

Maybe at some point you could ask your SIL general questions about the family history, but I really wouldn't try and push information on to anyone who hasn't asked for it.

Just my two cents.

 

[gardengnome42]

You are probably right. I certainly wouldn't want to interfere and cause trouble, yet if he developed it and it could have been avoided I would feel that something said in time might have prevented it. It was just that his mother seemed very relaxed about it as if it wasn't a problem. My daughter doesn't have a closed mind, far from it but I just think she thinks I am too interested and really shouldn't check the internet. some truth in that but I read and read for my own satisfaction. No doctor was going to stuff me up with medication unless I knew what things were for. If one can pass on anything then why not do so.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. You need to be aware that there is a spectrum of diabetes types and if your family have diabetes but are not overweight then it's possible it's not T2 but Late onset T1. The treatment approach may be similar but whereas T2 is due to insulin resistance from too many carbs and hence body fat, T1 is due to a failing pancreas. In the former the body may have too much insulin and in the latter too little. All forms of diabetes can be influenced by inherited genes of which many have already been listed making things very complex. Antibodies, viruses etc can also be implicated in T1. You are right that diabetes can be an inherited risk but not necessarily. Most diabetes GPs and DNs will confirm this. In one sense you can have 'mild' diabetes as the degree of pancreatic failure or insulin resistance will vary greatly but it must always be taken seriously to ensure it is managed and doesn't progress.