Does diabetes run in your family?

Hi @brokencookie

How are you doing today?

This is a great question, thank you for getting the discussion started. The best way to understand if diabetes is hereditary is by asking your doctor, but I will tag a few members so they can give you their experiences and let you know if it is something that runs in their family.

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Are you the first person in your family to have diabetes? Do others in your family have diabetes? Do your children have diabetes? Do you think it is hereditary?

Take care,

Lizzi from the Carenity team

Yes, several people in my family have diabetes.

Before my diagnosis I had been managing my daughter's type 1. There was also my ex-husband who was type 1 and after meeting my biological father I found out he was diabetic. Just months before my diagnosis my biological mother was diagnosed with type 2.

Hey! This is my first time in Carenity. I’ve been struggling my entire life with the shadow of diabetes following me everywhere. My grandma who’s my best friend, has diabetes almost her entire life. I’ve been witnessing her suffering, the medicine, the other illnesses that come with diabetes and in my 33 years of life it never occurred to me that someday I might inherit the same disease. Two years ago, I had a routine check up, and my cholesterol was high, I had fat in my liver and my glucose was almost in the limit. I was so scare and in denial that I just blocked it from my mind, but during these years I’ve been living with the fear and anguish of really having diabetes… I don’t know that to do, I don’t want that for me. I think I did everything ok in order to never worry about diabetes but I guess that’s life…

My grandfather and dad both have type 2 but I was diagnosed first.

Yes my dad was a borderline diabetic then eventually became a diabetic.And my mom is also a diabetic both type 2.

Yes, there is a genetic component to diabetes. I am 3rd generation (at least). Both my Grandmothers, both parents, 1 sister, and regrettably, my youngest son. I was diagnosed in 1985.

Having said that, there's no guarantees one way or the other. I have other siblings and children who DO NOT have diabetes. You can do the Internet research to see what the odds are, but please, only go to authoritarian sources. Speak with your Dr/her Dr.

And as a Type 2 diabetic who is on multiple daily injections of insulin, I am NOT "suffering". I am considered "well managed" and do very little different than my non-diabetic friends. I wear a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) that I have to change once every 10 days (2 minutes) Yes, I inject insulin 5 to 6 times a day. (15 seconds each time) I have been injecting insulin for so many years, that I inject through clothes (I'm a office worker, not a farmer, or industrial person who would have contaminates on their clothes) I have friends who spend more physical and mental time working on their "Diets"

From a diet perspective, I eat anything I want. The key for me was portion control. (When I eat M&Ms I only eat 10 at a time.)

Biggest thing I can encourage is EDUCATION. Information in the Diabetic space is changing so fast, that anything older than about 5 to 6 years maybe out-of-date. (CGMs GLP-1, etc) BE SURE to take the initial education classes and do not skip the annual Continuing Education aspects.

Watch out for Scammers and Snake Oil Salesmen. There is NO CURE for diabetes. The most you can hope for is Remission. (Remission is defined as 6 months of A1c in normal range WITHOUT any drugs) Unless you are buying a book, things should be FREE.

Good luck :))

Yes it runs in my family but skips generations and i unfortunately have it

My dad had type 2 then after they discovered he was they found out I was also and I was already an adult so they don't know how long I went like that before they found out I had it

Neither my dad or mother. They. Were smokers and alcohol users. An uncle and his son? My wife and daughter. All in insulin? Step son diabetic. Both grand parents diab