[DianneW]

#1073454

Hi ElectricBlue,

First, the genetics for Graves’ Disease is hereditary, but that doesn’t mean that any of your children will necessarily get Graves’ Disease. There is a genetic defect that is about 30-40% responsible for the disease, but there also has to be some kind of environmental trigger to set off the genetic possibility that exists to get the disease. Not everything is known yet about what all might act as triggers in people with this genetic defect, but also not all of your children would necessarily inherit the defect. Besides that, other kinds of autoimmune thyroid disease are closely related to Graves’ Disease and occur in the same families, so it’s possible your children would get one of these rather than GD.

I didn’t think there was any thyroid disease in my family 13 years ago when I was diagnosed, but soon found out I had an aunt with Hashimoto’s disease (hypothyroidism). Not long afterwards, my daughter also was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Then a few years ago, a male cousin was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease, and just this year a sister was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. So as time goes on, you too may discover more thyroid disease in your family than you’re aware of now.

As for your second question: RAI doesn’t cause either sterility or potency problems in men who have had it. It’s true that the amounts of RAI not taken up by the thyroid are excreted in the urine, but the amount of radiation any part of your lower body is exposed to doesn’t exceed that you would receive in a couple of CAT scans, and no one worries about that (when it’s needed for diagnostic purposes). There may be reasons you choose not to have RAI, but you can be assured there would be no harm to your ability to have a normal sex life or to father a healthy child. This has been studied for many years. As with all the environmental radiation we receive daily without even realizing it, RAI causes small amounts of mutations to DNA, but not on levels high enough to translate into birth defects. It’s an individual choice whether to add that much more to what your future progeny will already unavoidably receive.

Should you decide not to continue with antithyroid drugs and you don’t want radioactive iodine, remember that you can always have a thyroidectomy. That has been a popular treatment choice for young people, since until recently RAI was not given to children, or even young adults.

I hope that your hyperthyroidism doesn’t return and that you are in remission. Please let us know!

[ElectricBlue107]

#1019693

Hey, I’m kind of new to these forums, I actually just found it and I’ve been looking for something like this. But I’m 21 year old male with Graves and I’m planning on having children soon and two questions.

1) Anyone with Graves disease seen it pass on to children? Or know of anyone with family history? No one in my family has this, no other thyroid problems at all so I was kind of a fluke, especially with me being a male too. So I was wondering if anyone knows how much of a hereditary issue this is. I’m wondering if I’ll have to worry about my kids having this or what not.

2) I don’t ever plan on getting RAI, I prefer methizamole (I mean, you’re going to be taking a pill every day anyways, I’d rather still have it than kill it with iodine) but if it did ever come to that, my real fear is that I’ve heard that incompetence might be an issue. My mom knew a guy at work that hasn’t been able to have kids after he had RAI and he has had some prior. This may be totally unrelated but it almost makes sense if you’re urinating out radioactivity.

Blah, also my doc tried to recently ween me off the methizamole, I doubt it worked though. I barely had the energy to lift a tray of food at work today ” title=”Sad” /> But I go back to the endocrine clinic tomorrow so wish me luck.

[pizzicatto]

#1073455

I didn’t know Graves Disease runs in my family (maternal side) until I told my sister to ask around if we have relatives who have this illness. A few days later, she emailed and said that a male cousin of ours aged 51 just had his thyroid removed. So, that answered my question . And it does and seem to manifest in my family’s case, during the middle years. My parents didn’t have GD (both had passed away). But I remember about my mum’s first cousin (my second degree aunt) who had thyroid problems and had a surgery when I was in kindergarten. This remembrance came to me as I was reading my sister ‘s email about our family health issues. In our case, GD manifested during our middle years. When I went to see my endocrinologist last week, I reported this information to him about my second cousin. However, during my first meeting with him I was not able to share this information due to lack of knowledge on my part. Now, I know better.

Just sharing here some info. Thanks for listening!

