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Managing Physical Symptoms
Overtime, the physical symptoms of Huntington’s disease namely involuntary movements and decreased muscle coordination can affect an individual’s ability to complete and participate in activities of daily living.
The following strategies can assist you in delaying the progression and managing the physical symptoms of Huntington’s disease:
Engage an Allied Health Team
Employ a range of allied health professionals to assess and provide some recommendations. This could include the following:
- Physiotherapist to assess your mobility and provide recommendation on how to manage and maintain muscle coordination and strength to help you maintain your independence and functional skills.
- Occupational therapist can assist in ensuring your safety at home and in the community. They work alongside the physiotherapist and can provide recommendations on appropriate aids and equipment to help you maintain your independence and safety.
- Speech pathologist can provide strategies to help enhance and/or maintain communication skills as well as can provide recommendations on fluid and food consistency to help manage swallowing difficulty and prevent risk of choking.
- Dietician can help with managing weight loss.
Regular General Practitioner and Huntington’s Specialist review
It is recommended that you regularly visit your GP and Huntington’s Specialist to check if there has been any changes in your symptom presentation and for medication review. Given there is no specific Huntington’s medical treatments at this time, your current medication regime may no longer be therapeutic as the disease progresses. Therefore, it is important that you visit your General Practitioner and Huntington’s Specialist so they can monitor your symptoms and proactively update your medical management as needed.
Maintaining a Healthy Weight
If you are experiencing the involuntary movements of Huntington’s disease you may have difficulty with swallowing, chewing, or feeding yourself due to the changes in your coordination. Maintaining a healthy weight is essential as malnutrition will exacerbate your symptoms and complications of the disease. You can seek the input and advice of a speech pathologist and dietitian on what strategies you can implement to preserve a healthy weight to support an appropriate energy balance, providing the body with sufficient calories and nutrients to support its functions and combat the effects of the disease.
Safe and Accessible Living Environment
By taking proactive steps to create a safe and accessible living environment for yourself you can reduce the risk of falls and injuries and protect your independence. An occupational therapist can provide you with invaluable guidance on how to optimise home safety for your specific needs.