hi, im having temporary speech problems on and off over the last 3 months where i sound like im drunk and slurring my words and getting them mixed up, mum called the nhs helpline earlier today and told them as she was worried, they told her its nothing to do with ms and theres no reason at all for " me to be doing it in the first place" mums took that as gospel and now thinks that its nothing to do with ms and that its no part of ms either and that im putting it on which is really upsetting me as i cant control it when it happens and the first two times it happened i was took into hospital, the 3rd and 4th time i stayed at home and waited for it to go away as they sent me home the first two times and told me to go home as they did’nt know what was wrong (after me being there 15 mins) and the dr telling me to touch my nose and bend down and to follow a light, the optic neuritis has been back 3 times aswell, i did’nt want ms but i have no choice, everyone keeps telling me im not allowed to look up anything to do with ms as im going to start thinking i have things when i don’t, all i know is since my diagnosis in march, my speech keeps going wonky every so often, my legs have gone weaker and the tiredness and headaches have got alot worse, i like the rare days when im ok and do things but hate the bad days
Hi Vicki
Have a look at the thread I started headed my feeth at the tunt are now sorted-its on p2 now.
This is DEF an MS issue.
If you still have questions after reading it-ask away.
Ellie x
I am AMAZED that someone with supposed expertise in the area of MS would dismiss slurred speech out of hand. I thought that it was a relatively common symptom of MS.
They definitely mention it here on the MS Society site http://www.mssociety.org.uk/what-is-ms/signs-and-symptoms/speech
In fact, slurred speech was pretty much the symptom that got me fast tracked to Neurologists and my eventual diagnosis (in as much as any DX of MS can ever be described as fast ). My speech was so bad that I sounded drunk - not only was I slurring my words but I was using the wrong words - they though that I had had a mini-stroke so I got rushed to hospital and had my first MRI scan the same day.
I think that you should be pointing your mum at this site ASAP. I am not a big fan of getting medical advice from “Dr Google” but some legitimate sites, like this, can be invaluable.
(My slurred speech hasn’t completely gone but it is 99% improved and my word blindness is better too - it’s only really noticeable to others when I am tired or stressed. Still sick of constantly explaining to people that I do not drink though!)
Good luck to you.
Hi Vicky,
although my MS is relatively mild at the moment even I get certain times where my speech is slurred and I become really conscious of it. The advice you/your mum has been given has been poor. But you do get strange “advice” at times. I was recently asked by my GP “why someone who looks so well has had so many blood test” I replied that I have it done every six months as I take Avonex for my MS. Research as much as you want as it helps with your sanity and makes you informed of the problems and the help you can get. You will probably occasionally think “maybe it’s all in my head” I know I do. Because this is largely invisible it’s difficult for others to understand. Take care, this is a great place to get support and advice from people who have experienced it and to tell you " yeh I get that as well"
Tikka
at one point i thought it was all in my head, but now i know its not, its just really hard tryin to get to grips with having it and finding out that new things pop up and other things get worse and having other morons telling you that theres no reason for you to be doing it, like im making it up, i still havent had a appointment for the neurologist since i was diagnosed and the dr said he cant give me anything till i see the neurologist, so im stuck with things getting worse and nothing to help it
hello
sadly slurred speech is one of the most common ms symptons. that is why it is so important to let people know you have ms and are not drunk. it certainly has been a rollercoaster for me since dx (6 yrs ago) but in the end it is just a case of getting on with it and thinking what the hell!!!
i had the most terrifying speech last year. was chatting away to someone when all of a sudden, out of the blue i was talking but nonsence was coming out of my mouth, like i needed a screwdriver (we were building a table!!) and when i asked my daughter to get a screwdriver it came out as i need a squebumber!! for about an hour nothing was real words. I was absolutely terrified but luckily no repeat of it. for a while i lived in fear of it happening at work when i was doing the register!!! i was extremely busy and fraught that day and i have put it down to tiredness. now i only do one thing a day and have realised i am not indestructable.
you may find that things are worse when you are busy and that slowing down will help - ms is very unpredictable but you will know what is ok for you to do and take more time to do things. i find after 5 minutes of gardening i cant walk - what is that all about.
take care
Lisa
Hi Vicky
You can have different kinds of speech problems with MS. One of my friends has slurred speech , another’s voice is so weak and quiet that you can hardly hear her and about 4 years ago, I had 3 months where my voice went high and kept breaking when i spoke. It was very embarrassing, i sounded like a teenage boy. It happened to me about 20 years ago as well, before I’d been diagnosed and my GP said that it was stress because I’d just had a baby, it lasted about 4 months then. Try not to worry too much it might go away in a few months time. Take care.
