Slurred speech/dysarthria

[Helencz]

For a brief period of time, I began to have trouble with my speech. I believe it was about the same time I was having trouble with my handwriting. The muscles in both my mouth and my hand felt incredibly weak at that time. If I remember correctly, both of these got better after I had a root-canaled tooth extracted.


FWIW, hoarseness is a symptom of Hashimoto's Disease and/or hypothyroidism.

My thyroid panel is always normal.

 

[Helencz]

Ok, my speech is maybe worse than I'm making clear. The hoarseness makes it better usually. My facial muscle feel like they had Botox. I used to be so expressive ppl liked to imitate me. My eyes were very big. It literally is hard to smile. I have to really push myself with my facial muscles. My speech doesn't get better. It's been bad for several years, maybe 5 years. The Drs think it's neuropathic or multiple system atrophy forms of Dysautonomia. I tested pos for mold based on DNA and other tests & had a lot of immune/inflammation tests I never had before (despite autoimmune problems since childhood) come back pos. I know I have EBV recombinant form & some other IGG/IGM positive stuff. I had a notoriously tainted rubella vaccine at age 9 which triggered my arthritis & sjogrens. I thought it was under control but based on these other tests, both the mold person I'm seeing (& I want a second opinion cuz she's costing a fortune & I don't know the prevalence of these findings in the non-symptomatic population & hematologist found, I have an immune dysfunction/inflammatory response going on inside my body that increased my fibrinogen &other clotting tests. But I have severe hypovolemia & high standing norepinephrine, OH/POTS, movement issues, neurogenic this that & the other thing... And now my right lung seems to be having a problem. I recently had a cardiac test that induced my symptoms & caused an inverted T wave and severe drop in BP (it was supposed to increase my BP) & I thought I was having a heart attack and couldn't talk or open my eyes. I've not been well since but I don't even know anymore what dr to call. My cardiologist is overwhelmed by my case, as is my neurologist. I was living away from my house for three years & before that was away on and off for medical care, but finally decided that was ridiculous do have my disability friendly house sitting here & not sell it. But I'm too sick to get it ready to sell & my Drs where I was were at least more familiar with my case but I wasn't getting better. One dr had me on so much medicine, I wonder if that caused my speech problem. Seriously, it was very dangerous & when I asked him abt it, he dropped me like a hot potato, afraid id sue him & that had royally messed up my care cuz he has made sure to cover his $&@ & I can't do much abt it. But my other Drs there all were behind me but still any new dr wants the previous records. It's impossible to get a dr to revise ur records if they contain mistakes or erroneous info. I really trusted that dr. So, I just am trying to find out abt all my symptoms & figure out what to do. I needed to go to the ER Sunday but wouldn't go cuz they don't understand my dxs here & I was too tired to shower. So my PICC (I get daily hydration at home but Sunday I had a reaction as soon as I started my fluids & was having difficulty breathing, chest pain, & my speech was the worst ever) line nurse came Monday and listened to my lungs. So I have a problem. But I've only seen my internist here once and am due back this month. I also had a bone infarct in my pelvis that destroyed left me with the worst relentless pain in my life & my spine since has been a mess. I have some permanent blindness, a brain lesion on my pons they say has nothing to do with all this, severe Raynauds, some Dystonia, & u name it, but my hearing & memory great! Lol. My memory actually was a problem when I first got sick with this neurological stuff & it got better over time, suggesting a brain injury of some kind, but my speech was fine then although I had horseness a lot from the sjogrens (I assume) & I had bouts of swallowing problems where I couldn't even swallow water, as if I forgot how, but it isn't usually that severe. I am way uncoordinated & drop stuff (just today, a glass dropped full of ice tea. I fall & bump into things but not as bad as before cuz I think im less mobile & my house is more disability-friendly. I have severe fatigue & have slept 3 days In a row but am not doing that as much. I fall asleep lately reading. I can only type like this during a window of time late afternoon or early evening. I get different kinds of tremors or seizure like episodes. I think this low VEGF test finding one may be critical. Ok, if u have any thoughts abt any of this, I'd appreciate it. Ok I told u it was a long story. I need help.

