Slight speech slurring? Any help would be appreciated.

[colindman]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 22 year old and I've been trying to avoid doing this for as long as possible because I feel terrible that I'm just worrying about having this while people on this forum actually do have it. It makes me feel insensitive and I really do apologize. Unfortunately, lately the anxiety has gotten overwhelming and it's seriously affecting my life. I really do apologize if you find this post disrespectful.

Sometimes I get caught up on my words and they get jumbled about. Every now and then a T sound will come out wrong. "To do tonight" will come out as "To do donight" or "Too tonight." This always comes and goes and I'm never sure if it's because I'm talking to fast or if it's actual slurring, but I can always pronounce my T's later just fine until it happens again. I also think I may have a lisp with my S's, although this may have always been there.

I also have a constant feeling of phlegm in my throat. But I have no issues swallowing or chewing and I don't have any issues with biting my tongue. I do however yawn excessively, but I'm fairly certain I've always done this. Sometimes I feel like I'm being overly emotional when I'm just sitting down, but this may very well just be the anxiety I'm experiencing.

My tongue can move all around my mouth just fine and it can touch all my teeth on both sides. It appears pretty even besides small toothmarks on the side and a small indent in the middle, although these may very well have always been there. I just haven't obsessed over my tongue until now.

Unrelated to ALS but maybe important anyways, my jaw has always made a clicking noise whenever I chew. Also, I have bodywide fasciculations, but I'm pretty sure this is just stress related.

I've been to a neurologist once before but he dismissed me before I could really discuss my concerns. Actually, he made me feel kind of stupid and laughed when I said I was worried about ALS. Not the greatest doctor in my opinion, but my insurance will cover little else.

You are all so strong and I don't know how you manage to move forward from day to day. Just worrying about it has nearly paralyzed me on many many days.

Thanks for any help you can provide,
Colin

 

[skyecatcher]

You're right. It's probably nothing but why not be sure. I would get a second opinion. Don't be intimidated because the doctor makes you feel silly. It's your health and your body and you have the right to be sure that everything is okay. Get a second opinion so that you can stop worrying and get on with your life.

 

[AndyDJX]

Colin--

A second opinion never hurts, but there's nothing you said that indicates ALS. Keep in mind that anxiety can very much cause speech problems. Not just make you THINK you have speech problems, but actually CAUSE them.

Most people have indents in their tongue (like the teeth marks you mentioned) and jaw clicking is common as well. Certainly not the thing someone would look for as a symptom of ALS. Body wide fasiculations are also incredible common. In the absence of true weakness and atrophy, they are nothing to worry about.

Your best treatment would probably be to stay away from the internet/googling and focus on treating anxiety.

Best of luck,

Andy

 

[halfin]

Colin, keep in mind too that ALS is incredibly rare at age 22. It mostly strikes people in middle age and older. Even for the whole population the incidence is only 2 in 100,000 people per year. For someone your age it is probably more like one in a million. If you like million to one odds, you should be out buying lottery tickets. But I hope you're not, because the lottery is a bad deal. In the same way, worrying about ALS at your age and with such slight symptoms is a bad idea too.

Young people face a lot of stress these days with the economy and all - I know, my kids are in their 20s too. Try to put your worries out of your head and focus on enjoying life and making progress on problems that you can solve. Good luck and I hope you are able to feel better soon.

 

[colindman]

Thank you all for your replies I appreciate it a lot.

I was thinking about getting a second opinion but I would have to pay a lot to see another neurologist and I can't quite afford that with tuition. I understand it's almost guaranteed to be anxiety (I've always been a bit of an anxious person. I once cried for ten minutes because I got snow in my shoes when I was like eight) and that's probably why I keep obsessing over it. The only thing that really worries me is when i sometimes slur my T's and D's. Then again, I usually talk quite fast so it may have always happened. Up until a few days ago I would keep repeating the same phrase over and over to try and hear slurring and that was not healthy behavior at all. Not to mention it made me look and sound rather odd when I did it. I'm going to try and focus on the anxiety from here on out. I just started noticing these things after reading an article online and then I got a little too curious with Google.

Thanks again for your replies. I really need to learn to stay away from Google. It's a great thing sometimes but a terrible thing others.

