I wondered if anyone else has experienced what's been happening to me a lot more recently as when I read MS information it only states slurred speech. Does anyone have problems trying to pronounce something, it almost goes into a stutter and I feel my voice changes accent and then I have the flip side I'm adamant I have said a certain word but witnesses all tell me different. Sometimes I can hear it's come out wrong other times I don't. Hope this makes sense as a bit difficult to explain. It used to be worse when I was very tired and more in the evening but now it's happening in the daytime too. Thank you xxx
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Yes; sometimes I can actually "hear it" in my pronunciation of a word or phrase. It's almost like my tongue and mouth are lazy, but it's not quite slurring for me, but it's definitely not my normal diction. But, it's not a "stutter" for me, but definitely different, and Yes; when I am tired, too! Hope this helps. . .
Most common for me is to "lose" words and have to describe what I'm trying to say. I haven't had anything close to stuttering, but there are times my mouth doesn't want to form the words, times when other people hear something different from what I think I said, and occasional times when I just can't speak at all. When I'm too tired, my voice becomes very faint and child-like.
In a similar vein, and something I've never seen anywhere, is the spell I went through where I couldn't understand people with accents. Now, that in itself isn't that odd, but the weird part is that every single time I heard them speaking what I knew wasn't a real language, all of them speaking the same one. It occurred both in person and on TV, with British, Hispanic, and Southern accents, but only for a sentence or two. As they kept talking, I could understand them perfectly. It happened multiple times over a period of several months when I had my last bad exacerbation, and thankfully it hasn't happened since!
Thank you for replying. I get that exactly. I didn't think I stuttered but my husband says I am, but describing is becoming a common thing now lol. Haven't had the thing of not understanding people, just me sounding like a farmer sometimes or German, it makes a change I guess from the norm 😂xxx
I experience this as well...especially if I'm already tired or right after I wake up. But it can happen anytime throughout the day. I've had a few really bad days with it and told everyone "I give up. I'm going back to bed." I've also had instances where I think I'm speaking clearly but everyone says that they can't understand a word I'm saying. Which frustrates me even more...I've occasionally asked "Am I speaking Greek here?" (The only word in Greek that I know is "gyro".)
Thanks for replying. Yes, where it was just mainly towards the end of the day it's now throughout. I do laugh about it though and realise now my body needs to rest. I don't think it's helping not sleeping great where it's been so warm, although not complaining. It's so nice to hear other people have the same thing as it was completely dismissed by the Consultant!! xxx
I mispronounce words and then sometimes total garbage comes out of my mouth, My husband has finally gotten to the point where he'll say he doesn't understand what I am saying. So far I'm always aware of the issue. I also tend to describe the words I'm trying to say. So now the attic is the upstairs basement.
I love the "upstairs basement"! I just asked my daughter if I have any that I consistently use, and she answered that there's so many that she doesn't keep track. 🙄
Brilliant you have made me smile as now I know I'm not the only one. I have many odd sayings now and the everyone just works it out I(most of the time lol). Occasionally my husband looks at me blankly and I just burst out laughing as I couldn't even make sense what I had said. I'm so glad I asked this question as just plodding through this with just me and the family xxx
I had problems way back at the beginning. And though no accent issue, it was hard to get the word out. Now it is losing word! My fave is “the thing that makes the bread go brown” I also often catch myself getting pronouns backwards. I will describe what I just saw on TV….She wants his chair….should have been….He wants her chair.
Hi, way back at the beginning, did it go then? Exactly the same, the thing that washes the plates lol. I was putting it all down to menopause at the beginning as my Consultant dismissed it when I mentioned it last year to him but I am seeing on here now it is all related xxx
There are several ways MS can affect speech. Thoughts originate in our conscious brain and are sent via the nervous system to the muscles that control speech (throat, vocal cords, tongue, lips, mouth). It's actually quite a complex system that we take for granted. When you see your neuro, explain what is happening and request a referral to a speech therapist. There may be some help for the problem. A speech therapist is trained to analyze how you speak and produce sound, and can teach you strategies to deal with your problems.
Hi, thanks for replying and yes you are so right, we take many things for granted until it doesn't function properly. I've not been very well recently but my GP knows when I'm better I'm going to be asking to see a different neurologist as really not very impressed with mine, I've basically been told I've just got to live with it (all of it, not just the speech part) but then I guess I'm not keen on drugs anyway and have to take steroids all the time which ironically I think helps with other things x
I’m sorry you’re going through this! You are not alone. When I was first diagnosed and in the hospital, I had expressive aphasia (knew what I wanted to say, but couldn’t say it) and slurred speech. I also completely lost my voice and could only whisper.
