My mother and I have a number of diagnosed conditions that, after doing some research, I suspect are related to a connective tissue disorder.
Both my mother (she's 78) and my grandmother (deceased) have/had skin that sagged, bruised and tore easily--and it looks like my skin is starting to go the same way. Both my mother and I (I'm 57) had/have endometriosis, loose joints, TMJ, arthritis, IBS, scoliosis and disc narrowing that has resulted in sciatica. I have valve disease involving regurgitation of 3 valves, fibromyalgia, SVT and was just diagnosed with emphysema--and I don't smoke!
In addition, I was born with an umbilical hernia and had to wear corrective shoes for "weak ankles" until I was 11 or 12. Congenital cataracts also run in my family: my mother, brother, myself, my son and my neice were all born with them. My brother, son and neice all required surgical removal of the lenses of both eyes before the age of 2.
The recent diagnosis of emphysema (my grandmother had it, but she smoked) was a bit of a shock and when I did some research, I found out that, besides smoking, there are two other causes for it: an inherited protein deficiency and connective tissue disorder.
Does my conclusion sound at all correct?