[sam_i_am_71801]

Attention all adoptees,
I would like for as many of you to participate in this venture as possible.
The topic.
The importance of knowing our medical history.
I would like for you all to tell me a little bit about your medical background, and how if we had only known, our background medical history , some of us could have taken precautions to prevent the situation that some of us may be in today.
For instance.
I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 13 years old. I was 5 foot two inches tall at the time. I wore a back brace for two years in order to keep the degree of the curve at 21. I had no background information on my family. The doctors had nothing to go on as far as how tall I might grow to be. Well today I am 39 years old and still 5 foot two. My biological mother is also 5 ft two inches. No woman in my bio family is over 5 foot 4 inches. Had we known this it would have prevented me of two years of wearing the brace.....endless hours of physical therapy and days of missing school.
One of my Aunts died of heart disease, and one of my uncles just had a triple bypass. My bio mother has high blood pressure. One of my sisters has bells paulsy. The other has coliteous. Our grandfather died of colen cancer. I also have coliteous.
My bio father is bipolar. Although I have not been diagnosed with this........it could explain my battles with deep depression at times in my life.
Twins run high in my bio family my mother is one of thirteen children. The six children younger than her were 3 sets of twins. Two of those twins has a set of twins.
My daughter is expecting in January and guess what...........she is expecting twins.
These are all things that not only could be fatal to me and my children but some can be prevented or treated properly if we know what to watch for. I did get my non identifying information. But NO WHERE in the 5 pages of information did it state any of what I found out by talking with my family about medical conditions. The only thing it mentioned in any way of INFORMATION is the three sets of twins.
The reason that I would like for all of you to participate is that I will be sending our stories to one congress person in every state.
To try to get them to understand how vital it is that we have records opened. The non identifying information is too vague. This information being denied to us could mean LIFE OR DEATH for some of us. And should not be taken lightly. I feel that this may be one more step in the right direction to open records.
Please email me at sam_i_am_71801@yahoo.com If you would rather not post your information here.
Thank you all
Sammie

[HAIR127]

HI SAMMIE...GOOD THREAD.WE CAN MOAN ABOUT OUR ACHES AND PAINS!! LOL... MY AUNT(WHO I THINK IS MY BMOM HAD BREAST CANCER. I AM IN REMISSION FROM NON HODGKINS LYMPHOMA CANCER(I THINK I BEAT IT!!!!! MY 5 YEAR DATE IS FEB.!!!!) MY BROTHER (WHO I ALSO THINK IS MY AUNTS CHILD) HAS EARLY ONSET PARKENSONS. I SURE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE TRUTH IN MY FAMILY...WHO MY MOTHER IS. THIS WOULD HELP SO MUCH WITH MEDICAL!!! I HAVE GRANDCHILDREN AND I WANT THE TRUTH!!!! JANET

[sam_i_am_71801]

Thanks for responding. I hope you keep doing well.
I want to have at least One hundred responses before I send out our request.
Some how, some way, maybe someday we will find someone who will hear our voices and our reasons, AND GET THE BIG PICTURE!
Thank you Janet

[Sharon]

Hi, I'm a birthmom, but I thought I'd give my input here. I have an semi-open adoption that closed in the first year. My son is now 13, and I recently had to track down his aparents in order to update them on my son's medical history. Bio-dad (my ex-husband) is 33 years old and overweight. He was diagnosed at age 31 with Type II (adult-onset) Diabetes and is now suffering from severe hypertension. He is controlling both conditions with medication, but nevertheless, he is not a healthy man. As both conditions can be hereditary, I felt that it was important for my son to have this information, especially considering his bfather's relatively young age at onset.
I think adoptees have every right to their family's medical history, and I will continue to update my son's for the rest of my life, whether or not we ever have any other contact.
~ Sharon

Sam, Twins also run in bmom family...I have twins.
Colitis and cancer is big in bfamily.
The story that I want to relay is my brother(adopted). When he was in his late twenties and early thirities he devopled very dry skin, baldness, moodiness,weight gain. He was miserable and he was making his family miserable(wife and 2 young children). He started to develop shortness of breath and chest twinges("not pain"). He was mowing the lawn and fell to the ground with chest pain, was brought to the e.r. and was diagnosed with a heart attack and went on to have a quadruple bypass. This was all caused by a barely functioning thyroid. Most likely inherited, both the thyriod and the heart problems. He was only 34 years old when this occured. Thankfully he recovered and is quite healthy now at 41...but if he had known he may not have ignored the sxes and sought help instead of rationalizing his symptoms away. He may be recovered but some damage has already been done!

[bridges]

My daughter was recently diagnosed with a serious medical problem. I found this thread while searching for others with the same problem. Since I was adopted I don't have a complete medical history. What I do know is:

My biological half-brother died of juvenile diabetes. Another biological half-brother has Chrones (spelling?). I am hypo-thyroid. All of these are auto-immune diseases. My daughter has something altogether different. I'm trying to learn if this is an auto-immune disease.

Depn6 said,

This was all caused by a barely functioning thyroid.

