I've noticed my husband is always clearing his throat and when he talks it sounds garbled. Anyone else have this problem?

[Hidden]

Yes, I have had that problem. Am currently in Speech Therapy, it is helpful.. My therapist is trained to use LSVI LOUD (lsvtglobal.com/) Rehabilitative Therapy for People with Parkinson’s.

[Joyable in reply to Hidden]

I don't know anyone who has been through the LOUD Program. I'm interested in your experience with the training - if you don't mind sharing.

[Hidden in reply to Joyable]

I spent the first few weeks doing exercises for swallowing. I was told the muscles in my neck, on the right side, were not strong. [I had noticed that the right side of my face was becoming different from the left]

I am currently working on speech. I am trying to learn to be LOUD....most of my life I've been asked to be quieter. I feel like they want to make me an opera singer...someone who has never been asked to sing, only asked to not sing.

I believe it is really helping me.

Don't like the homework, thought I had finally out grown doing homework.

[kkamegranny in reply to Hidden]

I just started the program this week and feel the same way. I feel like I'm shouting all the time and more self concious about my voice tremors than I was before!

[Hidden]

Thank you, I will look into that website. Have had in-home speech therapy but he also has dementia which has affected his language skills. He knows what he wants to say but the words don't come out right. Glad the Speech Therapy is helping you. Continued success with it.

[wordworks2001]

I produce much more saliva than I did pre-PD. It also is a little harder to swallow and I have to actively remember to not speak in a monotone when I talk.

[wifeofparky]

Speech therapy will definitely help. It is very common with PD.

[Thumbpick]

My speech was unaffected until I had DBS (but i would still do DBS if I had it to do all over again). I worked with about 4 speech pathologists with a bit of success, but not where I wanted to be..Then I worked with a LSVT certified (the others were not) and was much more successful. I still slur a little from time-to-time, but I would certainly recommend looking for an LSVT SP.

The odd & really frustrating thing to me is the difference from day-to-day. One day I'll be really good (like today) where no one asks me to repeat what I just said, others I slur a lot and still others are somewhere in between. But I guess that follows the typical pattern for a lot of PDers. It's like that old Jon Denver song: "Some days are diamonds, some days are stones".

[Jeanna in reply to Thumbpick]

I would like to hear more about your dbs which you say you would still do if you could choose all over again. What aspects of pd did the dbs help? Did you have the sub thalamic nucleus of the pallidus spot stimulated? Can they program the device differently to improve your speech? I have been offered dbs but am fearful of possible complications.

[cinziagiannni]

I too have trouble with sspeaking (slurring and volume). I did speech therapy for awhile using the Lee Silverman technique, but it was a burden because I had to commit to going every day for 4-6 weeks.

Instead I found:

Karoake games for my Wii. This is the most fun and so is the one I do most often. My caregiver's son, six-year-old Stephen and I are heavily into competing.

A website -- lsvtglobal.com/index.php

"LSVT Global specializes in the development of innovative and effective treatments for the speech communication (LSVT LOUD) and physical/occupational therapy (LSVT BIG)." It also hasinformation about finding a LSVT clinician.

Free videos

lsvtglobal.com/index.php?ac...

Training workshops

LSVT® Training and Certification Workshops are two-day programs designed to train rehabilitation therapists (speech-language pathologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists) an evidence-based treatment technique for people with Parkinson disease with application to other neural conditions.

DVDs and brochures

lsvtglobal.com/index.php?ac...

I bought Speech Exercises for Parkinsons - DVD

Price: $45.00. The LSVT Homework Helper is the first DVD of voice and speech exercises based upon the LSVT treatment.

LSVT® Companion software

lsvtglobal.com/index.php?ac...

LSVT created the LSVT COMPANIONTM Home Edition to help individuals practice their LOUD voice exercises at home during and after treatment by an LSVT LOUD certified speech therapist.

Price: $299.00

The LSVT COMPANION™ Home Edition includes the LSVT COMPANION software and a calibrated microphone for collecting accurate data on treatment sessions. The LSVT COMPANION is licensed for use by an individual. A Home edition user must be under the care of an LSVT LOUD certified clinician to use this product

[Joyable in reply to cinziagiannni]

Thanks so much for all the information.

[ma4PDcure]

Is he on mirapex or other similar medication? I have experienced problems with my voice such as clearing of my throat, soft and shallow voice, some difficulties talking. These effects have mainly occurred sometime after taking these type of meds but after a couple of hrs they dissipate. So it appears that when the medication effects start to work that's when you will experience problems with your voice. Once you have taken these meds for a while then the voice effects starts towane off. The other thing I've noticed is that when the dosage of these meds are high then that's when you will also experience temporary voice problems. Additionally, we all know that the disease itself dos have an impact on our voice, mainly hypophonia which is low pitch, low toned voice.

[Hidden]

I've had voice problems for years and years and clearing my throat is part of it. I was a teacher and abused my voice and am now paying for it. However I did get exercises from the ENT dept in hospital but they were so tedious I dropped them. Now I do two things. 1) Read alaoud each day 2) avoid too much dairy food caffein and fizzy drinks

[msfelchy]

My mom has this problem. Her speech gets worse when she has a UTI.

[willyjan1]

Yes, I have throat problems to. With Parkinson, it causes your focal chords to get like a banjo string that needs tighten up. I went to the Ear, Nose, & throat specialist and that is what he told me.