Are you the child or grandchild of DES

[Epson]

I have never brought this up before, but I was wondering how many of you had a mother or grandmother that took DES to prevent a miscarriage during her pregnancy.  The drug Diethylstilbestrol (DES) was used from the 1940 to 1975 when it became apparent the  drug had horrendous side effects.

The drug is believed to increase risk of autoimmune disorders by 50% and increase breast, uterus, testicular and bladder cancers.
There are a ton of articles on the subject and I have the web site of one that will give you the jest of the story if your interested. 
www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/00284/DES_Miscarriage_Cancer.html

[lesleyjoy]

Hi Epson, I know quite a bit about this subject as DES was used in New Zealand for miscarriages (of course it never worked and was ditched in favour of progesterone) and later on in a weaker form as the 'morning after pill'. I know a family where the mother took it during her 2 pregnancies with her sons (1952 and 1954). The eldest is sterile and the second son's wife kept having miscarriages due to malformed foetus. Probably his sperm was genetically mutated  Sad eh.

After this mother had, had her 2 children (sons) she didn't expect to have more children, but she had a daughter! Thank goodness she wasn't having the DES during that pregnancy as it can cause a clear cell cervical and vaginal cancers in the teenage daughters!!!

Fortunately this drug was never used in the UK. Interesting subject Epson, do you suspect that your mother took it when she was pregnant with you?

Lesley (NZ)

[Sandra]

Interesting idea about where this AI stuff all comes from. I have an idea that drugs like the one you speak of or others and outside or enviromental stuff like DDT etc are to blame foa allot of AI issues many, many folks like us at our age (middle) now suffer from. My family a family of 12 incl mom and dad (guess mom never took DES  ) are an entire family of AI oddities, thyroid, diabetes, Addison's, Sjs, Lupus, RA and a few more...so is it chemical/enviromental or is it heredity? My gram also suffered allot of AI stuff? Sandra

[Epson]

Lesley,

Yes I am very sure that she took DES, 99% sure, she had 5 miscarriages.

[Jesse88]

Yep, my mom took DES.  I've always wondered if it had any effect on me.  I used to worry about vaginal cancer but the doctor told me it would have happened already (I'm 56).  I wonder if that's also true for bladder cancer.  It's scary, all of it. 

[lesleyjoy]

Epson, is your cancer prostate or other urogenital? Just wondering because prostate cancer is very common in men  Have you got any siblings at all?
My ex-husbands mother had several miscarriages before she had him in August 1957 but she was under a specialist (not literally, but with her who knows lol) and was given a form of progesterone when she was pregnant with him. This is probably why he survived as progesterone is essential to secure implantation of the egg/foetus early on in pregnancy. I'm not sure if she had the same or any medication with the other miscarriages. She's still alive at 84 and my ex hasn't had any problems with fertility etc.

Hi Sandra, yes it's rather scary but as you say, I think it would have shown itself by now so maybe your mother only had a small amount of it. I think with all these things, that there has to be some genetic susceptibility to the cancer etc.

I know that used as the morning after pill it was relatively successful, but if the woman took it later that she should have after possible conception, and a pregnancy resulted, then the offspring had the same troubles as the DES in-vitro offspring!

Interesting, Lesley (NZ)

[Epson]

Lesley,

Nothing wrong with the prostate, well not yet knock on wood, but now the ureter is blocked and a dye injection and xray on Friday should show what is going on, will most likely have a stint place in the ureter and bladder biopsy.

I have been told by more then one doctor the it is very rare for someone my age to have bladder cancer and even more rare for someone who has never smoked.

DES is known to cause bladder cancer, I just wonder what might be in-store for my brothers girls, since it can show up in the next generation.

[lesleyjoy]

Epson, with the knowledge you have of this, you can inform your brother/and his offspring. I take it that your brother hasn't had any trouble as yet and hopefully will never do. I read that bladder cancer is 3 times more common in men than in women but with it is usually found at a later stage in women.
It is my understanding that the women who took DES are at far less risk than their in-vitro offspring, who were developing at the time    I've read that they also put small amounts of DES in vitamin tablets recommended for pregnant women in the US 

From my reading DES was widely used for a variety of conditions and to treat some male cancers. It was used to dry up milk in mothers who couldn't or didn't opt to breast feed their babies! My mother didn't breastfeed my younger brother who was born in 1966, so she may have had some herself!

Lesley (NZ)

http://www.desaction.org/

[Epson]

Lesley,

DES was also use in cattle feed  to increase their size in the U.S.  Now we just have high fructose corn sweetener with Mercury in it.

[eyeamdry]

Interesting idea about where this AI stuff all comes from. I have an idea that drugs like the one you speak of or others and outside or enviromental stuff like DDT etc are to blame foa allot of AI issues many, many folks like us at our age (middle) now suffer from.

I'm sure my mother never took DES, although I can't be positive because she passed when I was 25 so I can't check with her.  BUT, mentioning DDT brings chills to me.  I was remembering DDT the other day and we lived on a farm on the US/Canadian border and I remember my mother spraying the kitchen with DDT for flies.  We would all have to leave and go away or go outside for a certain length of time.  Then we would go back in and BREATHE this stuff!  Heaven knows it was all over the house and I'm sure many others were also exposed as I was.  My sister is on her third separate cancer in 20 years although I don't believe she has any AI issues.  I transferred them to my daughter, however, as she has Type I diabetes and Graves. 

We'll never really know how these things affected us.  Actually, I don't like to think about it as there isn't much we can do about it after we are aware.  Good thread.  Lucy

[Epson]

When I was a kid and the city would fog the streets at night with DDT to kill mosquitoes, lots of kids would run through the DDT fog, that can't be good.

How many of you remember the X-ray machines in shoe stores that let you see how your foot fit in the shoes?  The machines were not shielded in any way, so employees were bombarded with radiation all day long, wonder why I am not dead yet?

[eyeamdry]

Yes, Epson, I remember those x-ray machines.  I wonder if I can blame my sore big toe joint on using that darn thing? 
I also would wonder (really) how much radiation those machines could emit just sitting there all the time. 

[Epson]

Eyeamdry,

Enough to make a young mans hair turn white and kill his sperm!

[Maria3667]

Epson,

Yes I'm too a so called 'DES-daughter'.

Maybe it's a good idea to start a poll about this topic in the polls-section?

Best wishes,
Maria

[Patze]

Hi Epson,

I too remember them spraying the city (and suburban) neighborhoods with the stuff!  I remember that we were supposed to stay inside, but kids being kids, I had to be out there with the other "delinquents".  

It does make one wonder if that's why some of us are here?  Amazing.


Patze