Is MC hereditary?

Jimbo1968 · Post by **Jimbo1968** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 7:27 am

Hi all I apologise if I've asked this question before, but I was wondering if MC is hereditary. Don't know if I've mentioned it before but my mother was diagnosed with it 10 years ago at University College Hospital London . I was wondering if it is known to run in families. Thanks Jim

Post by **tex** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 10:20 am

Hi Jim,

As far as I'm aware, there is no published medical research that leans either way on that question, so these are uncharted waters. Most MDs will likely insist that there is no hereditary association (based on the lack of verification by medical research — they always ignore the fact that no published research rules it out, either).

But many of the members here (including me) had a parent who, though never diagnosed, obviously had either celiac disease or MC. And a few members here have a parent who actually was diagnosed with either MC or celiac disease. So I'm inclined to believe that the genes that predispose to any IBD can certainly be transmitted in families, and that obviously would increase our risk of developing the disease.

But that's just my strictly unprofessional opinion.

Tex

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:44 pm

I recently learnt that both grandmothers could not tolerate dairy and avoided it...
This is early 1900's.
Agree with Tex's response, that there are generally some sort of historical link in prior generations.

(My mother has crohns and now has stoma)

For whatever reasons, it did not reach chronic level in the prior generations.
Now with nutrient deficiencies, lifestyle factors, excess use of antibiotics/medications, etc etc etc these conditions are chronic,

DJ · Post by DJ » Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:57 pm

Along with my MC, I have a severe cough with vocal cord dysfunction and a chronic gas pocket right below my stomach, which is always visual on ultrasounds and interferes with the test. When I bend to the left and force my ribcage down, I burp like a cartoon character and my coughing then calms down. I believe that I have damage in my stomach and small intestine similar to what is in my large intestine. My grandmother was the same. She had bathroom issues and she called her severe couch choking (but she wasn't really choking). She had terrible digestive problems and pernicious anemia. I believe that she had MC (along with her rheumatoid arthritis). My oldest sister has been on PPIs for her gut and pain medication for fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis forever. She also has lupus, Sjogrens disease, and very early diagnosed lung cancer. She's the poster girl for autoimmune disease, and in my opinion, gluten sensitivity. My father had a awful gut with bleeding ulcers. He also had colon cancer late in life. I'd easily bet that he had H. Pylori before anyone knew what to do about it. I remember him eating breakfast, vomiting, and going to work. He was always rubbing his belly. My son and my niece have frequent bouts of painful diarrhea after eating. I had it for years. The doctors tested me for several things and concluded that it was IBS, a very vague term. My niece has one child (of four) with the same problem and my son has one (of three).

Yes, I think it's hereditary, or runs in families for other reasons. I recently asked my son if I could pay for him to be tested.

Blueberry · Post by **Blueberry** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 5:57 pm

Having worked on my families genealogy, I've wondered about that, if the condition runs in the family and if so could it cause other problems outside of GI issues. My father's side of the family is the only one I'm familiar with that has had family members with severe GI issues similar to myself. I had a cousin that I've been told had a great many physical along with mental issues in her brief life. She was diagnosed with Crohn's at one point, which I've wondered about since the diagnosis came from the notorious state charity health care system. Regardless she must have had severe GI issues. I also found a bunch of old letters from a great grandmother in which she wrote in each of the letters about the great many stomach problems she was experiencing. Her stomach must have bothered her greatly. She didn't go into detail on what those GI problems where. I remember dad mentioning though that the small town doctor she and he saw said both had the same "long stomach", which for what ever reason the 1950s doctor felt was problematic for GI issues. Dad has had some GI issues, but nothing severe by any means.

I'm not well today to the gut, but I've had the good fortune to get myself good and healthy through diet in the past. Frustratingly I've had problems figuring out all the problematic foods, and once adding back foods into the diet eventually slipping back into GI MC misery. Something I've noticed is that once my gut is well, I look healthier naturally but also some learning issues improve dramatically. When ill to the gut I have a problem with spelling for some strange reason. (Kind of odd too as mom was a spelling bee champion, even winning a college scholarship to become an English teacher.) When well and recovered spelling is easy for me. The words I want to spell pop up in my minds eye. I'm not the only one with the spelling problem. My father has this, as does my sister she says. Neither have GI issues. Anyway, getting back to my great grandmother and her letters complaining about her stomach, great grandma was a terrible speller.