 

[Hutan]

@Helencz, that sounds really difficult. I know the frustration and fear that comes from having a whole lot of symptoms with no good explanation. But you have had a hard time at another level again.

Have your doctors considered sarcoidosis? (perhaps that lung issue is a clue?).

 

[lansbergen]

I had bouts of swallowing problems where I couldn't even swallow water, as if I forgot how

I did not forget how to swallow but could not.

Sleep is good. The body needs lots of sleep to heal.

 

[MikeV]

With me, it seems that at times speaking is effortless; sometimes I don't realize I am having troubles until people start asking me to repeat myself, and I think, "Uh oh here it is again." Sometimes I can pull myself up out of the problem just by being extra loud on purpose, talking loud to the dogs or whatever... sounds funny but it seems to help. But when I am on empty/exhausted it is almost impossible to spit out the words correctly no matter how hard I try.

To kind of practice keeping my voice sharp around the house, I sing songs and hymns aloud. I don't know if the neighbors like this or not.

It is real interesting to hear of others problems in this area because I have never heard it discussed before in relation to ME/CFS. I spend lots of my time struggling with and trying to correct this problem.

 

[MikeV]

Have the doctors ruled out other possible causes for your speech problems? For example, have they tested you for myasthenia gravis?

Wow, thanks for that input; this is interesting. I know I have never been tested for this.
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/myasthenia_gravis/detail_myasthenia_gravis.htm

 

[Helencz]

Update on speech/dysarthria. I learned I have Lyme/babesios/and DO have hypothyroid after all & knew have EBV/EBNA, RA/sjogrens/Dysautonomia beyond POTS, and u name it but docs don't think it's MG. my s

 

[Helencz]

Oops, I have ataxia too and I hit send. My speech is ALWAYS bad. My right facial muscles are weak and tongue deviates left suggesting a brain injury that doesn't show on scans. However, babesios and hypothyroid (oh plus mold illness based on Dna & mycotoxins all positive and the other supporting tests but the mold likely was not from my house) especially can cause speech problems. Yup thyroid, whoever asked that. So I'm on some low dose med not synthroid and my eyes that got so droopy like mito ppl are open again and big. The babesios medicine and thyroid meds r helping but I also watched myself on video and saw I don't move my mouth when i talk. So I couldn't understand one word. Then I tried again over enunciating, thinking I was going to look goofy & looked much weirder when I didnt move my mouth. My face felt like I took face aerobics! My facial muscles are so weak.major babs symptom. So I'm working on what 4 speech therapists couldn't figure out, not one two three- word utterances but prosody and fluency of movement, interestingly I also developed eye nystagmus in the past year and it is worse when my speech is its worst I think. It seems better lately. My speech had a setback with a full syncope event last week where i hit my head bad. I'm ok but still have some headache worse than usual but improving. That had not happened in like 3 years where I was out cold and hit my head on the way down but my bp on meds to increase is still like 70/40 & my local heart doc is getting fired by me! But the speech can be from an infection of immune.also I have hypogamuligobulinera /Low igg s. Don't know much abt what thT mean.. Immune.

 

[Inspired]

Wow, Helencz - your symptoms sound so much like mine 2 years ago.
It was a challenge to diagnose..they symptoms appeared to be caused by a lesion in the pons (part of the brainstem). Other conditions had to be ruled out, such as myasthenia gravis & Lyme. You mentioned that your doctor doesn't suspect myasthenia gravis. Did he/she specifically test to rule it out?

What type of scan was done on your brain--CT scan? MRI?

Congratulations on some definitive diagnoses. I hope that your team of docs treat the Lyme appropriately, so that it is completely eradicated.
Inspired421