Lynne xx
ok, so now mums decided that the symptoms that keep popping up shouldnt be happening as shes told me that no symptom of ms will physically show up for more than 10-15 years, this is what shes read, i know she thinks im putting it on although shes been with me twice when i had to get taken into hospital because of the speech n confusion probs looking like a mini stroke at the time, im getting to the point now where i can’t talk to her and say when something is wrong or that on a bad day i cant go out when she wants me to as she thinks im faking it, although ms has been confirmed, shes dead set that shes right, im wrong and she knows everything (she used to be a nurse) so she knows better than everyone else, she wants to go with me to see the neurologist so she can tell him about things but doesnt know why im doing it as i shouldnt be showing these symptoms yet, im stuck n really pissed off now, just been diagnosed with a personality disorder and this stress is too much from all sides
[quote=“vicki1978”]
hi, im having temporary speech problems on and off over the last 3 months where i sound like im drunk and slurring my words and getting them mixed up, mum called the nhs helpline earlier today and told them as she was worried, they told her its nothing to do with ms and theres no reason at all for " me to be doing it in the first place" mums took that as gospel and now thinks that its nothing to do with ms and that its no part of ms either and that im putting it on which is really upsetting me as i cant control it when it happens and the first two times it happened i was took into hospital, the 3rd and 4th time i stayed at home and waited for it to go away as they sent me home the first two times and told me to go home as they did’nt know what was wrong (after me being there 15 mins) and the dr telling me to touch my nose and bend down and to follow a light, the optic neuritis has been back 3 times aswell, i did’nt want ms but i have no choice, everyone keeps telling me im not allowed to look up anything to do with ms as im going to start thinking i have things when i don’t, all i know is since my diagnosis in march, my speech keeps going wonky every so often, my legs have gone weaker and the tiredness and headaches have got alot worse, i like the rare days when im ok and do things but hate the bad days
[/quote] HI Vicki
like you i get temporary symptoms .my wife says she knows when i am tired cos i slur my words i would say that it is a ms problem. gerry
speech problems and memory problems, or getting your words mixed up are definitely ms symptoms which can come and go for most.
Ive had slurring speech, speech where I couldnt get the words out properly, a hoarse cough when talking for too long, voice change and swollowing problems. Theyve all got back to normal but I was sent to speech therapist by gp and she helped tremendously. Nobody at any time said it wasnt ms related!
Your mum is wrong, I for one can confidently say its an ms symptom. You need to go see gp on your own and ask to see speech therapist yourself. In time youll get to know your symptoms better, when they come on and when you need further help to deal with it. You mum will have to learn from you and not the other way around, after all its you who are suffering.
best wishes
bren
x
Hi Vickie, taking up mum’s last point that no sympton would show for 10-15 years is utter rubbish. I was dx just over 3 years ago and in the ppms stage now.
Optic Neuritis was diagnosed 30 years ago but a link with MS was not made, some days my vision is very bad.
Now i know and understand things a little better i have had symptons of ms for the last 30 years (tripping, leg and arm spasms, leg and arm pain and co-ordination) but i was only officially diagnosed 3 years ago.
It has taken me a long time to write this message as word search is a problem now.
So try not to let people upset you about any of your symptons and you do things at your own pace and people will begin to accept the way things are.
The bottom line is they can not cope and they are scarred of what is happening.
Take care
Mark xx
Hi Vicky,
Slurred speech, not being able to get words out and saying the wrong words are a very common symptoms of MS!
I had this, went to the doctor and a CT scan diagnosed me as having had a stroke, not until a second episode with both speech problems and walking issues (balance, falling over, etc) I was told I had MS, following an MRI scan.
Interestingly, the days when my speech is good, my mobility is worse, and vice-versa!
It seems that I can either walk or talk but not both…
I notice my speech deteriorates when I’m tired, when I’m in the company of people I don’t know well, and on the phone.
