Perceived Slurred Speech

[JesseBarrett96]

Hey I'm back again Im still worried about bulbar ALS this has to be like my fourth post on here. As of now I have been suffering from this episode of health anxiety for little over three months now. I have a few questions.
1. If I was truly slurring my speech would other people notice it?
2. After three months would my symptoms be noticed by others?
3. Can Tmj issues cause slurred speech?
I won't be able to see a neuro until October because that's when my insurance kicks in. I have already accumlated 4000 dollars in medical bills. I'm only 19 years old and I don't have a job. I feel helpless I can't get into cbt because I've been on a waiting list for two months now and they still haven't called me back.

[worrywart29]

Tmj can cause you to feel like you're speech is slurred. Others may not notice it but you will. I have tmj and go thru this feeling all the time.

[FeelLikeNeo]

I'm also a I-have-ALS worrier. Here are some stats for you.

The chances of getting ALS is 0.002%.

If you have ALS, the chances of being under 35 are 0.003%

That means it is absolutely, astronomically unlikely that you have ALS.

ALS is a fast mover. Others would notice by now. 3 months is a long time in a disease with a life expectancy of 2 years. You wouldn't be wondering if you have it - you'd be damn sure by now.

[Fishmanpa]

Truly, deep down, you know the answer to this and there's more evidence of this in the title of your thread. There's a big difference between "perceived" and "real".

It would be wise to use that insurance coverage to address the illness you do have... "Anxiety". $4K is a lot of money to spend for reassurance.

Positive thoughts

[JesseBarrett96]

I'm so tired of this I honestly don't know what to do anymore. I feel like it's gotten worse over the last couple of days.

[.Poppy.]

Honestly, it probably wouldn't help if you they did notice it. I went through an ALS-fear phase and thought my speech was slurring. One day I was talking to my father and he commented on it - obviously that sent my fear through the roof!

Anxiety messes with you. It can cause you to manifest symptoms. I know I've probably referred to this too much, but there is a great episode of House where a bunch of people on an airplane get sick with similar symptoms because in their minds there is a contagious disease and they believe they are catching it.

It's entertainment, I know, but I can tell you firsthand that health anxiety does this to you too.

I hope you get into the CBT that you need; have you talked to any other therapists?

Another poster has already mentioned that the odds of you having ALS are super, super slim. Ask yourself: if you see a neurologist and they say you are healthy, would you even believe them? Or would you think they "missed" something?

Health anxiety is a slippery slope. I think it's harder because we want to put a lot of faith into health care professionals, but we are constantly bombarded with cases where they aren't doing their jobs appropriately and that makes us feel like they are wrong or missing something. Been there, to some degree I still am there. You absolutely need to be your own advocate, but you also need to know when to trust the doctor - hopefully therapy can help you with that.

[JesseBarrett96]

You're absolutely right about me probably not believeing the neuro. I just don't know how to get past this. I guess I'm just going have to wait it out. However after I get through how longer after that before I fear another terminal illness? It's like a never ending cycle that I'm honestly afraid is going to control my life. The last 3 months it has controlled my life, there hasn't been a single day that has gone by that I haven't been thinking about ALS.

[.Poppy.]

I think two things helped me (mostly) get over my health anxiety:

1) I realized that I was torturing myself, potentially taking medication I didn't need (at the time it was an inhaler), and that something had to give.

2) I kept a journal and wrote whenever I had symptoms and how they were making me feel. This helped because I found that sooner or later I'd get "tired" of a particular "disease" and be over it, only to have it replaced with something else. I could go back then and read about my symptoms and how afraid I was, but notice that it had ended (even if something else began). After awhile, I began to notice that I was recycling symptoms/illnesses and that everything ended eventually...which led me to realize that I wasn't really physically ill.

You CAN do this. It's hard, but it's worth it.

I still have slight bouts where I think something's up, but they don't last as long and aren't nearly as frequent. I'm still afraid that doctors will miss something or will take me down the wrong path in certain situations, but not all, and a lot of that stems from the fact that I'm anxious in general and rather pessimistic and I just don't believe certain things will go right for me. It has less to do with the quality of the doctors.

Mental health is a long road to be on, for sure. But it can get better. You'll learn a lot about yourself. You'll develop empathy for others.

Right now, you need to beat this. And you can. Have you spoken to a counselor at all? Sometimes you just need that extra boost.

[Hypo84]

Appart from odds being 1 in million, you don't have symptoms of als and after 3 months you would be much worse if you had it so it's pointless to talk about als.
What poppy wrote is good advice. Try that.

[JesseBarrett96]

So I got a job today I'm hoping this helps me take my mind off my speech. I still feel like I'm slurring I went and hung out with some friends today and they didn't mention my speech or anything so I guess that's a good sign