Huntington's Disease

[jhossle]

My fiances father was dx with alzheimers, along with his fathers 2 sisters (both which have passed, the last one at age 49) and also his fathers father. The aunt that just passed went from being able to tell a story and remember most things to not talking/remembering to passing all within 3 months. My fiances father within the last year is now w/c bound and can only mumble and his memory has failed. He is only 52.
As I work in a hospital, everyone I talk to nurses, drs, anyone feels that they have mis-diagnosed due to the short amount of time it has taken in becoming so severe to the point of passing away. I have heard many times people say, "are you sure it isn't huntingtons?" I have asked my fiance numerous times if his father has been checked. He just says I'm sure he has. I wouldn't think drs would skip this step but when I don't get a yes/no answer I wonder. But not being married I can't get this information from the nursing home. Plus, my fiance is to scared to get tested for alheimers, huntingtons, anything! How do I help him help himself?! And without answers from drs how can I tell the difference between the two diseases. I love him with all my heart and want a chance to grow old together. His goal is to make it to age 50! I want him a lot longer than that!

[gjtds95]

From my experience, HD symptoms frequently manifest themselves such that the person appears drunk with balance and coordination problems and slurred speech. It progresses from there so that being W/C bound and not talking would be in the much later stages. It takes years to get to that point.I havnt had experience with the memory loss that you are seeing. I would trust a neurologists assessment. It doesn't sound like my experience with it.