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Slighty different viewpoint Mar. 12th, 2008 2:15pm
CAH can make life harder, there is no doubt about that, but even those without CAH often face many, sometimes severe, hurdles in life, which they have to overcome. One question that is relevant to many many many things with CAH is "what is down to me, and what is down to my CAH?". Be wary of attributing everything possible to CAH, and turning into some all-encompassing, insurmountable obstacle in your life - break things down and deal with each bit as it comes. Don't forget, that if you go looking for trouble or links to things, you will probably find them - but that doesn't mean they're necessarily valid!
You will most likely get a biased viewpoint if you are doing your learning from support sites - you are far more likely to encounter those WITH problems than those WITHOUT, since that is the very purpose of the site being there. Try to focus more on factual peer-reviewed sources, such as the CARES site, the UK CAH Group, and medical papers. Learning from other peoples' experiences is valuable, but it can be a misleading guide if you do not have a base knowledge already laid down. You are unlikely to here many of the stories of those who lead unaffected lives, since on the whole they are unlikely to seek out support sites.
With regards to your query on life expectancy, there is no reason why a well treated person with SWCAH should live any different length to one without.
Mary recommended a fantastic book in her post, "Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia A Parents' Guide by C Hsu and Scott Rivkees", and I would add my voice to encouraging you to get that - many of the questions you are asking already are answered, and explained in depth in there.
