Hi all, my partner has hd, so just wondered if losing weight is a problem he has never been a big person but got him togo on scales after a freind of ours said she had noticed he had lost weight and he has lost over a stone he still seems to eat well but now think about supppose doesn.t pick like he used to. He does spend most of his days in the week watching t.v but we try to do things more at wkend when i.m home form work. tks for help Betty

Marsha authored a great article back on 2009 regarding weight loss in HD.

Here it is.

[www.hdlf.org]

Pete

I keep an eye on my husband's weight and do all I can to see that he at least maintains his current weight.

One item I think has been extremely helpful is the creatine he takes. I KNOW this has been a great help. I also make sure he gets
many calories. He loves frozen yogurt and ice cream and I make sure he gets those regularly.

My husband is also losing weight. He has actually recently lost a significant amount. I try to get him to eat more, but often times he refuses, which really surprises me because he LOVES to eat and as of now can eat most things with very little trouble.

I also keep a close watch on hubby's weight and keep him on creatine. His appetite is off a little -I think because of the warmer weather-so he drinks alot of his calories with things like Ensure, milk shakes, etc. Our goal is to keep him above 180lbs.-he's 6' 1" and if he falls even a pound below that I try to make sure he gains it back. The only thing he likes to do away from the house is go out to eat and he really eats well away from the house.

Audrey

At one time I was concerned about the weight loss. My husband had dropped a few pounds but actually we are now worried about weight gain. He has gained too much weight. Has anyone had a problem with too much weight gain. My husband is in the later stages of the disease and has been living in a pch for a year.

Last year when my husband was on a higher dose of seroquel he gained about 30 lbs, once it was lowered the weight came off. But now he keeps losing. I try to fatten him up by bringing in his favorite snacks, but he gives them away. He tells me that he doesn't want to get fat! he only weighs around 149.

I thought it could be the seroquel. There are a few other things that are happening as well that have me wondering if his seroquel needs to be lowered.

Tim is very heavy. I think it's the meds contributing to the weight, also not a lot of exercise. The food in the NH is very heavy on starches so that doesn't help either. I have always thought HD=weight loss but now I don't think that is necessarily true.

Carla

My daughter has also put on a lot of weight since getting HD. Her doctors at Mass General are thrilled with the weight and want her to keep it on. They say that people with HD who are heavy seem to do a lot better. Also, if a patient falls a lot, the more weight the less broken bones. Allison loves to eat out and loves her junk food. She also has no chorea due to the xenazine (tetrabenazyne) which helps to keep weight on her.