I have read that it can be hereditary but you don't have to have it in your family to get it. I am the first known or diagnosed case in my family.

I couldnt say if it was or not, my mother might of had some of the symtoms but i cant remember, the only other female relative on my mother side to compare with is my sister and she is totally opposite.

i dnt think that it is. my mum has no problems, but i have pco, my aunt has endo n nan fibroids once but thts it. nothing like pco or pcos

From what I understand, No one is certain whether or not PCOS is hereditary. There are strong beliefs that it may be but I do not think it has been proven. I do know that I am the only one in my family who has it.

I belong to a group on myspace and a girl on there has done extensive research with doctors and they pretty much all say it is hereditary. It also seems that not only can you get it from your mother, but you can also get it from your father. Case in point, my sister and I are half sisters-same dad, and we both have pcos.

I do not believe it is heredity at all (maybe some cases). but for me I have done much research and no one on my mom or dads side even distant distant cousins have this I am the only one. No one on either side of my family has ever had a problem concieving a child I am the only one.

How can it not be hereditary? Diabetes, and heart disease are. There is a higher risk of PCOS in families with a history of diabetes and heart disease. I would be shocked to find out its not hereditary. I think you can get it without having it run in your family, but that alone doesn't prove that its not hereditary. In my family I have it. My mom has it, one of my two aunts have it, and many of my female cousins have it (I can think of three off the top of my head-- I have 26 cousins total, yes we're a big family. lol)

Perhaps for some it is not hereditary, but my understanding is that for most it is. My Mom wasn't diagnosed until her 40's. She called me up, asked me if I had symptoms A, B, C, D, etc. When I answered yes to every one, she told me to call my Dr. and GET DIAGNOSED! Strangely enough, a few years later, she called with another list of symptoms and when I had them all she told me to get my thyroid checked. She had just been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and soon after, I was too. I look nothing like my Mom, but our medical charts are like twins!

My mom had never heard of it. I have two sisters. Neither of them have it either and my one sister got pregnant twice by just thinking about it.

Just thought I would add my 2 cents.

My sister and I both have it. I've read that it's very common between sisters. I also have 2 cousins (also sisters) who have it.

"but you can also get it from your father"

Agreed, I have done a lot of researching into my family on this matter. My sister has been diagnosed recently but only because we knew what to look for from my case. On my dad's side I have 2 cousins with PCOS and my paternal grandmother, though never diagnosed in her fertile years, confided that she suffered the same symptoms as 4 of her granddaughters, take 5 years to get pregnant with her first child (and only after being seen by an OB in Germany while stationed there) there was the hair growth and the messed up cycles. Only one of us has had blood sugar/weightloss issues but looking at my family I can't see how anyone can say it's just bad luck that we all have this. I cast my vote for hereditary with those lightening strikes among us who have no family history of PCOS. Consider that certain cancers like breast cancer have strong hereditary links but just because none of the women in your genetic lines had it doesn't mean you can't get it.

no one in my family has it either and my mom's friend who has it is the only one in her family.

I have two sisters who have pcos and now we believe that our mother had it also she was very aggressive hairy and on a emotional rollercoaster each one of us has it diffrently I have the weight problems and the hair my youngest sister has the period and conception problem and weight and hair my middle sister has no sex drive hair and emotional problems. so personal I believe it can be passed mother to daughter.

They believe my little sister might have PCOS. She has alot of the same symptoms that I had.

Hello
My specialist thinks we are born with PCOS, i wonder if because i had a diabetic grandparent on both my mum and dads sides of the family that this somehow caused me to have pcos, in terms of it all relating to insulin problems?