[VEGASGAL]

#1073456

I was recently diagnosed with Graves, and my mom got it about 15 years ago. She is 70 now and I am 48. I haven’t received treatment yet because it is early in the game.

[hyperm]

#1073457

Yes it is hereditary – my sis has it. My first little boy wasn’t tested as the disease never kicked off until after I had him, however with my 2nd little boy – he had to be tested on day five after birth because it is autoimmune and can effect growth etc.. thankfully he was fine and no further treatment is required for him – however, its not to say that my first little boy won’t develop it. My mum was tested for thryoidsim for years while pregnant with all 6 kids and nothing yet both my sis and I have it. Strangely enough my sis is a twin and her twin is fine!

I am not sure if its risky if its the female who has the disease rather than the male. Your endo will know more.

Good luck and happy baby making

M x

[hyperm]

#1073458

p.s I have read many people say that RAI doesn’t cause infertility yet my endo ruled that out when I said I wanted more children why is that????

mx

[elf]

#1073459

No matter how I try to rake my memory, I can’t think of anyone with thyroid problems in my family. Doesn’t mean that someone who I don’t know, didn’t have something. My grandma had typical Graves behavior though all she had proven clinically was blood pressure.

I had kids before my diagnosis, so it’s a huge question for me, will/won’t they have troubles? At least I can alert them of the possibility, and try to make sure they understand how important it is to steer clear of stress in their lives (stress the catalyst of Graves).

[elf]

#1073460

hyperm wrote:p.s I have read many people say that RAI doesn’t cause infertility yet my endo ruled that out when I said I wanted more children why is that????

mx

People have cildren after RAI, at least two of them have posted here.

On the other hand, it’s been a custom among doctors to err on the side of caution with younger people. I would say it’s more of "just in case" reasoning than any hard medical evidence.

[LaurelM]

#1073461

I also didn’t know about a family history of thyroid issues either. After I was diagnosed, I found out my maternal grandmother had RAI when she was in her mid 40’s and had been on replacement thyroid ever since. As soon as I was diagnosed, my primary care/family medicine doc added the family history to my children’s medical records as well. Sometimes it is convenient to have one doctor as the primary care physician for the whole family ” title=”Very Happy” />
I would recommend to all of us with children to be sure that their medical records also have the family history. I had it explained to me that it was sort of like the question "Does your family have any history of heart disease or high blood pressure?". Important information to have, but it is only a predisposition and not a guarantee of disease.

I also understand that having ANY family history of autoimmune disease puts you at a slightly higher risk for autoimmune disease in general (not just thyroid) and very common things like allergies and eczema are also autoimmune diseases so, I don’t know what percentage of the population that ends up being but it must be huge. Anyway, beyond having it in my children’s (& nieces/nephews)records, it is not something that I worry about.

For a pregnant mom who has had Graves disease regardless of which treatment she has had or euthroid state, there is a very, very, very rare possibility of the autoantibodies (that can still hang out in the blood) crossing the placenta and triggering a transient (temporary) hyperthroid state in the newborn. For this reason, it is also important for an OB doc as well as whoever will be the baby’s doctor to be informed of the mother’s Graves history so that they can monitor the pregnancy/delivery/ & the first couple of months just a little more closely.

[Ski]

#1073462

The thing that is hereditary is the likelihood of getting autoimmune diseases, not Graves’ specifically. If you have family members with diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s, or any other autoimmune disease, that’s the connection. If several family members happened to react with autoimmune thyroid diseases, that’s simply chance. The theory is that we have this proclivity for getting an autoimmune disease, then we have some (probably several) triggers that need to be pulled, and the autoimmune disease affects some part of your body that is weak. For instance, people with a previous history of chronic sinus infections are more likely to end up with the worst TED symptoms (TED being yet another autoimmune disease).

Still, the likelihood does NOT always translate into disease. That’s the thing they’re trying to sort out right now ~ what the triggers are, and where they can be interrupted.

[Author]

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