I also have, and still do suffer from this.....and as the rest of you know-its hell to put it nicely. (excuse my language)
I have had it my entire life, and now as a 14 yr old girl, I still have not just "grown out of it" as I was always told i would. Nonetheless, I didn't get my hopes up then either. My mom has it too. And now my younger brother. So yes, I would confirm the theory it is hereditary. But what makes me mad is that there is still no cure, no treatment that works for everybody. Why? The so-called-experts on the subject don't have any idea what is truly going on, they simply make assumptions, give prescriptions, and send you on your merry way only to find 6 years later that it was all only wishful thinking. I have tried every ADD pill out there, I have tried ditropan, which actually did help to a point, and I have tried various combinations of these two forms of "treatment." Kegal exercises are no help, as it is not the issue. I believe that unless the specialist or "expert" on the topic has it themselves, they are not qualified to take patients with the condition. Because only we can understand what we all go through. I'm sorry, but I will never sit in a cold, sickly purple, doctors office and be told to my face:

"There is nothing I can do for you. Just deal with it. There are people out there dying of diseases, you really don't have it that bad"

No offense to those who know someone with a fatal disease or have one themselves. But I see no difference. Sure I may not die from it directly. But becuase of it at 12 years old I considered suicide. Aside from the fact that I practically have no life anyway. We can't have fun for fear we may laugh. We cannot enjoy the time we have on this earth becuase of the personal consequences for us. We have no hope for treatment. For a cure. And yet there are people spending great sums of money on things that will mean nothing once they are gone. Plastic surgery for example.....

Those of us with the condition know how hard it is.....to have friends, to be social at all,....and especially to have a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse. I "live" each day in fear that its only a matter of time until they all know my secret....only a matter of time until it happens while I'm with a guy, just hanging out, and never be able to face him again. Its torture seeing other people laugh and have fun, and knowing that could never be me. Will never be my younger brother. Was never my mom.

However, I will remind us that although its hell, we have a special quality not many people have. We will never judge another person for their petty faults. We are not as shallow as the majority of people in todays society. We learn to be accepting and show humility. We tend to be more humble and care less about material things because we see how valuable true joy really is. Ironically, that is my middle name.

<3 to all my fellow (non)gigglers out there. together we will win this battle.....