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Whether we like our family tree or not, it’s something we belong to and there’s nothing we can do about it. Although every family has its strengths and weaknesses, some people feel like they were not that lucky in the gene lottery.
“Which shitty genetics did you inherit?” someone posed a bold question on Ask Reddit, and many people took it as an opportunity to confess some of the traits they’re neither happy nor proud about.
From baldness and anxiety to poor eyesight and acne, many of these genetic traits will hit very close to home, but remember that whatever it is, we’re all beautiful in our own way.
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#1
Likely Alzheimer's.
Both gamma's had it, my mom has it and I'm in my early fifties and starting to feel the beginning of decline.
Frankly, I'm scared s***less.
Sam Dodd 2 years ago
I think we all worry to some extent, my aunt and uncle were both diagnosed in the same year. Remember to remain both mentally and physically active and socially interactive. A lot of new research points to the gut and dietary issues. My Dad kept a daily journal, learnt a new language, walked an hour every day and swam all in his last 5 years. He enjoyed those last years even though he knew he had a terminal illness.His philosophy was he knew it was coming but he was determined to fill each day. A new hobby, learn something new, keep active, engage with people and embrace life. Wishing you good health and a positive future
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#2
A very rare recessive progressive genetic disorder. I'm a carrier. My wife also is a carrier. Incidence of being a carrier is over 1 in 1,000,000. Unfortunately for our kids, they have a 1/2 chance of being carriers, 1/4 chance that they won't, and 1/4 chance that they'll inherit the double recessive gene and manifest the disorder. 2 out of our 4 kids have manifested the disorder and their life expectancy is 10-12 years.
Life sucker punches everyone.
InvincibleRodent 2 years ago
And this, folks, is one of the instances where adoption is an infinitely kinder option to become a parent than having biological children.
#3
Teeth. I brush using an electric toothbrush for 2 minutes twice a day using prescription toothpaste, I floss twice a day, I've had braces and I floss under the permanent retainers once a day, I wear my night retainer every night and clean it every morning, have a dedicated tongue brusher and scraper that I use as needed, I go to the dentist twice a year and get fluoride treatments, I don't drink soda or eat excessive sugar, and I still have cavities.
I had to get a root canal that ended up failing (missed by the guy who did the root canal and 3 separate dentists) and when the cap eventually rotted off I had to get an implant which got infected, then got infected again, then was deemed chronically infected and had to be removed.
Now my wisdom teeth are acting up and need to be removed.
I am so f*****g sick of putting in so much time, energy, and money to be *below par* with most of the rest of the world
I'm only 33
JJ 2 years ago
All the pain comes on top. I can relate so well to this. I also had too many teeth on one side, and one less on the other which made my braces-time (5 years) even more painful (and also is the root of my chronic headaches now). The last root-canal-treatment meant one appointment per one to two weeks for half a year (!), two antibiotics and one infection also affected my sinuses. Luckily I have a great dentist and live in a country where public health covers the costs (except for fillings). Still it sucks.
#4
My parents met in their 20s, bonded over how they both have shitty circulation and everyone in their families has shitty circulation, and were like ‘I know, let’s breed!’.
Went as you’d expect.
#5
Hair on every inch of my body except for the top of my head
#6
Short, acne, small tits, crooked teeth and underdeveloped/too far back jaw (they got mostly fixed with braces), thin hair, mental illness, scoliosis, tiny toes (what the f**k is up with that, I get too many comments about my baby feet)
Can't think of anything else atm
It's like I won the reverse genetic bingo. If this was medieval times I would definitely be the repulsive town witch
Wdit: oh right, forgot IBS
DEW 2 years ago (edited)
I had really thin hair all my life.I started taking an OTC hair and nail pills. They are from appliednutrition. They are with biotin, silica, collagen. They say three times the biotin. My hair is thicker and stronger. I have to take them daily. The stores now seem to just have the gummies which I don't care for. My son is 19 and takes a medication for his liver disease which caused him to lose his hair on top. He has new hairs coming in. He likes the gummies. Amazon is where I get them from now. I hope this will help you. I too have IBS-C
#7
Lynch Syndrome. I am on my third round of (different each time) cancer.
