Right sided weakness?

Can i ask if any one has experienced right sided weakness, confused speech and now cannot use his phone to message. He has forgotten his passwords. Language skills are confused and displays frustration. I get the impression he knows what he wants but is struggling to retrieve information. Is this MSA related or something else? Sharon xx

[Hidden]

Hello, sadly these do sound like things my Dad experienced. I guess if they all came on suddenly together you might want to have a chat with the MSA nurses just to see if they think if there was a small tia involved. Either way it wouldn't necessarily change anything - it's just about managing symptoms really. Id imagine they'd be happy to chat it through. They can be good at explaining what the brain is getting up to, when new symptoms appear. Best of luck! Kx

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply. We did see the GP to rule out TIAs or stroke. But we'd need to have a CT scan to rule those options. He refused to go to hospital as he is frightened in case they want to admit him. He still can't get all of want he wants to say out but he is better than he was. He is definitely less steady on his feet. Maybe this is part of the progressive nature of the illness. Sharon. X

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Fair enough I wouldn't want to go into hospital at the moment either! Dad's carers thought he might have had a tia at one point, which I believe can occasionally happen with MSA. The GP said there wasnt a treatment for it anyway if it was self resolving within 24-hours. But if it had appeared to be ongoing, they would have come out to do some kind of blood test.

The unsteadiness on the feet sounds familiar.

Dad got his speech quite jumbled up. But he could say quite a lot with a look! 😉 We did a lot of guessing from context, which works when you know the person, so at least he felt he had some way of asserting himself.

I think he got used to people not understanding him, so sometimes he didn't try, because it was very tiring. The carers always made sure to ask him questions tho, even if he didn't verbally respond. I got the impression that he would respond in his thoughts at least, and occasionally his brain would click on and it would come out in a word or 2.

🧡

[PTS1]

Yes my right side is weaker, ,speech when I’m tired is slurred , I thought it might be a stroke initially, but unfortunately another sign of this illness!

[ReverendBadger]

Hi ,Sharon,

Having one side affected first or to a greater degree than the other appears to be very common. I don't think whether it is left or right is significant and of course eventually this disease progresses to affect both sides badly.

For communication problems of all types one needs to see the Speech and Language Therapist, I'm amazed you don't mention you have one already appointed !

Ken.

[Hidden in reply to ReverendBadger]

Thanks for reply, we do have access to speak and language. It's just a symthom that's here one minute and gone the next. Since then we have a range of difference weaknesses and movement issues. But standing and walking are now a constant struggle. He needs support for most things now. Peter is now wheelchair dependent. Eating and drinking also needs a helping hand, due to weakness of his upper body. But he has his weird sense of humour and conversations. So it not all bad.Kind Regards

Sharon xx

[Kaye31]

My partner has very little use of right side.Has retrained to use left but that is weak also.

Slurred speech always when tired but is now quite often.

[Blubetty]

You could be talking about my mum! - so yes I would say all MSA related. Mum has a lean to the left which started a few years ago, she has recently had a bed positioning assessment (she is completely bed bound now) and we are waiting for supports to arrive which will hopefully help her lie in a more supportive position. Phones are no use, we tried instructions, buying simpler phones, buying familiar older style phones - all a waste of time, which is sad because it is another thing that takes away any independence she might have left. We have had voice banking done recently but to be honest I'm really not sure if she would be able to use it anyway because she would need to be able to operate an iPad! Mum is 81 and luckily still has my dad to help her a bit - although he has his own health problems. One good thing that has happened is her speech has improved. It was getting worse around Christmas time and she was struggling to make herself understood and practically whispering, but at the moment she is speaking quite clearly and with strength - not sure why this is but we're making the most of it. With regards to being able to speak on the phone, we got a 'No Isolation Komp' in lockdown which we still use now, we can video call, send photos and messages on the screen, it would mean you can contact without worrying about your loved one using technology, take a look at this video if you're interested: youtu.be/Gs6SNqdS6FMI'm(Not working as expected?) sorry I couldn't give you more good news but hopefully i've mentioned a few things that might help. Good luck