Re: AIH in my family

[Guest guest]

Jen

I have read that autoimmune disease does tend to run in families, and

it is true with mine. In addition to AIH I have 2 other autoimmune

conditions. My brother was diagnosed 2 years ago with Raynauds

syndrome, and when he was a preteen he had thrombocypetenia that

lasted until he went through puberty. My son was diagnosed with

autoimmune thyroid disease when he was 11 - gone when by the time he

turned 16. I have a niece with interstitial cystitis. My mother has

had thyroid disease most of her life. I also have 2 nephews each of

whom appear to have some strange clotting disorder, but have not been

diagnosed with anything as yet as neither has health insurance to pay

for the testing. Just due to the family history, makes the rest of us

think it may be autoimmune.

nne

>

> I first joined this group about a year ago when my Mom who has AIH

> found out she also had cirrhosis. Mom had a really hard time with her

> health for about five months but seems to be doing well now. Last week

> my sister found out that her liver enzymes were elevated and this week

> she found out that she too has AIH. Do any of the rest of you have

> more than one person in the family with AIH or autoimmune diseases?

> Thanks.

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, my family has (or had, some are deceased) the following, over the

four generations that I know anything about:

Father - rheumatoid arthritis, Type II diabetes

Paternal Aunt Elaine - lupus

Paternal Aunt LaVerne - lupus

Maternal Aunt June - Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

Daughter Robin - Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

Daughter Cheryl - lupus

Niece - Grave's Disease

Granddaughter Carly - celiac disease

Biological granddaughter/adopted daughter Emma - asthma

As for me, I have AIH, Hashimoto's, RA, asthma, psoriasis, and celiac

disease. Plus fibromyalgia, which may be eventually classified as an

autoimmune disease as well (some controversy). My sister also has fibro.

As everyone else has been pointing out, it's normal for autoimmune

diseases to run in families, but generally different family members

develop several different types of ADs. Thyroid ADs seem to be quite

common in my family, followed by lupus.

As Harper mentioned, it does seem to be true that if you have one AD,

and you live long enough, you will collect more of them!

JoAnn

>

> Do any of the rest of you have

> more than one person in the family with AIH or autoimmune diseases?

> Thanks.

>