#9
excessive sweating
KING ILLEGAL FOREST 2 years ago
Idk if my sweating is excessive, or just a result of general heat intolerance. if the temperature goes up past 75F/24C, I start losing the ability to function. Summer is a nightmare.
#11
Half of my face has my moms bone structure, the other half my dad. Come on, evolution, I thought this was all about symmetry.
OH and they both have addictive personalities which makes substance abuse almost instinctive. Luckily I was a pothead instead of an alcoholic or pill popper. We’re all doing better now LMAO!
#12
No male in my family line has ever lived over 53 years old. I went through our family graveyard to verify this is true back to the 1860’s.
My family do not like me mentioning it. I am 38 now and have fully accepted my genetic fate.
#13
My wife says it not a big deal but I always tell her she would be freaking out if she started to lose her hair too. Hair means just as much to men as it does to women. Confidence killer.
Jan Rosier 2 years ago
alopecia universalis diagnosed at age 3... took me until 25 to get to grips with it, when i ritually burned my wig in our backyard (which I had been wearing since about 13)
#14
Two of my sons have muscular dystrophy. That's about as shitty as it gets.
#16
My grandma's large chest. Have a lot of back pain now and everything hurts. Getting a bit of them removed in a few years👍
Susie Elle 2 years ago
My mom had a large cupsize and it was the bane of her existence for a good 40 years. After reduction, she felt so much better, I hope the same for you OP!
#17
I'm slowly going blind from RP. Thanks mom. My spinal discs are deflating and pinching off my nerves, Thanks dad.
#18
It's alcoholics all the way down
Kobus Loots 2 years ago
I used to think that this wasn't real until I experienced it as well, my grandfather is an alcoholic (clean 30 years) and I became one as well (clean 1 year 8 months)
#19
Being unusually hairy, oily, and large framed for a woman. It's a thing with my family, none of the women in it are exactly the picture of traditional feminine beauty. I have to wear guys sizes in shoes because my feet are too wide for most women's shoes.
similarly 2 years ago
Don't let it make you self-conscious. Two of the most elegant and fashionable women I know have large frames (broad shouldered, barrel chested), and I don't think I ever saw either of them wear a skirt. One woman wears mens suits often and looks fantastic. Just wear the kind of clothes that look good on you.
#21
Female pattern baldness from my father’s side of the family and white hair from my mother’s side.
I don’t mind white hair in theory, but thinning white hair is nearly invisible.
#23
My back went out in my 20s, and wasn't getting better. After a while I couldn't stand up straight, and had to get it scanned. The found the channel in my spine that the nerve goes through is 1/4 the size of most people's, so the very minor disc slip I'd had became a major problem. They wound up having to carve that channel (dunno what it's called, sorry) wider. Instant relief, but I now have a pretty weak back that's prone to going out. I recover with rest, now, thank goodness, whereas before I wouldn't.
Anyway, that's probably my worst thing, genetically speaking. Bad spine.
Katy McMouse 2 years ago
Me, too. Every day is a c**p shoot, every movement a gamble. It is exhausting, mentally and physically.
#24
A bad spine (scoliosis, stenosis, & spondyolisthesis) and arthritis in other joints. Luckily, I’m not as bad off as previous generations of women in my family.
Rod Wallace 2 years ago
Just a few generations ago, short life expectancy didn't see these long term breakdowns.
#25
Mother has a full head of thick hair
Father had thinning hair and a receding hairline
Guess whose genes this guy got
Maurice Gauna 2 years ago
From the extensive research I did on balding, it comes from the morhsr
#26
dark circles under my eyes
radioactivecandy (they/them) 2 years ago
same. hereditary AND bc it's hard for me to fall asleep.
#27
A very rare case of keratosis pilaris (it covers my whole body not just the limbs, apparently it's super rare)
#28
Acne that forgot to leave with the rest of puberty is also not fun. I have the scars AND I have the angry zits that like to crop up along my bra line. At least at this point, my face is taking the least of it and I don't have deep pockmarks or scarring there. But I don't wear plunging necklines because my chest is a mixture of new and old scars.
#29
im adopted, but me and my twin both have godawful eyesight
Phoenix Connor 2 years ago
I have twin friends and one is autistic, legally blind, ADHD, anxiety. His sister has ADHD and anxiety/depression. They got the short sticks but the male twin got the shorter one. AND THEY'RE BOTH SHORT!
