How many here have parents that became diabetics and later became diabetics themselves?

My father became diabetic over night, actually my 18th bday. Doctors told me by the time I turned 25 i'd be a full blown diabetic. Now I'm not but I'm still wondering if I will.

What do ya'll recommend?

Yes, there are chances that you might get this disease but it is not definate. Just try to be fit and keep your weight under control.

under what circumstances did your father get diabetes? it does depend on how he controls it and which type he has...

just try to keep eating properly and keep away from the sweets, if possible - my husband does NOT have diabetes tho his mother and grandmother had/has it, and he's approaching 40!

he went into a coma and woke as an insulin dependant, where he needed a shot every hour. He had just been sick, we thought at the time it was a flu and he'd been losing weight. Which he thought was a new diet he had found.

My husband's mother is diabetic, and now he is 39. He had a complete physical last year for a job and nothing turned up. So far so good. He keep good control of his sweet intake and his weight, so maybe he won't have to worry about it, but it is always in the back of your mind.

hmm... it sounds odd to me, but I'd discuss this with your doctor - it seems that it was an ongoing condition that your father didn't really address until he fell into the coma, which is a totally different thing that just feeling unwell and seeking treatment.

it's always possible, but not a guarantee.

I have often wondered about this myself. My mother had diabetes, so I knew that I was at risk. So if I have it, my child is at risk , but I often wonder does that neccessarily mean he will definately get diabetes? His doctor says he may not , but I don;t know anyone who's parents have it who did not get it.

I would say that your children would be prone to it, but it's not a guarantee - as long as the blood sugar is monitored by the medical professionals you should be fine!

I know of a friend of mine, her mother is diabetic, then at first she was not affected by this disease. She got married at the age of 22, then bear her eldest child. Later on, after her delivery with the first child, it has been detected by her doctor that she had already been a diabetic, right after the delivery of her first born child.

The risk for "passing on" autoimmune Type 1 diabetes (which sounds like the kind your father had-it usually presents suddenly, often with coma, and CANNOT be prevented) is 7% for a father, and 2-4% for the mother. If BOTH parents have T1, the risk is about 30%. Most people who inherit the genes for T1 never develop it because they are not exposed to the "trigger" whatever that may be.

If there are multiple other autoimmune diseases present in the parent or parent's family such as MS, Lupus, Autoimmune Thyroid Disease, Celiac Disease, etc. the risk may be much higher because it signifies a strong genetic component to developing autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes.

For Type 2 diabetes (the common lifestyle related kind), I think the risk is high, 50% chance if both parents have it. Of course, Type 2 can easily be prevented in most cases by living a healthy lifestyle and making the effort to prevent it. Lifestyle usually overrides genetics, but not always of course.

There are rare exceptions like MODY (Type 2 in young thin people), which have a very strong genetic component, but thankfully, MODY is fairly rare.