Have a look at http://www.mssociety.org.uk/what-is-ms/signs-and-symptoms/speech (and show your Mum!)
Also remind her EVERYBODY’S DIFFERENT.
Have you got an MS Nurse? She can help you get speech therapy / physio, etc. You could ask her to explain things to your Mum?
Best wishes, Maria x
Hello Vicki,
Don’t worry too much about your speech; this is such a classic MS symptom. Your Mum aught to know this too, with her having been a nurse. I seem to get my speech problems when I am tired and I know of other friends with MS who get it for the same reason. I have had MS for more than 25 years and I can assure you that speech problems are very common, as are problems with concentration, memory, realisation, recognition etc,etc. I agree with Brenda; that you should go and see your GP as you need to have a knowledgeable framework behind you.
Best of luck and take care.
Moira
i was diagnosed the end of march this year but showed symptoms for 8 years before that, but as i said mum used to be a nurse and thinks she knows everything, then shes stubborn and im wrong, shes disabled, dads one step from being disabled and i help them both, i don’t know what to do anymore, i think its just better just not to say anything to her anymore and just let her think shes right and just to tell me whats going on and should be or not happening
thankyou for that, but mum won’t listen, i don’t have a ms nurse or anything, the dorctor said he can’t help me till i see the neurologist, i don’t see him till the end of august, in the mean time im left with these symptoms with my speech and legs and killer pain in my head getting worse on and off with nothing that i can take apart from tramadol for the pain which i have to use for something else, i have no idea if i can ask for help from any where else before i see the neurologist, im actually looking on ebay to buy a pair of crutches to keep me upright when i have the nad days when my legs go weak on me, i don’t know where to get help, basically ive been told nothing apart from, im sorry but you’ve tested positive for ms and ill see you in 6 months time, thats it
Hullo Vicki,
I’ve had this (very mild) and there is a ‘name’ for it - Problems in speech (dysarthria)
Causes:
Brain tumor
Cerebral palsy
Guillain-Barre syndrome
Head injury
Hypothermia
Lyme disease
Multiple sclerosis
Parkinson’s disease
Stroke
Wilson’s disease
Intercranial Hypertension (formerly known as Pseudotumor Cerebri)
Tay-Sachs, and Late Onset Tay-Sachs (LOTS), disease
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysarthria
taken from -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_sclerosis
Yes, its very ‘annoying’ and ‘scary’ - Damned annoying when I used to go to ‘Elocution Lessons’ at fee-paying school (many years ago).
It does pass though?
Marcus.
hi marcus, yes the speech problems do pass, generally after 3-4 hours then its like it never happened apart from i start to write backwards and when i look at writing in books or the computer keyboard everything looks wrong and spelt wrong, that lasts till the next day then im ok then till the next time it happens
I don’t think that I’ve ever had that (I have had MS for 13+ years) but thanks anyway - it’s better to know, if it can happen.
Marcus. x.
Hiya Vicki.
As a mom myself I’m sure if this thread was shown to me I would have to concede that I was wrong.
Why dont you go onto the ms main bit and look at all the info sheets they do and download them to show your mom,or phone them and ask for hard copies.
Knowledge and treatments have changed so much over the years you could maybe pacify her wish to be right by saying you had got some more up to date info since she last had training in ms,and just leave them for her to read at leisure.
You have been dumped with a dx and no info…that is so wrong,but relax cuz on here there is loads.
The ms essentials in the publications section will tell you all you need to know,but on here we are the experts as we live with it. Just dont go into info overload look at the bits that seem relevant to you now…and dont forget they cover all eventualities you wont get everything.
All the best
Pip
Hello
It could be your mum is scared. no one likes to think their child is ill. but a dx of ms does not mean total disaster if you get support. maybe you can get some publications about speech etc and ask your mum to read them. stress is definitely bad for you. when i get stressed (most the time!!!) that is when everything gets worse including speech. the drunk sound but without the alcohol - very unfair. i also find things like bread make me choke - my son gets really annoyed with me!!! very often wrong words come out too!! i have a friend with ms who can not drink coffee unless it is with skimmed milk. it just takes trial and error to find how things work out for you but they do. maybe the ms nurse can pop round when your mum is there.
good luck keep us updated
lisa