speech

[Rachel W]

Hi Guys,

I wrote a general post a number of months ago about how I started worrying about MS due to some sight issues, then got twitches, read about them and worried about an MND.

Since then I started noticing every twitch, every feeling of weakness, stiffness or clumsiness. I then started to look for speech and swallowing issues and then i noticed small things and I could not let go of this fear. I think about it every minute that I am awake.

It all started in September, and speech in October. I went to a neurologist who specialises in MND/ALS, Myasthenia Gravis and EMGs. He gave me a full clinical exam which was normal and then an EMG on my right side, left lower leg and tongue; again everything normal. This was just before Christmas and he told me 100% that I did not have anything serious.
He said that it was most likely anxiety and when I asked him if anxiety could do this, he said that it can do whatever it wants to.

I was very happy and I expected my symptoms to go away very quickly, but my feeling of speech remained and I was still thinking about them all the time.

I still have the other symptoms a little bit and body-wide twitches, but I know that they are benign because of the clean EMG, however I have not been able to get rid of the speech fear and issues. I have actually noticed that my tongue feels slightly wider than where my teeth are and seems to be making me more hesitant and 'stiff' with speech. I can still roll my tongue, push very ard into my cheeks etc. so am not convinced that I have weakness.

My question is that if I am constantly being obsessed with my speech and tongue, could this anxiety make my tongue sit widely in my mouth and affect my speech?

Thanks, I am still so worried.

Rachel

[bex1970]

Like the specialist said - anxiety can do whatever it wants.... speech is a thing we do without being conscious of it... so, when we really start to think about it, it becomes unnatural - bit like breathing.... hence, we seem to stumble over it all and it feels weird.

Trust the specialist... you're ok. Anxiety does all the things you describe - and many more....

[agent orange]

Rachel, I feel the same, I have had and am still having a lot of these symptoms. I had an MRI and a clinical test and all was clear, but the symptoms are still here and yes anxiety and the body does give us really strange sensations that I presume can last for ages etc, well I have been suffering for over 2years with these current symptoms. I was told by the doctor that it is anxiety and I am finding this hard to believe.

[krog]

Hi there.
I share your anxiety :)
My anxiety started about two and a half years ago with a massive panic attack caused by not being able to speak for a period of about 2-3 mins.

In my most anxious moments I still fear this will happen again, but it never has !

Like the other replies on here say, the more you think about it the worse it seems to get. I sometimes find myself thinking about what I am going to say next and then worrying that I will not actually be able say it :ohmy:

I have to say that over the past six months or so I have experienced this less and less and I now suffer more with general irrational thinking more than anything else.

Anyway, stay strong and focused and time will be the biggest healer for us all.

Take care,
krog.

[Wee-Mee]

Anxiety is a monster honestly.

I posted on someone elses thread about having noticed a swollen ankle..and only AFTER I noticed it did I start getting symptoms accompanying it like limping.soreness,shooting pains etc and went to doctor,got told it was fine and it subsided cos I wasn't focusing on it.

The thing with HA is that the slightest twitch or ache means so much more to us than it actually is so when you feel a twicth or something and you focus,it will get worse cos your mind is trying to accomodate your body..like

(I'm so bad at explaining things)

Say you get a pain your arm..probably a pulled muscle,your body will try work to heal the pulled muscle on it's own..BUT..if you start thinking.."hmm what if it's a broken bone?What if it's an absess?" the brain will start getting confused and try and accomodate the thoughts to suit the body.

If you let go,the pains subsides.

I think this is probably making NO sense whatsoever but I tried lol.

I know what I'm trying to say in my own little messed up head but to explain to other people I'm like..... (?)

xxxxxxxxxx

[indigo]

A friend of mine who does NOT have HA but other anxiety problem always loses her speech when she has a bit of an episode. She never worries about it (I would though it sounds awful), it sounds like she is deaf when she speaks and sometimes she struggle to even say anything and it is all down to anxiety, it comes back eventually. She has experienced this about 4 times in the last year!!!! Anxiety can do anything it wants and usually does the thing you're worrying about!!!!

[Rachel W]

Thank you so much for all your support. I know that worrying about a rare disease and getting symptoms after looking for them means that it is so unlikely that it is what I fear, but at the same time it is very scary.

I am so glad that I can share my fears here and I am sure that it won't be the last time either. :blush:

I am going to England soon to spend time with my family (I live in the US now) and hope to go to get a postgraduate degree while I am there and I keep picturing the worst case scenario of my situation getting worse, and then I can't come back to the US etc. The mind really is a terrible thing.

I also have OCD so I definitely have a worrying/stressed personality as well.

So, I will try not to worry and look at all the exciting things that I will be doing, and I just hope these symptoms really do go away.

You guys are all so great and again, I am glad that we can support each other.

Take Care and God Bless.

Rachel