T
tcb121
Guest
I realize the push here for "Full Genetic Testing" but our daughter is fine and healthy. She has a negative sweat test and a negative second heel prick test. Wife went for testing last week and we should have her results soon. She did not do "Full Genetic Testing", but just the most common markers test. I will let you know her results when they come in. If she comes back positive I will get tested as well. Folione, you are in a statistical category all by yourself and even though it is "possible" that one of us has a rare mutation the odds are very very low. Just to put things in proper perspective even if we were both carriers of CF genes, no matter which ones they were, that would put our baby at a 1 in 4 chance of having CF. 25% chance is high, but you would have a 75% chance of having a child without CF at all. Thats with both parents being carriers. If you test both parents and only one shows one of the "Common Markers", the numbers go to a near 0% chance of having a CF baby. I realize that that is your reality, but that is a risk I think most people would take. You would have a higher chance of having another genetic disorder like "Down Syndrome" over having CF at that point in the statistics.
I guess my point is every baby has a chance of being born with a genetic problem and knowing risks vs the non-risks can be good and bad. I wanted to post my information for other parents to look at so that when they are told that their newborn was flagged for more testing that they could have a resource to look at IRT levels vs % with CF. I know my initial thought process was to find out the real % chances of our baby having CF. I knew the IRT level and I knew the F508 was the mutation. I then found a study that had done this exact test and was able to apply that data to our case. Instead of having a 25% chance or a 10% chance, I knew based on the data that our baby had a near 0% chance. Turns out that that indeed she is negative and does not have CF. That being said, she could have been the 1 in 800 or 1000 case, but those are odds I felt better about. At what point would the math make us consider not having another baby?? I would say if we were both carriers that would be enough. 25% risk is too much risk going in, but anything less then 5% I think we would be willing to give it a go. To each his own, I'm only posting to give others information. Full genetic testing imo is a money maker for the medical industry. Initial screenings give a accurate enough indicator that the majority of patients would be captured in the data sample. The 1 in a million cases are good cases for full genetic testing and most are done after the dx of a genetic disorder. Still, even if both parents have the testing done you still have a better chance of having a non CF child. So you can spend the money and be told both are carriers and that puts you in a 25% risk category or you can scan for the common markers and take your chances. I would push for full scanning of the baby if she was showing signs or had a borderline sweat test, but her results are fine and there is no need to continue down this road. I appreciate all the input from the folks here who have kids with CF. Some of the families here are those 1 in a million cases and that is why they stress the need for full testing. Common sense will tell you the odds are in your favor even if both parents are carriers. Get full testing done when other means fail. (ie borderline sweat tests, other symptoms etc..) If insurance is willing to pay for full testing and you need the piece of mind by all means go for it. For the masses of us out here who are flagged for false positives full testing is overkill and a money maker for the medical community.
I guess my point is every baby has a chance of being born with a genetic problem and knowing risks vs the non-risks can be good and bad. I wanted to post my information for other parents to look at so that when they are told that their newborn was flagged for more testing that they could have a resource to look at IRT levels vs % with CF. I know my initial thought process was to find out the real % chances of our baby having CF. I knew the IRT level and I knew the F508 was the mutation. I then found a study that had done this exact test and was able to apply that data to our case. Instead of having a 25% chance or a 10% chance, I knew based on the data that our baby had a near 0% chance. Turns out that that indeed she is negative and does not have CF. That being said, she could have been the 1 in 800 or 1000 case, but those are odds I felt better about. At what point would the math make us consider not having another baby?? I would say if we were both carriers that would be enough. 25% risk is too much risk going in, but anything less then 5% I think we would be willing to give it a go. To each his own, I'm only posting to give others information. Full genetic testing imo is a money maker for the medical industry. Initial screenings give a accurate enough indicator that the majority of patients would be captured in the data sample. The 1 in a million cases are good cases for full genetic testing and most are done after the dx of a genetic disorder. Still, even if both parents have the testing done you still have a better chance of having a non CF child. So you can spend the money and be told both are carriers and that puts you in a 25% risk category or you can scan for the common markers and take your chances. I would push for full scanning of the baby if she was showing signs or had a borderline sweat test, but her results are fine and there is no need to continue down this road. I appreciate all the input from the folks here who have kids with CF. Some of the families here are those 1 in a million cases and that is why they stress the need for full testing. Common sense will tell you the odds are in your favor even if both parents are carriers. Get full testing done when other means fail. (ie borderline sweat tests, other symptoms etc..) If insurance is willing to pay for full testing and you need the piece of mind by all means go for it. For the masses of us out here who are flagged for false positives full testing is overkill and a money maker for the medical community.