#30
My big a*s forehead.
What do you think ?
wifeofweasley 2 years ago
I unfortunately inherited my mother's terrible knees. In our case, the lateral ligaments of the patella are too long, which means that my kneecap can pop out if I make the wrong movements. Sometimes it only moves a millimetre, which is already unpleasant, but in the worst case it jumps out completely and hangs on the side of my leg. Then I can't move my leg (actually my whole body hip down) until it's back in. That's pain you don't want to have. This happend once and I was in so much pain they had to call an ambulance. They had to drug me and straighten my leg to make it pop back in.
Hugo Farr 2 years ago (edited)
When I was a child, I could easily dislocate many of my joints and then push the bone back into place. It usually caused little or no pain. Sometimes I did it on purpose just to creep out other kids. This situation diminished quite a bit as I got older. One of the bones in my left wrist still occasionally dislocates as does my left shoulder. Unfortunately, it is now extremely painful when this happens and difficult to put the bone back in place. I also have osteoarthritis now.
Raymond Buxton 2 years ago
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witchling 2 years ago
At 50 I've had 4 total joint replacements. And other orthopedic surgeries. Much of my problem is genetic predisposition to soft tissue degeneration. That's likely a result of my fathers exposure to agent orange. Add to that my being conceived and born on the air force base where the first nuclear bomb was tested and the potential for a pain filled life is severely compounded. I take more pills every day then I care to think about. But ya know what? I'm happy. Other then joint pain... in EVERY joint.... I'm remarkably healthy. And I'm lucky to have the means to treat my issues. Life could be so much worse. Perspective is everything.
Summer Mason 2 years ago
My little brother died from ewwing sarcoma at age 20. We didn't share the same dad, but his father was a war vet and was exposed to agent orange and it caused a genetic defect in my brother causing one of the more rare cancers. It was pretty bad in the end. He was in huge amounts of pain but would hide it. I'm sorry your experiencing effects from agent orange. You have a great outlook on life!
Load More Replies... wifeofweasley 2 years ago
I unfortunately inherited my mother's terrible knees. In our case, the lateral ligaments of the patella are too long, which means that my kneecap can pop out if I make the wrong movements. Sometimes it only moves a millimetre, which is already unpleasant, but in the worst case it jumps out completely and hangs on the side of my leg. Then I can't move my leg (actually my whole body hip down) until it's back in. That's pain you don't want to have. This happend once and I was in so much pain they had to call an ambulance. They had to drug me and straighten my leg to make it pop back in.
Hugo Farr 2 years ago (edited)
When I was a child, I could easily dislocate many of my joints and then push the bone back into place. It usually caused little or no pain. Sometimes I did it on purpose just to creep out other kids. This situation diminished quite a bit as I got older. One of the bones in my left wrist still occasionally dislocates as does my left shoulder. Unfortunately, it is now extremely painful when this happens and difficult to put the bone back in place. I also have osteoarthritis now.
Raymond Buxton 2 years ago
I'm wealthy today because Dr Benjamin helped me win lottery, he's a specialist he can help you too, contact him today drbenjaminlottospell711@gmail.com
Load More Replies... witchling 2 years ago
At 50 I've had 4 total joint replacements. And other orthopedic surgeries. Much of my problem is genetic predisposition to soft tissue degeneration. That's likely a result of my fathers exposure to agent orange. Add to that my being conceived and born on the air force base where the first nuclear bomb was tested and the potential for a pain filled life is severely compounded. I take more pills every day then I care to think about. But ya know what? I'm happy. Other then joint pain... in EVERY joint.... I'm remarkably healthy. And I'm lucky to have the means to treat my issues. Life could be so much worse. Perspective is everything.
Summer Mason 2 years ago
My little brother died from ewwing sarcoma at age 20. We didn't share the same dad, but his father was a war vet and was exposed to agent orange and it caused a genetic defect in my brother causing one of the more rare cancers. It was pretty bad in the end. He was in huge amounts of pain but would hide it. I'm sorry your experiencing effects from agent orange. You have a great outlook on life!
Load More Replies... Related on Bored Panda
