This may be of interest to some of you. I have been doing my family history for a few years & have obtained a copy of my gt.gt. grandfather's death certificate from 1862 & the cause of death (AT 79 yrs) is noted as rheumatism & paralysis. This was on my mother's mothers side of the family & I have also found out recently it was also on mother's fathers side of the family. I think it somehow helps a little to know of the genetic link - I feel we have the genes & stress seems to be the most common trigger. I started my search at familysearch.org. I think I am glad I have it now and not in the 1860s - painkillers would not have been around - I guess they drank lots of whisky!
It does seem to give some sort of explanation as to why I have inherited this disease and in a funny way does help. It is sometimes hard to get away from the feeling I have done something to bring on the disease at sometime in my life but now I know that is probably not the case, although stress probably triggered it.
Would be interesting if others can track down a genetic link. I know a little about genealogy and would be happy to help anyone get started if I can.
Oh forget whisky! They had opium!
Wiki on Opium: "Many patent medicines of the 19th century were based around laudanum (known as "tincture of opium", a solution of opium in ethyl alcohol). As a result of this substance being branded a miracle cure for many common illnesses (ranging from colds to alcoholism), the substance developed a very large number of addicts at the time."
My sister and I got into the whole genealogy thing after trying to trace genetic illnesses thru the family tree. It can become time consuming but it's just so darn fascinating. (Just in case you haven't run across it already) Do check out www.cyndislist.com - it's a categorized & cross-referenced index to genealogical resources on the Internet. Very helpful, neat and easy to read - which, after reading tiny print for hours just to find one little tidbit of information, is a welcome relief!
But I haven't been able to find any autoimmune problems in any other family members. This holds with my general theory that I may be an alien (grew up near Roswell, you know). I'm going to check the link. If you want to post more on this subject, it would be nice to pursue. Cassie, I just added this link to another topic, but it may also be helpful to your topic, also. http://www.behrenslab.org/images/pdfs/madgc_ajhg.pdf
They also had morphine in the early 1800's and wealthy women would inject it prior to attending an engagement, lol. I found out that my gr grandmother and many of her daughters had rheumatism and psoriasis. I think that if we carry the gene then something that stresses our bodies turns it on even a severe illness as I believe happened in my case. Cassie Have you found evidence of RA in more recent generations? I claim no expertise but would have thought that rheumatism in someone 4 generations back alone might just be regarded as coincidence. Don't hereditary diseases surface more frequently than that? I've been into genealogy for some time too. Luckily one of my grandparents had an unusual surname which has made tracing that branch fairly simple but nontheless enjoyable. I've regarded it as training for my other rather more common names. Another 'weird' old remedy - cannabis for menstrual pain, I guess it still hurt but the ladies just didn't care
[QUOTE=hessalina]I tend to think that relatives may carry the gene but it may need a trigger to develop into RA. Maybe that's why it seems to skip generations. That sounds plausible Hessalina. Creepy thought though that something could lurk a hundred yearsBut it would make sense. Your genes are passed down - watered down, but still. AI diseases are attached to a certain gene. Makes sense to me
My maternal grandma had polio as a child, and as she got older she shrank with age - lol, no matter what was wrong with her she always said it was "the polio" and would not go to the Dr, but in her later years we noticed that her joints in her hands were twisting. We don't know for sure it was RA but there seems to be no one else in our family history with RA, not that I have found anyway. Geneology is a fascinating, time consuming thing, we have found a heap of old skeletons in my husbands family tree - lol
I have no facts to support this but it sounds good, huh?My grandmother on my mom's side has Psoriasis and my grandmother on my fathers side had Rheumatoid Arthritis. Both had diabetese also. Those are the only two in my family that I know of for sure that definately had some form of auto-immune disease. My Rheumatologist did seem to think that there is some significance to Auto-Immune diseases being hereditary and therefore in the "gene pool" as he took all of this family history into account when making my dx.
I have no facts to support this but it sounds good, huh?[/QUOTE]
I feel like I know myself better, cause I know where I came from. I love looking at old photos and trying to spot my nose, the shape of my eyes, figuring out who I look like.
I too have traced the medical conditions of family members. It is fascinating. I actually made a family tree which showed causes of death for all my ancestors and the collaterals attached to my family. It's so fascinating talking to cousins I have met on the internet and learning the things we have in common.
And honey, I love the skeletons in my closet best of all. Sure makes for interesting stories to tell, especially since I've found a lot of them!
Thanks for your comments on family history.
lYNK - I can see us all with our opium pipes for pain relief!
Deanna - Have been amused all day by the fact you grew up near Roswell. The conspiracy theorists say the US govt have an alien body - maybe you could ask for DNA samples. Seriously though people are now donating DNA to confirm their family history.
Tinker - I have 2 living relatives that I am aware of with RA - dont know much about the medical history of descendents apart from what I mentioned so it doesnt seem to be a coincidence - as far as I know there is a definite genetic link.
Chunkychic - a few of us here have had polio in our descendents, maybe a connection here with RA.
Hillhoney - I too love genealogy - I have traced some of my family back to the late 1700s - all on the net & all at no cost. Some of my ancestors came from the area around the Rosslyn Chapel which of course was mentioned in the da Vinci Code which all makes my imagination go into overdrive at times but it is all good fun. Have found a few skeletons but nothing really exciting yet - but I am hoping one day I will. Life can be boring with RA so living vicariously through our descendents seems a
fun thing to do.
I would recommend genealogy as a fun hobby & a good distraction from the dreaded pain of RA.
Happy researching.
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com