Huntington’s disease symptoms affect people in different and unpredictable ways. Once symptoms start, commonly around 35-50 years of age, the symptoms continue to change for ten to twenty years.
Most people with HD have mood and personality changes, thinking and judgement difficulties, and move in uncontrollable ways. The disease usually progressions in five stages and ends, sadly, in death.
The early symptoms of HD are typically:
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Irritability
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Depression
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Mood swings
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Trouble driving
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Trouble learning new things
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Forgetting facts
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Trouble making decisions
As the disease gets worse, these symptoms become more common:
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Trouble feeding oneself
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Trouble swallowing
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Strange and uncontrolled movements that are either slow or wild and jerking (chorea)
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Loss of memory and judgment
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Changes in speech
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Personality changes
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Disorientation and confusion
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Hallucinations, paranoia, and psychosis
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Poor judgment. This can cause injury or problems with the law.
Stages of HD
For more on the Stages of HD, check out our HD 101 page.
