Has anyone looked back in their family trees...

[20tinytoes]

And seen evidence of a possible heriditary link?

I'm really fascinated by my dad's side of the family history.  Unfortunately, he died 11.5 months before my daughter was born, so there's no way to really go back and get "real answers" but this is what I have learned

All my life I knew that my dad had an "irregular heartbeat."  As I got older I got more of the "skipped heartbeat" definition.  Of course this didn't hit my radar as I had no idea what that meant, really.

I also knew that my dad's mother died at the age of 47 in the early 1950's.  She died of heart and kidney failure...apparently the meds for her heart made her kidneys fail and when they took her off the meds her heart failed.  My dad died of exactly that same issue following bypass surgery at age 64.  (Gosh, that family history doesn't bode well for me, huh?)

Anyway, I've just recently put together some knowledge that I'd had from the time I was very small...My dad had a sister who was about 2 when she died "suddenly."  No signs of illness, no injury. 

So my theory is that my Grandmother had Sjogren's at the very least and that my dad himself had a first or second degree heart block.  He had not seen a doctor as a child and when he entered the military that's when he learned about his "skipped beats."  They didn't care about that back in the day, though. 

I also am thinking that my dad's sister (who was born and died before he was born) had a complete heart block and just lived as long as she could. In the early 30's when she passed there was no such things as pacemakers and again, she likely didn't ever see a doctor, even at birth.  These were not rich people and being born in 1929 meant you were born in the Great Depression...not a lot of money to see a doctor if you were pregnant. 

I was just curious if anyone else had seen a pattern in their family history.



Kay

[Pooh]

Kay,

This interesting.  I haven't answered sooner because I've really been thinking back.  I was raised by my grandparents so I don't know to much about my Dad's side of the family, but my Mom's medical history and her parents are sort of thin too.

My Mom had RA really bad and from looking back on her other problems I would almost bet she had Sjs too.  I know she also had thyroid but not sure if it were hyper or hypo.  I remember her having an operation for a disfused gorda (sp).  But other than that I really don't know more.  My Dad had diabetes, but not until late in life.

My grandmother had heart problems big time.  She had 3 heart attacks before the 4th one took her from us.  My grandfather was healthy as horse and I don't think he ever saw a doctor, with the exception of those my grandmother had to go to. 

I on the other hand have been hit with quite a lot, as have my daughter. 

It does seem to give families a fit though.

Pooh

[Patze]

Hi Kay,

Interesting topic! 

Let's see, I don't know a lot about either side of the family medical tree as it's a bit difficult to explain.  But let's see what I can come up with...from the paternal side of the house, there is pancreatic cancer, skin cancer, diabetes, and heart issues. 

From the maternal unit, there is skin cancer (internalized), arthritis (RA for her), and "stomach issues" (never defined).  It's interesting though, we do have a genetic disorder that runs heavy on the maternal side of the house, but it's not an AI though.

And thankfully, kidlet does not have any AI's, yet - I sure hope that she doesn't develop any.

Take care -

Patze

[lynnmarie219]

Hi Kay!

Interesting topic! I have been interested in genealogy for a long time.....I work at it and then put it away, only to pull it out again here and there!

Anyway I also like to validate the data I receive by certificates and documents and I have always found the death certificates to very interesting. They have the direct and indirect causes of death listed and you can sure learn a lot about your family medical history that no one ever really shared with others because they didn't want to or simply because they didn't understand it all!

Its very informative and worth while to know what you have going on in your family background!

[LenV]

This should be interesting to doctors too.  My Dad's side of the family is ripe with autoimmune diseases and also cancer.  My Mom had high blood pressure and had a stroke when she was 36 years old.  Major one.  Dad is a colon cancer/prostrate cancer surviver and he also has rheumatoid arthritis.  I feel as if the autoimmune diseases came from my paternal grandmother.  Cousins have rheumatoid arthritis and so does my paternal aunt.  All on father's side.

Billye

[DebbiK]

Hi Kay,

I'm seeing a new rheumatologist on Thursday that told my mother that the Sjogrens is probably hereditary. My great grandmother had RA so severe she was in a wheelchair. When my  mom went to see this rheumatologist and explained family history her comment was that no wonder I was having so many problems as it has been passed down through the generations and then she demanded that I come in to see her. She normally requires a referral and I didn't even need that just a phone call. It will be interesting to see what she says on Thursday about the hereditary factor.

Deb

[Sjenny]

My grandmother was severely crippled by rheumatoid arthritis and bedridden.  My mother has rheumatoid arthritis but it was very well controlled by DMARDs and now she is in remission!

Sue

[wen.uk]

I started on my family tree a couple of years ago but haven't had the inclination or energy to do any further research for these past few months.  I find the whole subject fascinating but very tiring when trawling for information.

I was fortunate to meet up with two of my Dad's cousins who I managed to track down, and during our catching up one mentioned that her daughter had recently been diagnosed with Lupus and been very poorly.  We share paternal great grandparents so I'll probably look a little more closely at the health of this side of the family.  Interesting thread, thanks.

[Sandra]

This is an interesting subject for me. My family is full of auto-immune oddities. From thyroid to diabetes, to alopecia and arthritis. I have Addison's, auto-immune early menopause and sjogren's. I have know for a long time that my mom has suffered from sjs for years and my older sister too. They denied it, mom still does but my sister who is a very healthy person finally came clean to me about a month ago. She is very scared of it though and only self diagnoses, eye drops etc, won't see a doctor. I worry about that as my sjs has involved my liver, nervous system and muscles. I am now getting some opinions about that and am to start treatment with plaquenil, seems it's the only coarse as this for me seems to be progressive. Sandra