Fear of ALS\ Perceived (or real?) speech issues

[TinkrTonkr]

So let me introduce myself. I am 20 years old, my name is Fábio, and I'm from Portugal. I had stomach cancer 1 year ago, had surgery and thankfully everything is fine, I'm cured. But since then I developed other problems, I am currently being treated for anxiety and depression. Currently taking Mirtazapine, Olanzapine and Diazepam (quitting this slowly)
So my symptoms are: Weird Jaw feeling, it is like a dull pain and feels like sometimes it shakes a little and I can't find a comfortable position for it to sit, feels awkward and I'm constantly thinking about it. Then one day I looked at my tongue and saw twitching\\fasciculations and a online search eventually led me to ALS.... 2 and a half weeks ago I saw a Neuro, he said I don't have ALS but didn't do much testing only tested reflexes and said there were no tongue fasciculations. But for a 2 months (more or less) I've been having trouble speaking, saying some words and sometimes I kinda stop before saying the next word like my tongue was not fast enough, get it? Another symptom I have since Christmas is sometimes I feel like I can't initiate a swallow, again Neuro wasn't worried at all, but it still happens to this day although it seems to be getting better. So all of this trouble speaking, swallowing and jaw has me thinking I must have ALS, bulbar onset. I know the statistics are in my favor, it's INCREDIBLY rare to have bulbar ALS at 20 but what else can this be? Anyone had similar symptoms and turned out to be benign? Thanks for any help!

[Fishmanpa]

Please read THIS!

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[TinkrTonkr]

I read that Fishmanpa, in fact I posted in ALSFORUMS and got banned, twice, because I was so persistent with my questions. I know I shouldn't have, people there are mostly suffering with this terrible disease, I was insensitive.
My question is: Anyone here with anxiety had the following symptoms: Jaw feeling awkward like there is no comfortable position and feeling like it's shaking or feeling the pulse in the jaw, also tongue feeling odd. Then speech feels a lot more difficult but I'm not slurring (Noone commented on it and I recorded myself, I sound fine) I just seem to have a weird difficulty pronouncing some words and also some trouble initiating some swallows. I just wanna know if these are possible anxiety symptoms... The Neuro dismissed me and said "Forget ALS" but he didn't even test my tongue strength so I don't know if I can trust him.

[Fishmanpa]

Ahhh... I see that. That's truly sad and incredibly disrespectful! So I "respectfully" ask your to please read that post over and over until it sinks in. Especially the part about Bulbar.

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[TinkrTonkr]

I know I was disrespectful, and I know I feel terrible about it :(
I read the part about Bulbar but I still have these odd symptoms and all I wanna know is if someone that suffered with anxiety has ever had these symptoms, I mean the jaw thing is weird, I have no jaw weakness but it feels weird and it's like I can feel the pulse and it feels like there's no comfortable position for it to rest. Also the speech issues I don't understand I have always been a fantastic speaker and now all of a sudden I cannot speak clearly a few words...

[Fishmanpa]

I echo the sentiments of the posters with ALS that were so kind to offer their reassurances. "Yeah buts" won't get you anywhere. Please get help with your anxiety.

Good luck and as always...

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[TinkrTonkr]

I'm scared, today my speech is worse I have trouble saying words with the letters "tr" and "d" and I think I'm slurring a little...
Can anxiety really cause this?

[Fishmanpa]

Can anxiety really cause this?

Absolutely... from an article about anxiety and speech issues....



Anxiety can cause slurred speech, as well as issues that resemble slurred speech. All of the following are potential links between stress/anxiety and slurring of words:

Overactive Thoughts
One of the key reasons that some people slur their words is because anxiety makes it so hard to focus their brain. Stress can affect recall and mental accuracy, and extreme anxiety can cause you to be so far "in your head" that it is extremely difficult to get words out. In a way, anxiety makes your brain work too hard, and when it does some of the other things your brain needs to do don't work as well - like speaking.

Muscle Tension
Anxiety also causes significant muscle tension. Muscle tension can make it harder to move mouth muscles, which of course is the main cause of slurred speech in most other conditions.

Over-Awareness/hyper-focusing
An interesting problem with anxiety is the way it makes you over-aware of what would otherwise be subconscious/automatic behaviors. It's seen in other areas of life as well - for example, anxiety can make it harder for some people to walk because they're more aware of the movements in their legs. It can affect the mouth and speech as well. Speech is an automatic movement, and during intense anxiety your mouth movements may be controlled by you rather than your subconscious mind, making them much harder to do.

Anxiety Medications
Slurred speech is the side effect of many different anxiety medications. Most often it's because these medications act as muscle relaxants and make it harder and harder to move the muscles in your mouth and face.

Tiredness, Caffeine, and More
Several fairly normal issues can also affect speech. For example, those that are very tired may be more prone to slurred speech because their brain is not functioning as well as normal. Tiredness (as well as a lack of caffeine for those with caffeine addiction and other issues that may affect alertness) slows the brain down to the point where both muscles and function work less effectively.These are just some of the reasons that anxiety may be responsible for slurred speech. It should also be noted that some slurred speech once in a while is normal even in those without anxiety. But when you have anxiety, it's easy to feel as though your problems speaking mean "something more" than what someone without anxiety would think. Slurred Speech From Anxiety Isn't Dangerous. While it's important to talk with your doctor about the cause of your slurred speech, slurred speech caused by anxiety is not dangerous. It's not a sign that you have something else coming, or that your brain will somehow be inefficient for handling life tasks in the future.There isn't a specific treatment for slurred speech because slurred speech is simply a response to anxiety. One thing you should do, however, is avoid forcing the words out. If your speech is slurring, forcing yourself to speak is going to add more stress. The more you try to force out words that aren't coming out naturally, the more you'll find that the words become more troubling as your brain becomes more stressed as a result.

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[TinkrTonkr]

Interesting.... I guess the constant yawning today can be a result of anxiety too, and the fact that I sleep poorly last night?
I yawned at least 10 times in the last hour or so...

[Fishmanpa]

Interesting.... I guess the constant yawning today can be a result of anxiety too, and the fact that I sleep poorly last night?
I yawned at least 10 times in the last hour or so...

That should be a statement, not a question.

What are you currently doing to treat your anxiety?

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