slurred speech and back pain

[PegKS]

My husband has had periods of slurred speech for about 10 weeks.  An MRI was ordered and revealed no significant problems in the brain, ruling out stroke, tumor, any major problem that could be uncovered with this examination.  Coincidentally his speech pattern has coincided with some discomfort in the upper part of his back. Could there be any correlation?

[TheLightSeeker]

Hey PegsKS.
Sorry for the following 100 questions!
Can you supply EXACT details regarding his slurred speech?
Is this progressive or the same from the onset? Can you understand what he's saying at all? Does he lose the connection from thought to speech?
Frequency, length of these episodes-or is most of the time now?
You can have him write the answers  to some of these questions, if necessary.
EEG results? Did the neuro explain?
Does he like sweets,sodas, breads, pastas,cakes etc.?
Please specify. Does he consume any diet products? please specify.
Does he exhibit any symptoms of depression-over and above the frustration from the slurred speech?
Any other symptoms that may be of significance?
Any dx for anything else in the past, any traumas or accidents?

Lymes can also be transmitted through bodily fluids!!!
The Borrelia infection ( The Lyme disease bacterium) could be dormant for years in the body and only get activated by a significant stressor- as correctly mentioned by Ricobord.
Getting accurate testing and a possible Lymes Disease dx is unfortunately a HUGE undertaking! It is best left, till after all the other possibilities are ruled out. You may ask me questions about Lyme Disease
(or go to the Lyme Disease forum as FurballsMom mentioned) or about anything else for that matter and I'll try to answer it for you.
Please post soon, as time is of essence!
Take care.
Niko

[FurballsMom]

The other thing about Lyme to keep in mind is that people on the Lyme forum, who know a lot more than I do, talk about the different ways of testing for Lyme aside from the Western Blot test.  The Western Blot test is known to give a lot of false negatives.  I don't remember the other ways of testing, so it would be worth checking into the Lyme forum.  I do remember well, though, that the Western Blot test isn't the only test and isn't always totally reliable.

[Ricobord]

Lyme sometimes lies low in a body if the immune system can hold it off until some kind of big stressor comes along, like surgery, life stress, an accident, et.al.  Not everybody gets an initial rash and fever either. It might be worth testing for it just in case.  I hope you get a diagnosis soon!

[PegKS]

I thought of Lyme disease too, but not likely that he'd been bitten in December as I think of ticks being in hibernation then?? but I suppose symptoms could appear much later??

[PegKS]

Thanks so much for your input!  I'll keep researching this area of the brain and see if anything resonates regarding symptoms...at any rate some food for thought and I thank you.

[Ricobord]

Are there any other symptoms?  Lyme Disease can cause back and shoulder pain, as well as neurological problems that can lead to speech problems.  It can also cause numbness in the tongue and face, which.can also cause speech issues.m generally, there are other symptoms, although these could be his first two.  Could he have been exposed to a tick before his symptoms started?

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome

For what its worth, i would think he might need a spinal MRI too but even if there was something that showed up, it shouldn't be affecting his speech because thats controlled by the brain eg the Cerebellum, Broca's area etc.

A non specific vascular lesion (not tumor) in the inferior frontal gyrus, a region that overlaps with motor cortex controlling the mouth and tongue, this region of the brain is known as "Broca's area" [in part thanks to wiki] and could explain why but thats pure guess work, sorry!

see link below for basic brain area's and common issues

http://www.neuroskills.com/brain-injury/brain-function.php

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