Does anyone know how likely it is that a ... - Endometriosis UK
Does anyone know how likely it is that a daughter of someone who has endometriosis will also end up having it too. My friend is very worried
There are no statistics other than most women who do have endo, do know someone in their extended family with endo..but it is so common in the general population that it isn't surprising. up to 20% of all women could have it. So 1 out of every 5 women you know.
Having said that, for a lot of ladies they will never have any symptons, the endo will remain mild and won't impact their lives much if any.
Your friend has no reason to be worried for her daughter unless her daughter is exhibiting signs that she might have endo and it is disrupting her quality of daily life.
If the daughter is having painful periods and heavy ones, erratic ones and any of the more common syptoms then she should be seen by a gynaecologist, and in the meantime should be put on BC pills back to back to stop her periods and her suffering.
Endo becomes a problem when it is noticed and then neglected....often by the medical profession rather than by the patient themselves.
There is nothing you can do to stop getting endo and if you have it and no symptoms the only way it might one day show up is if the girl in question has problems getting pregnant naturally, but I would imagine that is some time in the future.
Awareness is the key.
Knowing what is normal and what is not normal.
Other than that there is no point whatsoever worrying about something which may not happen.
Things are a lot different today in the battle against endo than they were, and any young girl nowadays will find many more advances being made available to treat them in the years to come.
Anyone can get it, and anyone at random may not ever get it. Statistically more women don't have it than do have it.
She might benefit from talking to a counsellor to find ways to calm herself down from worrying unduly.
It can greatly impact on your life but doesn't have to rule every waking moment so long as it is recognised early and treatment begins right away to keep it in check. Until there are signs, then just live life to the fullest you possibly can do.
Thank you for all the information. I think she has panicked herself as she has read that it is 7 times more likely if your mother has it. Unfortunately I looked in the Internet and there doesn't seem to be any conclusive information regarding the risk. It seems they still know very little about this disease. I have had it for about 13 years with very little symptoms early on but it still caused infertility and I was told I have stage 4 Endo. The awful thing with Endo is how bad it can be without us knowing. My friend is suffering badly at the moment with heavy irregular bleeding and she doesn't want her daughter to have to deal with the same thing.
Somebody once told me that it's not hereditary but it does run in families. On the one hand that makes sense, my aunt has it, but on the other hand as Impatient says that could just as easily be a consequence of 1 person in 5 being affected.
I understand why your friend is worried though. My niece is 12 this year, the same age I was when I started my periods, and I'm watching her like a hawk. And that's not going to be good for either of us; I'd hate to project my worries on to her 
Completely understand where you are coming from but I hope my friend can get things into perspective. Otherwise as you say she could end up worrying her daughter for no reason and all that stress won't be good for anyone xx
How old is her daughter? The chances are that she's seeing her mum go through all of this and worrying already. I have a really close relationship with my niece and she sees everything that happens with me but I make it very clear that it's not normal because I don't want her scared. Her mum is very matter of fact about everything, a bit like those stuff and nonsense characters on French and Saunders, and she'd probably give my niece Calpol and send her to school. Which is obviously her perogative, but it's a question of balance, isn't it? x
My friends daughter is also 12 nearly 13 so I think this is why all of a sudden she has started to worry about it. When I was diagnosed I had never heard of Endo before so it was a shock but girls these days are much better informed then we ever were. She has a close relationship with her mum so hopefully she would go to her with any issues that could be monitored early xx my biggest regret is that I didn't push things more when I couldn't get pregnant!! Hindsight is a wonderful thing xx
I do the same with my nieces...the eldest is 12 (more evidence me and Chrissy are living parallel lives LOL) ...and she knows about endo, and wants to go on to the medical profession, so I am less worried for her in that I know she would come to me for advice and with any questions.
She is always quizzing me on human biology matters.
I don't think we should be too over protective, but we should tell girls about endo and let them watch out for their friends too. Girls at school do talk to each other, and if my nieces are aware and they do spot a friend struggling then hopefully they can then tell them about endo, or tell them to come see me.
If they do show signs of possibly having endo...then that is the time to put the battle armour on and go help them fight it. We can't stop the inevitable but we sure can support them if they are exhibiting signs of endo, having been through it ourselves.
The kids don't always get it my two aunties have it (mums sisters) and I have it but their kids don't and all the other cousins and my sister don't (luckily for them) lol x
