Do you find it’s permanent? I find the longer the sentence or if I have to tell a story of I dunno wats happened in the day etc I struggle to get the timing right & put meanings on words in the right place. Hate it.
Yes I have not been dx yet and quite often have slurred speech and problems finding words
Me too…and it’s more difficult and more pronounced when I’m fatigued.
Yes I’m not diagnosed either. I’ve made adjustments but when it comes to adjusting what you say and when you say it and how long your sentence lasts is a horrible adjustment to make, having to sacrifice your speech… I find it really embarrassing and makes me feel rubbish about myself. Conversations around family and phone calls at work are a struggle.
Snap. I’m not diagnosed with anything yet either. As the day goes on the slurring gets worse and remembering the words does too
S
I would ask for a referral to a speech therapist. Your MS nurse or GP can do this.
Absolutely, for me it’s using the wrong or similar sounding words at the end of a sentence. It’s really frustrating and I feel silly… You at not alone. Ash x
My first ever relapse was slurred speech. It really knocked my confidence but it did resolve after a month. There are still odd words that trip me up a bit especially if I’m stressed or fatigued.
The only thing that helps is slowing my speech down and trying to keep calm. As AnnieB says, if it persists, you can ask to be referred for speech therapy.
Tracey x
I was fed up of being tutted at by old ladies at 10am who thought I was drunk…worse when you have speech problems and balance problems together. Can laugh about it now. But I think it goes hand in hand for a lot of people who have MS. your not alone.
I haven’t got a ms nurse & I am discharged from the neuro. I had the speech issue when I had the undiagnosed attack and it cleared up really quickly. I had the attack 18months ago & my speech has been like this on and off but mainly on for a year now. Is it too late to resolve any further? Could it get to the point where it gets worse? It worries me I may not be able to communicate at all one day.
My speech started to become laboured about 18 months ago - having been completely unaffected until that point. I now find it very difficult to speak (slurring, hesitancy and mispronunciation come out to play whether I’m fatigued or not). I’m an absolute demon on the phone
Combine this with no strength or control in ‘writing’ hand and it can be nigh-on impossible to communicate properly with other human beings.
Thank goodness I can still type …slowly !!
Dom
Yeah my handwriting isn’t what it use to be either some ok days, sometimes it’s alot smaller than normal. Think I need a pen where there’s a grip at the end for my fingers to have more control over it. Ridiculous when I’m on the phone struggling to speak & write! Do you hold out any hope of your speech and writing getting better?
Hiya
I have trouble with speaking, getting words jumbled up etc. I’ll often say a sentance sort of back to front and only know I’ve done it when the person I’m talking to has that ‘eh what?’ look on there face…it made sense to me though. I’m always forgetting words and names of things so life is full of thingy’s, whatcha ma call it’s and err’s. I’ve also been known to drop the word elephant into conversation for no apparent reason! (I’ve talked to a couple of other people with MS who also had that one!)
Luckily most people are aware of it and have patience with me but it does cause lots of confusion in shops etc.
For me it’s just the way it is, sometime it’s worse than others, especially if I’m tired but, it never really goes away.
Sue
Hi I have trouble with slurred speech sometimes and also get the migraines that cause speech to be slurred.
I also have a big problem with people butting in when I am talking and my husband says that is because I leave such a long pause between words and people think that I have finished talking when I haven’t.
Jaycie x
Hi
I’ve just been diagnosed and suffered for a while now trying to find words, was once really good at crosswords now hopeless. I can’t find people’s names either even though I’ve worked with them for over ten years. I’ve seen no improvement and like the others, it’s worse when I’m tired. I try to ignore it when people get impatient but sometimes even I can laugh at the usually silly words I find to use often saying them before I realise they’re wrong.
I think I’ll have to live with it and not let out bother me.
Cath x
Hi, i have trouble with speech , my neuro is refering me to speech and language which i’m hoping will help, worse when i’m tired or stressed, often have to use different words to what i wanted to use as can’t get them out!!
Kate x
My speech really varies from day to day. Slurrring has only been an issue when I’ve relapsed. Word-finding is a persistent problem and comical malapropisms an everyday occurence (you’ve no idea how long that took to type).
I’m forever ‘going to put the television on’ when I mean the kettle or ‘checking my emails on the vibrator’ (where did that one come from). I know computer and vibrator both have the same word ending but how does my brain confuse the two.
I’m sure someone has done research on how MS lesions affect speech centres. Anyone got a good reference?
Rob