Problems with speech

Everyday living
1

Hi everyone

I’ve been having problems with speech this week, not just muddling words and slurring, my voice has been very thin, like I have a cold but I haven’t, someone told me (or I read somewhere that this is to do with MS) could you please give me any information. I do have a UTI and am half way through a course of antibiotics.

Thanks for any information you can give.

Wendy x

2

I have heard of this with MS, but haven’t had it myself. Hopefully it will go when the UTI does, but if not, speech therapy can sometimes help. I hope the antibiotics do the trick. Karen x

3

Thank you so much Karen, it does seem a little better this morning, I am fed up with people saying “you sound like you have a sore throat”.

Wendyx

4

Hi Wendy,

yes I can totally lose my voice with MS , it can be seconds ,minutes or hours , it just happens at it’s own will I’m afraid , people think I have a cold and ask me if I have , then it can just clear (if it feels like it ?) , mine is often coupled with swallowing difficulties , and sometimes a facial spasm too , the voice changes strength and volume at will ,

a speech therapist has helped with swallowing techniques in the past , along with thickening agents for food and drink , but not had any suggestions over the voice part of it , though I’ve found that temperature can play a small part in it all , and by trying to adjust with either a warm drink or ice cream can tip the delicate balance at times (sometimes even a hot water bottle for me) as it is just as likely the cold that sets mine off as heat ,

sometimes I just go outside if too hot , and that’s enough to dispel the excessive heat , (especally the winter we’ve had ?) one of the things I have to do most days at some point is to suck ‘vocalzone’ pastilles , especially if I want to try and talk to someone for longer than a sentence , I have to keep a packet everywhere , such is my reliance on them , but I would say my voice is generally thinner than it used to be , I just wish it had picked on my waistline

John

5

Hi John, I thought it was to do with MS and It’s still gravelly (is that a word?) this afternoon, I did see a speech therapist but like you no mention was made of the thin almost non existant voice.

I like your tip about using lozengers, any excuse for a sweet! Saying that my waistline is not where it used to be either perhaps I should suck some tunes for medicinal purpose.

Take care

Wendy x

6

Hi again Wendy ,

I like those vocalzone lozengers in particular because they don’t make the throat sticky , they’re a bit strong , but sometimes I even go to sleep with one on the go LOL, they have them at a lot of chemists , but I order them online these days just for convenience