Thanks all and God bless,
Colin

btw - I occasionally buy lottery tickets for fun, but then again I'm a naive college kid : )

 

[colindman]

Hi guys,

I'm really sorry to come back with another question but after thinking I was dealing with my problem, it came back a little. The reason is occasionally lately when I breath my breath feels shaky. I don't really know how else to explain it, but it almost feels like I just finished crying or something even though I didn't. I can take deep breaths and fill my lungs with air without a problem, although sometimes this feel shaky too, but I can always finish the deep breath. I can also exhale deeply, but again this is occasionally shaky. I can also hold my breath easily and can still work out moderately, though not as much as I used to. I'm pretty sure this is just because it's winter right now and I haven't really been able to run for the last six months or so.

I'm really sorry to come back again, but does this sound like something to be worried about in regards to ALS, or could this just be another symptom of anxiety?

God bless,
Colin

 

[trfogey]

My money would be on anxiety. You have yet to describe anything that sounds like ALS, which is why you got the reaction that you got from the first neurologist.

 

[BarryG]

Colin, nothing of what you have described sounds at all like bulbar ALS. Chill out and go chase some girls.!

 

[colindman]

Thanks a lot for responding everyone. My girlfriend and I are actually planning on moving to another state as soon as I graduate from college (2 months!) so that is certainly adding to my anxiety as well. My girl chasing days are over at least for a long while, but I certainly have fond memories : ) And I actually have a neurologist appointment coming up in a few weeks for my juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. (I almost forgot until now) I suppose I could just ask him a few questions about things then just to alleviate my concerns completely. I've just always been a bit tense and certainly a worry-wart and it's hard to completely clear my mind sometimes.

Thanks again everyone and God bless,
Colin

 

[colindman]

Hi all,
I apologize for reviving a thread that is a few weeks old, but being a hypochondriac that used to search this forum obsessively, I know that it can help others like me to have some sort of conclusion to other people's problems.

I saw my neurologist about three weeks ago in regards to both my mild epilepsy and my concerns regarding ALS. He examined my tongue and said everything looked absolutely fine. For a few days this alleviated my concerns, but my anxiety quickly came sweeping back.

I was having (and still do have) difficulty pronouncing my D’s and my T’s which frightened me. I examined my tongue (which no hypochondriac should ever do) and noticed it was twitching in an odd and consistent manner. It wasn’t just a localized twitch, but my whole tongue would move in an odd and pretty frequent way. I immediately freaked out again and the words of my neurologist were quickly forgotten. Panic attacks ensued.

Well a little less than a week ago I went to see my dentist for a simple check-up and he noticed my strange tongue movements. Thankfully, h e decided to take a few-xrays and look closer. I’ve always had TMJ (Temporomandibular joint) problems and I never really considered it as a big deal. Well, apparently, TMJ problems can cause the following:
difficulty speaking
difficulty swallowing
and uncontrollable tongue movements

I had always thought that it was relegated to slight jaw pain, tongue fatigue, jaw fatigue, and a strange clicking when chewing, but apparently there are numerous other symptoms.

Long story short, my ALS concerns are quickly dissipating. Because of my hypochondriac tendencies, I can’t say that they aren completely gone but my anxiety is much less than it used to be. My TMJ issues are getting worse and I’m going to need surgery on my jaw, but compared to my previous worries this is an unbelievably positive outlook.

To all other hypochondriacs, please please please try to avoid obsessively searching these forums. ALS is extremely rare and unless extreme weakness is concerned, your twitches and other symptoms are likely caused by something else.

And as a sidenote, my anxiety was causing a variety of other symptoms. Benign fasciculation syndrome can cause all sorts of nervous system problems. I’ve had a weird buzzing in my foot, frequent body-wide fasciculations, perceived weakness in all of my extremities, and my anxiety was making my difficulty pronouncing D's and T's way worse than it normally is. Anxiety is a strange, strange thing and can wreak havoc on the body. There is another forum that is much more suitable for hypochondriacs like me, but I’m not sure if I’m supposed to advertise other sites. Ask Dr. G. about benign fasciculation syndrome if you are interested.

Please please please stay away from Dr. G. The man should be sued for malpractice.

God bless you all
and thank you all so much for replying to my posts,

Colin

 

[sadiemae]

Thanks for letting us know.