Anyone have Slurred Speech/Trouble Swallowing?

[sadie405]

HI, Friends. It's been awhile. I haven't really been able to be online due to low energy levels and little kids, so I hope you'll forgive me for posting a question.

A few months ago I posted about trouble swallowing - that's happened a few more times since-- maybe 5 or 6-- always with either water or juice-- and many more times I've had to be very conscious of swallowing deliberately--but while it's abnormal for me and new, it's definitely not chronic.

ln the last few weeks I've had a couple of incidences of slurring my words. I was alert and sober every time it happened, and each time it shocked me, because mushy speech was just not what I was expecting to come out of my mouth-- Basically I end up replacing "S" with "Sh" so "noodles" becomes "noodlesh."

Neuro has referred me for a swallow study and visit with a speech pathologist--- was just wondering what others' experiences have been? If there was a specific lesion causing something, why would it just be every now and then? Why would I be able to correct the speech part pretty much immediately when I am conscious of it?

Thanks!

Sadie

[supermum_ms]

Here goes round two lol Kat's speech therapist basically teaches it the same way I do but i add another step.
As soon as you recognise the stutter or slurr is occuring,
1 Stop speaking. (trying to push the word out usually makes it worse)
2 Take a calming breath. (dont panic be calm and in control)
3 Repeat the word your trying to say 'in your head' (so you dont forget)
4 Resume speaking like nothing happened

If your still stuck - change the word or skip it altogether lol odd but i've had to do it sometimes. Mostly though, doing those 4 little steps will give your brain enough time to reboot, with practise you can appear almost seemless, with only your closest knowing whats going on.

Hmmm awareness does make a difference in controlling it, 'whilst' it's happening but if its a neurological hickup, nothings really going to help you control it 'from' happening, there's a big difference. The end only 'S' is interesting, so if your not getting stuck at any other time and its a substitution of the 's' sound into a 'sh' sound. Then i'm thinking its more likely your oral muscles or tongue control when producing the 's' sound is possibly compromised, if its muscle related it could also explain the swollowing issues too. I'd get to a speech therapist because they really can help with both those issues :o)

Mines a bit of both, oral muscles go south when i'm getting fatigued but there's definitly brain fry going on too. When i get stuck, i elongate endings, stick at the begining and i even do it in the middle of words, like a stuck record lol and on way too many letters now. BTW after I logged off last night, i remembered that i choke on crumbly foods and bitty foods like rice, nuts etc totally forgot about it lol

With Language issues your also mentioning, you maybe talking about 'Dyspraxia' or 'Aphasia' both are umbrella terms and they can be more specific eg oral Dyspraxia. If you google language issues in MS you'll get the most common ones come up. Lesions in the left hemisphere, which is the language side of the brain or even brain stem lesions can affect speech too, those areas are the usual culprits but its not always though.

Cheers...........JJ

[sadie405]

I've read that MS causes swallowing problems for about 40% of patients at one time or another, and both MS neuros asked about it on the first visit when they were going through "the checklist"

[sadie405]

Amen on child-chasing and then endless(!) stream of questions. The one I get is "Why...?" :)

[sadie405]

It's a good reminder, about not pushing it. I can feel stuff at the base of my throat lately, but only the remains of liquids. They seem trickiest and are what has sent me hacking to the floor, coughing and gasping for air. Solids have so far(knock on wood) been no problem.  Counterintuitive, isn't it? Hopefully a name is put on your illness soon. It's one thing to have to deal with one, it's another to not have it "officially" named.

Best,
Sadie

[sadie405]

JJ, I feel you on "reaching for something in your brain and finding it not there." Have neuropsych testing scheduled in 2 weeks, but that's a whole other post! :)

You ask great questions: so far, it's just been the "S" sound replaced with "Sh," and as soon as I've heard it I repeat what I said very deliberately, and make the same phrase come out normal with "crisp"SSSS sounds. As with choking, dropping things, falling, it seems that when I am least thinking about it  (and so not self-aware/deliberate) stuff starts happening that never used to.

[torikat32]

m swallowing problems according to the speech therapist is neurological in nature so the last neuro just shrugged it off but my new neuro is taking it seriously and we are trying to finally come to a diagnosis we are waiting for new mri in a few more months but she thinks its spms but least it will finally take me out of limboland for 6 years

[SarahL2491]

the speech pathologist will help you a lot.  I find when I have this, that I just have to "slow down" as others have said and "wait" for the naggy body reflex to catch up.  Have not asked the SP (I did not use her but worked with her when I worked) if MS was the cause of some of this.
Does anyone have a reference to this  having been told this by their neuro?

[opie74]

When I am tired, I have problems.  I have to conciously swallow things like bread sometimes.  I often cn not remember proper nouns like names. Usually if i will just sit down and relax I can get my act together.  I also have 3 little children in my house.  It is difficult to get a mental break with child chaseing going on.  One of mine likes to ask "what if" questions relentlesly.  Sometimes, I can't even process an answer.  

[torikat32]

Hi I do the stutter and slurred speech as well and it happens more at night time or if I push myself too much during the day. I see a speach therapist for swallowing problems and she has noticed the slurrs and stutters she told me that once it starts stop talking dont try to push your way thru it it just makes it worse for me. so stop deep breath and try again but the problem with that is I forget what I as going to say so I dont know.

the swallowing has gotton worse I choke daily of food and drinks they did a modified barium swallow and it shows I have residue left in throat after swallowing I can feel my pill stuck in there for hours and it showed weakness on the right side of my throat but I wasnt apirating and no penetration so thats a good thing. She has told me to turn my head to the right and chin tuck when I swallow this has been great when I remember to do it things dont get stuck but I do still cough at times but I will tke that then getting stuck.

My therapist wants to do exercises but its contraindicated in some disease processes and since I am undiagnosed we havent been able to do anything yet so we are just working with turning head and working with stuttering and slurred speech.

hope you get answers soon keep us posted

Kat

[supermum_ms]

Hey its good to see you pop on the boards when ever you can, always welcome and such a nice surprise!

Speech issues are one of my my issues, swollowing is not so much, more that i can't chew. I do the substituted word thing, forgotten word, lost thoughts and the slurrrr's and stutters, all pop up daily now, and worse when I have fatigue. The slurr's and stutt's are a bit of a warning sign for when i'm getting physically tired or lol if i've been talking to much.

Oh wow, please forgive me but my brain has blanked out on me, I know all this stuff and i had it but its gone. Oh crap, sorry i'm just pulling out left brain, oral muscluar control issues but thats it. I'll have to get back to you on that.

Confusion though, oh hang on its probably only 'ME' but what do you mean by 'able to correct the speech part pretty much immediately' are you saying that once your aware of it, you can stop it and if so how? It sort of makes a difference in what this could be all about.

The other thing i didn't quite understand either, was the end speech slurr, are you only slurring at the end letters of a word? Only on 'S' what about R, F, L, PH etc, any beggining or middle words?

I'll try again later, bare with me lol i'm a work in progress at the mo :o)

Cheers...........JJ