Then there is the mechanical part of communicating our language and that is speech. Problems with speech can include just trying to get the words out, pronouncing the words, the tonal quality of our speech, using emphasis and inflection. Problems with speech can be from weakness or spasticity of the muscles of our mouths, throats and vocal cords. Or it can be with the way our brain tries to direct the speech.
I have been diagnosed with dysphagia I was evaluated by a speech therapist and diagnosed after having a barium swallow they think its because of the MS so after 3 months in therapy I have to turn my head to the right to swallow and things dont get stuck as often but there are times I forget to do that or I am out in public and I have problems. I dont think it will improve but will do the best I can and will follow up with speech therapy if I need to in the future .
I have not been diagnosed with MS however I am in the process. I have had speech and swallowing problems for the last two years. I do have dry mouth occasionly and I cannot contribute it to any medications that I take at this point.
I do not have Sjogrens, Lupus or any of those auto-immune diseases according to my Rheumy. I would have to say the swallowing problems came first but now my speech is being effected dry mouth or not. I do this most everyday at some point or another.
I worked for a company with people with all kinds of disabilities, Mentally challenged, cerebral palsy, and so on.. however, we had a sister and brother that lived at one of the houses that cared for people with disabilities, they both had MS, very progressive.. they both had the nasal sound along with the slurring speech.
My emotions and speech are affected my my MS. I tend to get angry easily. I now know not to say what I am thinking. Sometimes I can't understand friends with MS with their speech problems. The main thing is to be patient and not worry so much about why just learn ways to deal with it. For the emotions there are medications and speech therapists can help some issues. the main thing with MS is learning how to adjust.
He loses his full body strength, making him unable to walk, hold his head up, keep his eyes open and mouth movement (mimicking someone with MS). His speech is slurred all the time and he constantly drools. When he was a baby and began speaking, his speech was as clear as a toddler’s speech would be. It has been getting worse as the years go by; it’s to the point where he’s mostly unintelligible. He has seen several neurologists and other doctors, to no avail.
t mentioned it, there will most likely be an assumption that you are dx with MS and your speech issues are one of your sx's of MS.......but you should be aware that mental health issues such as anxiety, (along with a few other none mental health issues) can be the cause of speech issues too.
I personally have communication issues that effects my ability to speak but there is no emotional component to it, it is purely physical and my chewing and swallowing control are similarly affected.
I to have swallowing issues, but not all the time. This started prior to my dx with ms. I went to a GI doc and went through a bunch of tests that all came back fine. I even had my gallbladder removed.
Sometimes after swallowing I can feel the food going down very slowly. Almost like the muscle function needed to get it down is working slower.
I get kinda panicked because I feel like I'm going to choke.
I also suffer from esophageal spasms. Very uncomfortable!
I know not.
that is less likely to be due to stress. Problems with speech are frequently do to stress and being too aware of any mistakes we make in speech. The more we focus on our speech, the more we are likely to mispeak.
I am not saying that any of your symptoms ARE due to stress. But, you are worried and you have a high likelihood of developing MS.
My 2nd neuro said that that MRI was completely useless and ordered another MRI. I had lesions and have since been diagnosed with MS. Like you, I had a fibromyalgia diagnosis. However, this neuro says I don't have fibro--it's MS.
I'm not saying that you don't have fibro or that you have MS because I have no idea of your symptoms or history. However, I am highly skeptical about the bogus MRI, considering some of the symptoms that you've mentioned here on the forum.
This definitely sounds neurological in nature, so I'm happy to hear that you've got an appointment with a neurologist already.
Sorry about your friend, when my Lyme came on really badly with muscle weakness, temporary blindness, memory issues and off balance, I had a period of slurred speech so in TX they said I had MS. There were "lesions" on my brain, seen on the MRI.
It could be misdiagnoses. At least Lyme can be cured if she has Lyme.
Talk to your doctor and ask for a referral to a speech-language pathologist. This is a therapist specially trained to help with problems such as the one you are describing.
It sounds like you are having trouble with the strength of your vocal cords, or with something blocking the movement of your vocal cords.
My daughter Amber is 25 years old and for the past 4 years she has some medical problems that the Dr's can't understand. Here are some of the problems, she has had her right hand to draw up and the Dr has said the she has chronic debilitating migraine headaches, there are times that she can't walk and her speech is slurred. Now she is has problems with her legs becoming cold and they are cold to the touch.I am so upset that the Dr's can't tell us what is wrong with Amber.
poor balance; slured speech; vision problems; myoclonic jerks of my hands and arms; etc. Also, heat makes my symptoms worse to the point that my vision is blurry and I'm weak for hours afterwards. I can't even take a hot shower or bath anymore. I've also had three very distinct exacerbations over the past two years. In fact, I'm in one now. And it's gotten so bad over the last year that I now walk with a cane.
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