I guess worth mentioning, I have a nephew that when he was a baby his mother was greatly concerned he had a severe cow milk allergy. The doctor believed my nephew would out grow the milk allergy, which he seems to have done so. Of my nephews though he has had the most health problems. He does not have a spelling problem. If anything he is a genius having taken a college exam in 7th grade and obtaining a score high enough to qualify him for many top Universities.

Bit of a ramble with this, but that is what I've pieced together on a possible theory for my inherited gut issues. I remember mentioning this theory to my GI doctor years ago and he thought little of it. He said GI issues are inherited from the mothers side of the family. Alrighty. If I do turn out to have my GI problem caused by milk and beef, which is looking pretty good for me at the moment, my father has avoided most milk products in his life, I remember him saying - and from what I've seen when he eats. He isn't a big beef eater either. That might have been a fortunate eating choice to take.

Gigi · Post by **Gigi** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 8:13 am

My son, who is now 29, had bowel issues as an infant. Chronic diarrhea, with mucous. He was entirely breastfed. Of course I introduced solid foods at around 4 - 6 months, but he would not accept a bottle ever. A pediatric gastroenterologist diagnosed him with irritable bowel and prescribed metamucil. Whether that helped or he just got better anyway, it's hard to say or remember. He did get better and has been very healthy, however, he always had "bathroom" issues. By the time a child is older, unless it's a huge problem, you just don't get a lot of detail about what goes on in the bathroom, if you know what I mean. Plus, I really didn't instinctively relate because prior to the last 5 years or so I just didn't have that problem. So he never complained very much. However, the last couple of years I know that he has had more issues. When I discovered that I had the genetic markers for gluten sensitivity it convinced him to try a gluten free trial himself and he discovered that he is absolutely gluten intolerant. So I know he has at least one copy of the gene for gluten intolerance and it probably began to express at an early age, for some reason. Whether or not he has MC we don't know. His symptoms are not severe enough and he manages them so he is not very eager to go get a colonoscopy.

But I believe this probably does run in families. I happen to believe that environmental triggers play a very large role in causing the genes to express. So it may or may not express, it just depends on the individual and what they have been exposed to. Pathogens, antibiotics, other meds, stressful events, etc.

Gigi

HappyBird · Post by **HappyBird** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 8:22 am

DJ wrote:I have a severe cough with vocal cord dysfunction

Hello Blueberry..........

Do you have laryngospsms maybe?

I suffer from laryngospasms, they are related to eating very sweet, very sour or very dry food. The early forms of gluten free bread from 2005 was notorious for seting me off.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-cond ... q-20058269

Blueberry · Post by **Blueberry** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:03 am

Hi Happy Bird - I'm guessing your question is meant for DJ and mistakenly referenced me. But no to your question, as far as I know I do not have laryngospsms.

Marcia K · Post by **Marcia K** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:33 pm

I have a brother with self-diagnosed celiac disease. He was able to stop his symptoms by research and eliminating gluten. A niece was just diagnosed with crohns/colitis, her brother has crohns, a great-niece was diagnosed with "something" and was off gluten but now her mother says she's "cured." She is not, she gets sick depending on what she eats. Her mother has custody and lives out of town so my family is out of the loop with things. My dad always had a bloated stomach so he definitely had something going on, too. My sister has IBS. I am of Irish heritage which is a factor in these types of diseases. I am the only one with LC, but my gene pool definitely paved the way!

DJ · Post by DJ » Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:24 pm

Hi HappyBird, My vocal chords are burned from stomach acid.

Jimbo, It looks like some of us think this runs in families

Chemgirl · Post by **Chemgirl** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:34 am

Nobody with diagnosed MC in my family, but my grandma had Crohn's disease and two of my aunts are diagnosed Celiac. So it looks like there is something genetic going on.

Jimbo1968 · Post by **Jimbo1968** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 12:43 pm

Thankyou all for your feedback on my question. as I suspected these problems do run in the family. In my case my mother was in her early 60's on onset I'm mid 40's, I don't suppose theirs a rule that we have to follow the exact route to MC.

HappyBird · Post by **HappyBird** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 2:57 pm

Blueberry wrote:Hi Happy Bird - I'm guessing your question is meant for DJ and mistakenly referenced me. But no to your question, as far as I know I do not have laryngospsms.

Sorry Blueberry and DJ......for the mix up. I'm still a newbie it seems!

HappyBird · Post by **HappyBird** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 5:10 pm

DJ wrote:Hi HappyBird, My vocal chords are burned from stomach acid.

Hi DJ........

Sorry to hear about your vocal chords. I suffer from laryngospasm, it often happens when eating very sweet or very sour items. I can't eat fudge or those little white pickled cocktail onions.