Dear friends, once again I am in need of your advice. The bulbar symptoms have become increasingly problematic for me recently. To add to the tongue atrophy and what I perceive to be tongue fascics, I am now noticing obvious signs of slurred speech. Sometimes when I speak I feel “tongue-tied” and especially with certain sounds. In addition, I bite my tongue periodically, when eating or talking. I have other strange tongue-related symptoms as well.
The first sign that alerted me and my doc to possible ALS was weakness on my right arm. However, after becoming aware of the possibility of ALS, I started thinking back and realized that I have had bulbar symptoms for sometime, although nothing systematic. Others with bulbar ALS have shared similar stories. I never had looked at my tongue before, so I could have atrophied and have had fascics long before I first became aware of them. I seem to be progressing fast, however. I am a teacher and if I can’t lecture, I can’t work. What do I do as I do not yet have a diagnosis? Eating is now becoming difficult because of my fear of biting the tongue. I eat slowly, because of this. I am very depressed.
The first sign that alerted me and my doc to possible ALS was weakness on my right arm. However, after becoming aware of the possibility of ALS, I started thinking back and realized that I have had bulbar symptoms for sometime, although nothing systematic. Others with bulbar ALS have shared similar stories. I never had looked at my tongue before, so I could have atrophied and have had fascics long before I first became aware of them. I seem to be progressing fast, however. I am a teacher and if I can’t lecture, I can’t work. What do I do as I do not yet have a diagnosis? Eating is now becoming difficult because of my fear of biting the tongue. I eat slowly, because of this. I am very depressed.