Continue to fear bulbar

[mcmom]

I've posted a few times over the last couple months. I have had problems with my tongue for the last 7 months--burning, geographic tongue, etc. For the last 2 months, I feel like it's not working right. My husband says he doesn't hear any slurring and that everything sounds find. I know though that I'm not talking the same as before. When I say certain words, I have to work harder to say them. I can tent the sides of my mouth, I can wiggle my tongue quickly from side to side. THere are dents on the side but I've always had those, I have a big tongue. I am so scared that this is the beginning of bulbar, I can't think of anything else. It's affected my demeanor because I don't want to talk much for fear that I won't say something right or feel the feeling that I'm not talking right. I also have swollen neck glands because of a sinus infection, but I don't see how those could affect my speech. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Others have posted that the slurring is very fine at first and then gets worse. Do you feel the slurring?

Thank you for any insight anyone may share.

 

[BethU]

None of those symptoms sound familiar to me. I didn't have any "feelings" that my tongue was not working right. It was other people who noticed the slurring, and it was a long time before I could hear it myself. And no, I never "felt" the slurring. Slurred words are something you hear, not feel.

I don't know how you get from these subtle sensations to bulbar-onset ALS. Just because you can't think of anything else it could be doesn't mean that a medical professional wouldn't be able to. Is your sinus infection being treated? Check with your doctor about your glands, and talk to him about your anxiety.

 

[brooksea]

Anxiety can cause you to think that you aren't speaking articulately! And in turn you may not due to the anxiety.

My husband's symptoms started out like Beth's - a tiny bit slurred and mainly towards the end of the day when he was tired and had been talking all day long. My husband still can't believe others have trouble understanding him, as he understands himself perfectly. So you see, others would most likely notice before you would that you have a speech problem.

 

[mcmom]

Thanks for your informative reply, Beth. As for the sensation--I feel it every few sentences. It depends upon the words I'm saying. I was actually just looking for a post from someone I saw that explained the slurring very descriptively. I thought it was one of your posts, but it might have been someone else's.

Yes, I'm on antibiotics for my sinus infection and my doctor is stumped as to the reason for my tongue problems. I'm going in for bloodwork next week.

As I think about it, I guess another way to describe what I feel is that my tongue seems to "freeze" sometimes. And I don't always have problems with the same words.

 

[trfogey]

Has your doctor referred you to a specialist to determine what the problem with your tongue is? Is it possible that the problems you have had with the surface of your tongue have changed the sensations that you feel in your tongue, so that things feel differently now when you are talking?

I am not a doctor, but your symptoms don't sound anything like bulbar ALS to me either. Just another example where Dr. Google's lousy bedside manner leads to fear and anxiety. If you have a medical condition that concerns you, go to your doctor first. Don't start looking things up on Google until you have a definite diagnosis. You will save yourself a lot of anxiety.

 

[rose]

I wanted to add (and I think I speak pretty clearly) its not just the tongue that affects quality of speech, the lips play a part in it too.

Why don't you ask for a referral to a speech therapist, rather than stressing over it? Its what I would do.