Thank you, dpen6 for noting the relationship between hypo-thyroid and heart disease. All of these illnesses, including the hypo-thyroid are on my b. mom's side of the family. There is a pervasive history of heart and stroke problems in her family, too. I never made a connection before.

But back to the need for medical history. I don't know anything about my father's medical history. Morally, I'd think my b. father would want to provide it. But he, like a number of other b. parents, was just allowed to walk away without even having to provide his name.

Why can't we legally require birth parents to provide a medical history upon adoption and to update this history every five years. The information can impact quality of life as well as life itself.

Carolyn Kay

[vicrose]

What a great thread!! Well, I recently went to see the social wotker at the Social Services Agency that I was adopted through, and wanted to obtain much more detailed medical info than what I had...which was NONE!!, and lo and behold she told me that she had NOTHING to give me, because as she put it, it was quite natural for the mother's of the 60's to be able to put virtually nothing down on they're forms....this sounded ridiculous to me..but true!!, because I walked out of that office with NOTHING more than I walked in with!! I know for a fact that my birth-grandpa died at the age of either 52 or 54...pretty young, but I can't find out what he died from....I have no information about my birthfather....and my birthmother and her family are not giving me any info at all about any medical info that I desperately need!! I have a failing liver...and not because I drink, because I don't....but something that is probably hereditary...I have gallstones up the wazoo...and battle with anxiety attacks....so I'd like the government to tell me that adoptees shouldn't have they're medical info!! Oh well, sorry for the ranting...I usually don't do that...but I feel so strongly about wanting my medical info!! Brenda

[snuffie]

Medical history is so important. I am quite young (at least I consider myself so) and have quite a few medical problems.
I too had no medical history. Lo and behold my bmom had the very same problems! Had I known earlier I could have been more vigilant in watching for these problems and also maybe prevented them.
I agree that something need be done about this issue so that all adoptees will KNOW.

[mlassi]

Medical History

Medical history should be legal requirement and should be updated regularly.

Both my birthparents were young, so many medical problems in their family arose later.

I found very important medical information. My paternal grandmother died of stomach cancer in her 50's. My birthmother had stomach cancer in her midforties. She also has lupus, suffers from vertigo and other ailments. My birthfather has survived two bouts of prostate cancer in his early fifties, has a chronic lung condition, etc.

How would I have learned such important medical information with out searching? Never, because our medical histories aren't considered our rights.

Thanks for starting this thread,
Mary

[michellemartin]

I am a bmom in WI. I just found out today it is a requirement when we TPR that we provide medical history. Bmom and Bdad alike (if he is known) must provide this info. It can be updated here in WI at any time and the aparents will be made aware of it. My arangement is open, so obviously I can just tell them myself, but they have any and all medical info I had. Also in WI if a doctor is treating an adopted child and it appears that the child may have a hereditary disease, the Department of Heath and Human Services is to be notified so they can let the bparents know (I'm assuming this is so if they go on to have children in the future they will know of the posibility of the hereditary disease)

I looked on the WI website for information on BC's and came across that. Both myself and the bdad filled out the forms, until now I was unaware it was a requirement.

[bridges]

Michelle,

Thank you for sharing the medical laws and regs. of WI. Perhaps others can use this information to lobby for changes in their own states.

Also, thank you for caring enough to share your own medical information with your child. I wish all moms were like you.

Carolyn Kay

[hopeful2day]

My husband just found out 4 days ago that his uncle on his b-mom's side had diabetes. The rest of her family was healthy. Yeah well that was 40 yrs ago, what about now? There was no medical info on the b-father. We have 2 children and I think the law should make the birth family update the medical info yearly, things do happen later in life. I'm not saying open all the record for us just the medical. I don't care if they want a reunion, but I do care about the health of my husband and children. Most birth parents give their children up for adoption to give them a better life than they believe they can give them, well isn't letting them now their most recent medical information helping to make sure they still keep that better life they were given up for ( I hope that made sense) The people that make these laws have obviously never been in our shoes or they would change them. Good Luck getting the law changed we need it.

[michellemartin]

Yes, I shared voluntarily, but it is REQUIRED!!!!! here, so if I didnt want to I'm sure they would have gone about getting it another way. I am happy that it is required, but like I stated before, I didnt know it was until a couple days ago. I thought it was just something the agency did and that it was optional.

[Lafayette1987]

What is up? I have Low pb, Fibromyalgia, allergies that are off the wall, low IGE which required me to have IVIG treatments every month for almost a year. I have several other problems for whech i have been in and out of hospitals including the mayo clinic and what is the first question every doctor asks? "Is this in the family? Does a sibling have it?" I don't know Im adopted. "Well Could you fax me your records?" No." Why not?" I don't have one. Well I do but nothing is detailed at all. (I think there are 5 q's on each bio parents side. and I know my b-moms is fake because my NON BIOLOGICAL BROTHER has the same things written on his. Its not a coincidence either. )
"Is there anyway you could get a hold of them?" No.
"Ok well Ill be back in a few i need to review this."

[Lafayette1987]

sorry i forgot to add. I wasn't adopted through an agency. How could I get an update? ( well a decent record atleast!)