Hi, I've been on and off here over about the past 7 years. My DH is at risk. He's 50. I and his cousins believe he is showing early signs based on head movements. He moves his head and body in awkward ways and grimaces and nods (ex. at the TV). But my question is that I am seeing continued and worsening extreme perfectionism regarding our house and house cleaning. Just one example: he's been painting our daughter's very small bedroom (with a little bit of trim) now for over two months. Working evenings and weekends. He re does it over and over, making sure it's perfect. One tiny mistake can lead to hours of re-doing. I don't know many people who take this long to paint one very small room. But after he will spend an hour or two cleaning - the painting and other stuff, resulting in him getting only 5 to 6 hours of sleep some nights. He mentions every speck of dust or spot on the floor all the time - constantly commenting about the house. He wipes down the same spot on the counter over and over and over. He gets to bed late because he'll find some spot and place to clean obsessively. It's really hard to live with. My question is this a sign of HD? My other thought is this is how he's coping with the possibility of him having HD (i.e. he does not want to admit it, so he cleans and obsesses to mask his feelings.) His brother and sister live five hours away, and his family is very much the type to "not talk about things at all." His family culture is "if we don't talk about it, it won't exist." I live in the DFW metroplex. Would love to find support groups here - found one but it meets in a suburb far from me on a weeknight. Just not possible. He will not get tested. Says he has no signs of it and if he did, he would know. Thanks for any advice! Besides his cleaning, life is good otherwise and we get along fine. Trying not to nag about the cleaning but hard not to. Thank you.

What part of dfw are you in? We live in Rowlett Texas and we try to attend the Plano support group. I would be happy to visit with you. Your description sound very much like HD and if he has a family history and this behavior is somewhat new, I'd be willing to bet this is HD you are noticing. My husband has HD and he had the head movements and "nodding" for years that just got more pronounced and obvious, and the the OCD. He was obsessed with being with the grand kids, when he wasn't with them, he was trying to figure how he could be. He would be mad at me if I had anything else to do or just wanted to have a quiet weekend. He never wanted to do anything without me, and would pout and be upset with me if I didn't want to spend every waking minute with them. So he they would come to spend the night and I would feed them, bathe, read, pick ip after, play, prayers and get them to bed as he sat watching TV... Then he would start putting me down which was NEVER a part of our relationship, telling me I was a bad grandmother because I wanted to do some adult things with adults every now and again. Then started picking on me about everything from my hair length or color to how I talked too much...i started researching behavior changes in HD and could see the writing on the wall. (His mother had late onset and not much behavioral symptoms-more physical) i started to mention Huntington's and he told me to drop it and it was none of my business. I finally told him that uf I was going to be wheeling him around in a wheelchair, it was my business and I wanted him to think about testing. We both went on anti depressants as he told me it was all MY issue and if he got on something, I needed to get on something. Finally decided to test and has been on aa cicktail of meds and his behavior has returned to the sweetheart I know. He sleeps a lot due to meds, but I am still working full time, so he gets up about the time I get home. I hope you will keep reaching out and learn all you can about HD. Whether he tests or not. I can pm my # or email or FB if you think you might want to talk.
Vicky

Sorry for the typos, i forgot to preview!!

I am so sorry that you are going through this. I felt compelled to respond as the obsessive behavior you mention (especially about painting and re-painting one room) is exactly what my HD+ husband did for months on end. It is a symptom of HD. The insistence on starting a job over from the beginning rather than just correcting the small error itself may mean that the executive function part of his brain is being affected. My husband would notice an imperceptible flaw in the painting and start the whole job over. This went on for months and months. I know you must be exhausted by this behavior. He will need medication as his behavior will not improve by itself. However, as you have already experienced people, it can be very difficult to get someone to agree to testing. I think this is due, in part, to emotional denial, but also to an inability to see the symptoms of HD. My husband's behavior became so difficult and he was so resistant to going to a doctor (since everything was my fault anyway!) that our daughters and I had to place an ultimatum on my husband--he either got tested and took medication or we left. I hope that you won't have to do this way, but a person with HD often seems unable to respond to rational argument. Perhaps when he is calm and not anxious, you could talk to him about the behavior you are seeing and ask him to see a doctor. This might be less scary than insisting that he get tested. Of course, you will need to speak to the doctor and tell him about your concerns and prepare to be there in person for the appointment, so that you can advocate for testing. Good luck--my prayers are with you.

I am so sorry to hear about this. Definitely sounds like HD! Regardless of whether it is HD or not, I would look into getting him on a med of some sort for the obsessive / compulsive behavior. Maybe you could go with him to his primary care and just mention the OCD for now. Then, broach the subject of HD after he has been on it for a month or so. My husband was depressed, anxious, in pain and ocd. We got him on Cymbalta and it has helped a lot with the depression (pretty much non-existant now), been quite effective with the anxiety and helped a little with the ocd and a little with the pain. Please keep us updated!

Be Blessed,
Amber