halfin
Senior member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2009
- Messages
- 540
- Reason
- PALS
- Diagnosis
- 08/2009
- Country
- US
- State
- CA
- City
- Santa Barbara
About two months ago I noticed I was having problems with my speech. My mouth felt sluggish and uncooperative, my words were slow and slurred. I work at home and don't have occasion to talk that much so I didn't pay that much attention at first, but after a few days I realized it was new and a real change that wasn't going away. I mentioned it to my wife and she said she'd noticed that my voice had sounded strange for some time, weak and hoarse, and now this slowness.
I've been seeing a neurologist who has done many tests, most of which were thankfully negative. I haven't had a stroke, no brain tumor, doesn't appear to be MS or myasthenia gravis. However I have been having a lot of muscle twitches which started around the same time, almost constant in all my muscles. Maybe 4-5 a second throughout my whole body. The doctor did an EMG test a couple of weeks ago and found some polyphasic motor units. This could point to some kind of motor neuron disease of which the worst case would be ALS, but he emphasized that there are a wide variety of causes of this kind of thing, many of which are only very slowly progressive or even not at all.
I also saw a speech therapist because it really bothers me not to be able to talk quickly like I used to. He didn't think my speech was too bad but noticed that my breathing is rather weak (I can sing a note for only a few seconds) and also noticed the hoarseness. I'm seeing an ENT doctor on Tuesday to look at my throat area and see if something local is causing the hoarseness.
My neurologist has referred me to the UCLA medical clinic which has a specialization in neuromuscular disorders. I'll be seeing them in two weeks. Hopefully their experience will give me a better idea of what is going on and what to expect.
The good news is that my speech hasn't gotten any worse. The problem varies quite a bit, sometimes I hardly notice it, other times my wife says I almost sound like I'm drunk. But the fact that it's not progressing seems encouraging.
I just found this forum and although I of course hope not to have a serious problem like ALS, I have found the information here already to be very helpful.
I've been seeing a neurologist who has done many tests, most of which were thankfully negative. I haven't had a stroke, no brain tumor, doesn't appear to be MS or myasthenia gravis. However I have been having a lot of muscle twitches which started around the same time, almost constant in all my muscles. Maybe 4-5 a second throughout my whole body. The doctor did an EMG test a couple of weeks ago and found some polyphasic motor units. This could point to some kind of motor neuron disease of which the worst case would be ALS, but he emphasized that there are a wide variety of causes of this kind of thing, many of which are only very slowly progressive or even not at all.
I also saw a speech therapist because it really bothers me not to be able to talk quickly like I used to. He didn't think my speech was too bad but noticed that my breathing is rather weak (I can sing a note for only a few seconds) and also noticed the hoarseness. I'm seeing an ENT doctor on Tuesday to look at my throat area and see if something local is causing the hoarseness.
My neurologist has referred me to the UCLA medical clinic which has a specialization in neuromuscular disorders. I'll be seeing them in two weeks. Hopefully their experience will give me a better idea of what is going on and what to expect.
The good news is that my speech hasn't gotten any worse. The problem varies quite a bit, sometimes I hardly notice it, other times my wife says I almost sound like I'm drunk. But the fact that it's not progressing seems encouraging.
I just found this forum and although I of course hope not to have a serious problem like ALS, I have found the information here already to be very helpful.