My father had als, could i have it

[Chez]

Hi everyone!

Usually the fact that my father had als doesnt bother me at all, but sometimes - like now - i start thinking of this a lot. I do have occasional small muscle twitching, like a twitching eye, probably completely normal but it makes me think. For me this kind of uncertainty is really stressing. I mean, i dont mind having the same odds as anyone else - who knows if an airplane will crash right on top of me. The uncertainty of whether i could have familial als or not is what makes me worried, it would kindof rewrite the rules.

My father died of als in 1999, when i was twelve. He died at the age of 52. I think he was sick for around three to four years, not really sure when to start counting.

My fathers parents both lived long, around 80-85 years old and did not have als.

My father did not have any siblings.

My fathers parents did have siblings, but they are not completely known. It would seem they did not have als either (based on my current knowledge).

There are no other relatives known to have als, but i have started to contact them in order to make sure. It's a bit hard though as i now live in a completely different country and cant even speak my fathers language anymore.

My actual question i'd like to get an answer on:
Is it possible for me to have familial als even though my fathers parents lived long and did not have any symptoms. Their siblings and other history is not certain, but no other cases of als are known at this time.

 

[TedH5]

I am not an expert but I will tell you what my Dr told me. I have zero family history of ALS, not parents, Grandparents, Aunts Uncles, Siblings, cousins etc. I asked my Dr if I needed to be concerned about my 3 children and this going from sporadic to familial and he assurred I di not need to be concerned. Again I am not a Dr not an MND expert but this is the information I was given.

 

[Chez]

I am not an expert but I will tell you what my Dr told me. I have zero family history of ALS, not parents, Grandparents, Aunts Uncles, Siblings, cousins etc. I asked my Dr if I needed to be concerned about my 3 children and this going from sporadic to familial and he assurred I di not need to be concerned. Again I am not a Dr not an MND expert but this is the information I was given.

Hi Ted, Thanks for a very quick answer. I am happy for your children, i recall this is what our doctor told my father too. I wish you and your family all the best!

This is easing in a way, but my other concern is whether it would be possible that my fathers parents would have carried the gene but not suffered from als. They both lived comparatively long, 80 to 85 years with no signs of als at all.
There is a lot of information on the internet, stating that the genes would be dominant, but this is just what i have read in a few hours, you guys know a lot better.

PS. Sorry, this is probably a question popping up again and again. Reading answers to other questions is not that assuring as they dont match my situation completely :/