That went away, but I began stuttering when I got over tired. I’ve also been known to say the wrong word from time to time. Most embarrassing when it happens at work! Now, if I’m struggling with my speech, my husband just says I think you need to go to bed 😂
Hi thank you bless, I just wanted confirmation it was to do with the MS as there are people suffering a lot worse things than me. Luckily I'm the type of person that can just laugh it off and just apologise to people who fingers cross at the moment are all really nice about it. As I've said to others I mentioned it along with other things to the Neurologist and he just didn't want to know and it makes you feel as if your going mad. My husband will say also to me, tired by any chance, didn't sleep well last night lol. I am realising though when I need to rest up a bit so listening to my body a bit more. Thank you so much again for replying xxx
all the time!! I stutter, switch words in a sentence.(fill the gas with car), replace words with random words (put the laundry in the guacamole). And my family says I say the wrong things even though I swear I don’t! And I’ll get stuck on a word or syllable and repeat over and over until I pause and reset. Like others I describe the function of things when I can’t remember what they are called
That sound like me exactly, thank you sooo much. As I said to someone before I originally thought it was menopause doing it where the neurologist ignored it, but it's getting worse and worse, especially when tired lol I just feel it has to do with MS and they just don't mention it anywhere. So thank you again, can you imagine if we tried to have a conversation with each other 😂xxx
As a person whose voice has been my living my whole life, I can only say I know exactly where you're at. My entire voice has changed, as well as my brain's ability to form words. People don't understand at all what's "wrong" with me, and basically they don't care. It isolates me, which is awful.
Oh bless you. WIth the entire voice changing there was something recently on the television about it. The same thing happened to a lady, she went to A&E and was dismissed but there is a name for it, I will try and investigate for you and message you back tomorrow if that is ok. I get where your coming from with the ability to form words and I'm just laughing it off at the moment but I often sound like a farmer recently or a bit German, it's very bizarre. I think it's so nice how everyone cares to write a comment on here for me and I will write back to them all tomorrow as I'm getting tired now and writing gets a bit iffy as well lol. I'm just saying though that people do care it's just finding the right people xxx
Hi, just checking how you are today? Can other people hear your voice has changed or just you? As someone has advised to me on here, have you seen a speech therapist that can help? I'm sorry your voice was your living and I can see how difficult that must be for you now, especially as we have not control of it whatsoever, it just randomly comes along!! Have you tried just putting out there what is wrong with you when people don't understand, I always make a bit of a joke about it to get over the embarrassment on both sides and it seems to really help, I felt sad when you said it isolates you, always here if ever you want to chat. Take care xxx
Often I can barely be heard. As a former opera singer, this is insane to me. And singing? Forget about it. It's as though I've been given a "new" body, one that isn't worth a plug nickel.
I am so sorry, having such a powerful voice as an Opera Singer I can see now why that is so hard on you. Have you ever been offered botox injection for it? I know it's hard to accept the changes in the body but trust me you are so worth more than a nickel x
Hey! I'll say this: I was diagnosed in 2006, but they knew I had MS in 1989. It wouldn't have helped as they had no treatments back then. However: I'm learning more and more every single day that there isn't a single part of being a human being that MS doesn't eventually affect. This whole voice thing is an example. Who knew this would happen? No one I know or have read about had heard about it. But then when it happens (or trigeminal neuralgia), you google it and voila! There it is, commonly associated with MS. Never a dull moment...
OMG thank you. At the moment I have a phobia of going into buildings and lots of people, partly due to shielding so long. I have been getting terrible pain in my teeth and everyone kept saying I need to go the Dentist which is something I cannot do at the moment, but I kept thinking all my teeth can't be bad and it would be top right or bottom left, including earaches. I have googled trigeminal neuralgia and realise my feelings were correct, so thank you as again the Neurologist who I have completely given up on as he has told there is nothing they can do for me, so no medications nothing. Luckily, I have some stronger painkillers in the house for something else and use these when the pain drags on for hours, I'm so careful how I eat food now, so thank you again as I would never have known about this if it wasn't for you x
Thank you, it's safe to say now after all the kind replies I have had, that MS 100% causes stuttering and it just isn't documented, at least not from information I have read which is why I am so glad I have joined this site. Thank you again x
I have a variety of fun speech issues, with occasional stuttering which is usually more when I'm tired or stressed (running late). My tongue has not formed a word properly, or I can't think of a word so I make others play a guessing game to help me figure it out. Sometimes I say things that don't make sense but I think I said something else. Rarely I will use a word not in my vernacular, such as "whilst" 🤣🤣🤣 Sometimes my voice is weak, and other times it's just too hard to talk.
🤣🤣Thank you so much for replying. That sounds just like me. I've realised I was having a bit of a relapse last week which I'm assuming why it was worse, throughout the day as well. Now it has just gone back to the evenings when I'm getting tired. It keeps the familiar occupied with the guessing games lol, although that bit can be any time of day 😂Glad to see you have your sense of humour, we laugh all the time. Haven't had the issue yet of finding it hard to talk, I'm sure my husband will like that bit if it happens to me 🤣x
He will have loads of fun if you are down to one words answers and he needs to find something in the house 🤣 Mine can't find cheese in the cheese drawer 🤦♀️
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