This period of uncertainty is a very frightening time! I hope that your husband does not have HD. Two ways in which my husband and I have coped - before the test and after - are following the progress of the researchers and doing what we can to delay the progression of the disease.
I feel very encouraged by all the advances in research. It helps me to keep up with the research and share good news with my husband who is also encouraged. The studies with the HD mice have been pretty exciting over the last year. The caspace inhibition study shows that intervention is possible and the new study where the gene was switched off in the mice supports the idea that the effects of HD could be reversible. Also, the clinical trial with CoQ10 and remacemide is ending up so we should have some news by the end of the year about whether either or both delay onset and progress of the disease.
You can also talk to your doctor about antioxidants like Vitamin E (natural not synthetic) and supplements like CoQ10. Staying busy and active and learning new things delays onset in mice and it makes sense that it could do so in people as well because of what scientists are discovering about how learning can stimulate the growth of new brain cells and connections in the adult brain. None of these things are a cure of course, but at least we don't have to feel passive in the face of this disease. I really believe that a cure or major treatment is close enough so that if we can just buy a little time, HD does not have to mean a 'death sentence' for my husband or yours if he is positive for the gene.
My husband tested positive in 1998 and was clinically diagnosed two years later. One advantage that this advance notice gave us was to be able to watch his job performance. When his supervisor began to feel that he was forgetful and taking too long to complete projects and his job was in jeopardy, we visited the neurologist, got the diagnosis and a letter, and he was able to retire on disability with benefits intact. Too many people with HD who don't know that they have the disease lose their jobs and their long term disability insurance and then have to contend with being disabled without the benefits that they had counted on and planned for.
Keep us informed! I'll be thinking about you and your husband and hoping he tests negative.