For the past week or so I've had speaking problems. It isn't constant, but on occasion I've found it difficult to speak. Almost as if my mouth has difficulty getting around the words that I want to say. It's not a stutter or a slur, just a difficulty speaking.
And because I'm a hypochondriac and have access to the internet, I'm convinced I'm slowly dying of a massive brain tumor.
Rather than drop into the fear that was inspired by that no doubt top-notch diagnosis, I emailed my primary care physician. Thankfully I have his email. I explained what was going on, in addition the fact that I don't seem to have any other huge obvious symptoms, and waited to see what he was going to say. I'm going in for a checkup anyway in early April, but being a hypochondriac I wanted an opinion from him before I completely freaked myself out.
He emailed me back last night that he was going to refer me to neurology and have me schedule a head MRI. Which is good. It means I'm going to find out if this is a problem with my brain.
And I'm absolutely terrified.
Just thought I'd like to share.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I think it's an excellent thing that you're having it looked at, Javert. Hold tight.
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
Good that you're checking it out. Best of luck and hope the results are negative (or rather, positive, but not for the tested item).
Also, may be worth thinking about if there may be psychological stressors or things different in past time period.
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
I'm a fat man with a full time job and a stressful theater career on the side with a family history of various mental problems. I'm sure there are plenty of psychological stressors. At this point, I had cancer once and beat it (renal cell carcinoma), so I'd be really happy to discover that this isn't another one. The universe doesn't always worth that way, of course. But I'll see.
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
Good luck, Javert.
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
Thanks.
I feel moderately better after telling my boss I would need to take off to get checked out. He said he had very similar symptoms a few years ago, and it turned out to be stress related.
That doesn't mean it will be the same for me, obviously. But hearing that, and talking about it, has made me feel better.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I'm glad you're going into have it checked out Javert. Here's hoping it's no big deal. Please keep us posted.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
best of luck - hopefully it is something minor or something easily treated
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
Any other symptoms? Dizziness, trouble thinking, headaches?
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
Thanks again. I'm not as worried in the full light of day as I was first thing this morning.
Never. Ever. Try to diagnose yourself using the internet. Just as an FYI to everyone out there.
Interesting fact: My speaking problem doesn't seem to happen while I'm singing. Strange.
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
quote:Interesting fact: My speaking problem doesn't seem to happen while I'm singing. Strange.
That's typical of many speech disorders, most notably stuttering. A stutter can start late in life (though this is rare) and may be what you're experiencing even if that's not what this feels like.
ETA: Of course even if it is stuttering, the cause can be varied.
Posted by Geraine (Member # 9913) on :
quote:Originally posted by Javert: For the past week or so I've had speaking problems. It isn't constant, but on occasion I've found it difficult to speak. Almost as if my mouth has difficulty getting around the words that I want to say. It's not a stutter or a slur, just a difficulty speaking.
And because I'm a hypochondriac and have access to the internet, I'm convinced I'm slowly dying of a massive brain tumor.
Rather than drop into the fear that was inspired by that no doubt top-notch diagnosis, I emailed my primary care physician. Thankfully I have his email. I explained what was going on, in addition the fact that I don't seem to have any other huge obvious symptoms, and waited to see what he was going to say. I'm going in for a checkup anyway in early April, but being a hypochondriac I wanted an opinion from him before I completely freaked myself out.
He emailed me back last night that he was going to refer me to neurology and have me schedule a head MRI. Which is good. It means I'm going to find out if this is a problem with my brain.
And I'm absolutely terrified.
Just thought I'd like to share.
I have been experiencing the same thing, I posted a few weeks ago I was having trouble speaking and was forgetting a lot of things. I've made an appointment to get myself checked out as well.
Good luck to you!
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I once had a very similar experience. On the advice of some of the same people in this thread, I got it looked at and got an MRI. Nothing was found, and within a couple of days it had gone away.
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
So I had my MRI this evening. Based on the limited knowledge of the tech and my own even more limited knowledge, the brain looks clean. I see a neurologist on Wednesday.
And it almost definitely has gotten worse with stress and better when not stressed. I say that being biased, of course.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
This might sound weird but do you stutter when you swear? How about a stream of them?
This may be the very first time I have ever asked somebody to swear.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: This might sound weird but do you stutter when you swear? How about a stream of them?
This may be the very first time I have ever asked somebody to swear.
Now that's an interesting question.
What if you speak using different emotional tones? Say something mundane in the angriest voice you can do.
Make youself angry and see if you can yell "this is Sparta!" Or something similar.
I'm honestly not making fun. You've already found one mode of speech - singing - that is unaffected by this. Try others.
Posted by jebus202 (Member # 2524) on :
So everyone's seen the King's Speech then?
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
Well, it's more of a slur, and it's not happening on specific words. It happens sort of randomly if I talk long enough. If I'm more stressed it happens more often, or so it seems anyway. So yes, I can swear. Except when I can't.
Posted by ak (Member # 90) on :
One possibility: Obstructive Sleep Apnea. If you have been told that you snore when you sleep, it could be this. The only way to know for sure is to get a full sleep study done. You spend the night all wired up with EEG leads, breathing sensors, sound, EKG leads, and everything and they record your breathing while you sleep.
The reason this can cause your symptoms is if you go significant periods without breathing while you're asleep, and if your O2 perfusion in your blood drops, it can cause parts of your brain not to get enough oxygen, and some of the common symptoms are forgetfulness and speech difficulties.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Except when I can't.