need a disease that can slowly kill a character(incurable)

hey everyone. I need an incurable disease that can slowly kill a character in his 20s. Any suggestions?

 

You could try Huntington disease it doesn't have a cure. Here's the link for information: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/159552#symptoms
It shows the symptoms and early symptoms. And he'll slowly die as years go by and the symptoms go worse. I think he'll die a slow, painful death. Just read the whole article up to down and you'll understand it.

 

There are an awful lot of weird and scary diseases out there, so it might help if you gave us some more detail on what you need. For example, do you want it to be a lifelong thing, i.e. he's always known about it or known he is very likely to have it, but it's only now kicking in? Or do you want it to be something totally unexpected to him, like he's a healthy carefree 21 year old and then suddenly boom, he's told he won't see 30? How active do you want him to be while he's dying? Some things can be pretty debilitating from the point of diagnosis, even if it takes years to actually die, while with others the patient can live a relatively normal life almost until the end. There's also a huge variety in the middle.

Also, I know it's a cliche, but don't discount cancer, which comes in such a variety that it can be almost any of the above. It's a bit cliche but it's cliche because of how common and life-ruining it is. It also means that there is a lot more material out there for you to research to get inside the character's head than there will be for something more obscure.

 

Any kind of autoimmune disease or immunodeficiency, particularly with no effective treatments, will kill the patient slowly. Before HIV was manageable, it would become AIDS and then it was just basically taking a cocktail of medications and waiting to see what will eventually get through to kill you. Sometimes the medications themselves were pretty toxic and would weaken the body.

 

I have two in my wider circle of acquaintances that are withering away in ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) its a slow and horrible decease that slowly breaks down your nervsystem while your mind is as clear as ever. You are slowly being entombed in your own body before you die.

 

ALS. It's a terrible and common disease.

 

ALS

 

Everything @awl86 said

But also I'd say don't be so lazy asking people here to write your story and start researching these illnesses for yourself - you might even want to invent a disease like covid that escaped from a bat lab or you may want something more realistic.

Either way, my favourite part of writing is spending hours researching and adding to existing things that are somewhat realistic. Try it...

 

You have the internet at your finger tips and a large portion of writing can often be hours of research I'm afraid.

 

You have creative license to create any disease you want, with the symptoms you want, so long as you don't name the disease, you're good.

 

Hey! Do you need an incurable disease? Does a character need to die slowly and tragically with no way to fix them? Well, have I got a deal for you!

Have you considered, dementia?

It's a brutal deterioration of the mind that causes you to slowly lose not only those memories you hold so dearly, but it also throws your frail grasp on reality right out of the proverbial window! Signed with the seal of approval for "The Most Terrifying and Tragic Thing That Actually Makes Me Tear Up For Real," this unholy creation of the Devil himself is sure to completely destroy your character at an exponential rate, culminating in them dying while humming their favorite tune, because it's the only thing they can remember!

So, give it a shot! Give that character dementia and watch the crying start as everyone who loves them realizes that they've lost someone they care about forever with absolutely no hope of ever getting them back!

On a serious note, it's a really serious illness that is completely incurable. I'd imagine it's more for heavier stories, so I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for. Just thought I'd put the idea out there.

 

Good suggestion although dementia is very rare for someone in their 20s.

 

ALS or MND although neither are fast. People with MND sometimes live for decades. This is actually a topic that is harder to research than one might think. I try to assume that when someone asks for help that they have already done at least a basic search.