Huntington's Disease

[sshea]

Hello,
My name is Susan and My mom is 69 yrs old now. She was put in a mental hospitol 25 yrs ago. She has been in a nursing home for the last 15 years. My sister is 49 and has been dianosed for 5 yrs now with Huntingtons. I am 34 now and I have 2 daughters, I am becoming concerned that maybe I will have it or might be passed on to my children. There is not alot of information or people who have gone through this that we can talk too. I also have other siblings and so far no signs. Please respond we are very concerned....

[lharpster]

Hi Susan,
I am sorry to hear about your situation and feel terrible that your mom was put in a mental hospital. Unfortunately Huntington's was not well understood until more recently and often patient's with HD were thought to have a mental problem. My mom is 63 and also has HD. She got it from her mom who took her own life in 1971. The Huntington's Disease Society of America has a lot of information regarding the disease. There is a genetic component with HD so you should probably check into it further. I am adopted so do not have to worry about inheriting it, but I do have a brother who is at risk. My mom has been in the hospital for 2 weeks due to aspiration. It looked like she was going to be okay and was to be discharged to a nursing home today, but the hospital called last night and took her back to ICU and put her back on a vent. They told me I should consider a feeding tube (I am her POA) so I am trying to research it a little more because I don't know what to do. She and my dad never discussed things like this so I don't know what she would have wanted.
Best of luck to you!

[metoo]

my mom also has huntington's as does two of her brothers. she's only 58 and is in total denial which makes it very difficult to help her. her father died of it so she knows all the signs but refuses to believe or even be tested for it. the doctor's who have examined her believe she's had it for about at least fifteen years now which for me is hard to believe because i'm only thirty. my dad left her four years ago but still takes care of her by driving her around and doing things for her but they don't and never have had a great relationship. my younger brother had to become power of attorney for her so that we could put her in a home because she refused to go and would consistantly lock herself in her flat. she gets very violent when she's angry or upset. the day they had to take her she went at my brother with a knife. i live in another country so i can't do anything.now that she's in a home she's extremely depressed and has almost just given up.i just keep calling to tell her how much i love her and remind her of better times. i also have a two year old son and am constantly aware when i forget something or are clumsy and stumble. it's never far from my mind that i might have it. my younger sister and i have made a pact to help each other if we have it just for peace of mind but i don't know how i'd take it. i wouldn't want my son to have to deal with me later in life because i know how hard it is.

[summerbreeze]

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