I am 23 years old and for some reason i think i may be at risk or have hd.
There is no history of this in my family though but i have read on different
websites that in some cases people have developed hd with no family history and
this is due to a loss of contact through adoption or because previous
generations who had the hd gene died early from other causes before showing
signs of it.

My mum and dad are both 43 years old.
My mums mum is 62 years old and my mums dad is 65 years old.
My dads mum is 68 years old and my dads dad died aged 70 from cancer
My dad has a brother who is 48 years old and 2 sisters who are 41 and 45 years
old.
My mum has 2 sisters who are 36 and 42 years oild and another sister who died
aged 32 from cancer.

Now i was wondering whether my dads dad who died aged 70 from cancer could have
maybe had the hd gene but died before showing symptoms? i know 70 years old and
above is not a typical age to develope hd as i know it normally develops between
the ages of 35-50 years old in most cases.

But i never noticed anything unusual when i saw him afew years before he died,
but if he did have the hd gene then surely my dad or one of his brothers or
sisters would be showing symptoms by now?

Is it usual for a child to show signs and symptoms of hd before the parent does?
it looks like my mums mum and dad dont have hd as they are in their 60's and
have no signs and my dads mum is 68 and shes fine as well so as long as my dads
dad didnt have the gene i should be fine but obviously no-one can know for sure
if he did chances are that he didnt have the gene.

None of my other grandparents are showing any unusual signs and they are all in
their mid 60's so does this mean i am totally safe and will not ever develop hd?

I have also read that in very rare cases the CAG count in males can expand so my
dad could have a CAG count of say 30 and could pass on a higher CAG count to me
of around 45 so that means i could develop hd but does this ever happen or is it
very uncommon? i have read that in 97% cases there is a family history when
someone develops hd and only 3% where there is unexplained hd due to adoption or
previous generations dying early before showing symptoms.

I just want some opinions on all this what i have said and whether there is any
chance that i may have hd at all.

Am i too young to develop hd? as im past the age to get juvenile hd but ive
never seen anyone on here at my age devleop hd.

These are the symptoms that i currently have:-

Feel tired all the time, pins and needles alot of the time in different places,
lack of motivation dont want to do much, shaky hands, sometimes get slowed or
trouble thinking about something, short-term memory lapses and forgetfulness,
Some slight 1 second sort of jumpy movement in my arm and leg but i dont get a
chance to try and control this as it lasts for a second just alittle slight jump
i can hardly notice this maybe this is due to depression or stress or my
anti-depressants that i am on.

I have been suffering from depression, anxiety and panic attacks for around 8
months now and i am currently taking anti-depressants for this which have helped
with my panic attacks certainly but i was wondering whether anxiety depression
or the antidepressants could cause the symptoms that i am having or whether it
is the start of hd.

I know you get alack of conentration, stumbling and clumsiness, behavioural
changes, depression and slight uncontrollable movements in the early stages of
hd but i have to be honest, my concentration must be ok as i have been
decorating 6-7 hours a day recently and on the pc for a good 4-5 hours, i dont
get no uncontrollable movements i dont think sometimes my finger or arms or legs
might slightly move or jump for a second but only slightly i dont know if you
could class that as uncontrollable movement, i dont stumble and im not clumsy,
my behavioural seems ok, but i do have depression and i know this is an early
sign of hd.

I wouldnt be able to get tested for hd as there is no history of it in my family
so doctors would say there is no reason to test me and they would probably laugh
at me.

I would really appreciate some good advice and for someone to tell me the facts
and explain questions that i have asked, i really do hope that i am not at risk
for hd and i hope i dont have to worry about it again.

Thank you for reading this, take care everyone.

Karl.




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