When words fail: MS and speech difficulties

Do you ever trip up in your talk? Multiple sclerosis warriors know all about tripping. We can stumble in our steps. We can fall over our own feet or even trip going upstairs. But we can also stagger when we speak.

We’re not tongue-tied or at a loss for words. The cat has not got our tongues. It’s the MS MonSter, striking again. And this time, it’s messing with our mouths. Doctors call it dysphasia.

 

Dysphasia is different from dysphagia, but some MSers can have both.

Dysphasia is about speech issues. For those with MS, it often shows up when we inadvertently substitute one word for another or mix up word orders in our sentences. Personally, I sometimes say the wrong word, but it starts with the same letter (or phonetic sound) as the word I mean to say. For example, I might say:

garbage instead of garage

cluck instead of clock

willow instead of window

constant instead of consistent

design instead of device

When this happens, it isn’t that we aren’t thinking clearly. We know what we mean. The wrong word just comes out. It’s like a blip of static, or like our tongues aren’t listening clearly to our brains for a moment.

It’s not exactly stuttering. Most of us actually come out with recognizable words. They’re just the wrong words, when dysphasia does its thing. And we’re not plunging unintentionally into profanity (like in Tourette’s). We’re just confusing verbage. And we know it, when we hear it. 

Usually, we can sort of laugh it off, but it can also be rather frustrating. And it only happens when we speak out loud, not when we write. 

Some MSers experience expressive dysphasia, which means they cannot recall vocabulary that they actually know and have trouble forming speech (at least momentarily). Those who struggle to process and comprehend others’ speech may have receptive dysphasia. Any of this can crop up with MS, but these manifestations are usually temporary (or intermittent).

Others with MS may experience slurred or slowed speech, vocal weakness, or difficulties with pitch or volume. This points to a speech disorder called dysarthria.

Dysphagia refers to a difficulty in swallowing. This might include gagging, choking, or a feeling that food is stuck in one’s throat. That’s also common with MSers, and considerably more concerning than a few mixed-up words.

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Adapted by this user from public domain image

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Zoning Out - Facing MS symptoms from A to Z

Yesterday, I rode in a car through a raging thunderstorm. The clouds were so low to the road that they blocked most of the visibility. The driver had to follow the brake lights of the vehicle in front of us for several miles until we had passed through the stormy area.

Cruising through the foggy stretch was disorienting and uncomfortable. It took all of the focus the driver had, just to keep our car moving forward safely and on-route. Even so, it was a struggle to focus and stay on course.

Sometimes multiple sclerosis feels sort of like that.

People call it “brain fog.” Similar symptoms can accompany other medical conditions.

Folks report attention issues, focus problems, memory challenges, and multi-tasking difficulties with chemotherapy, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic stress, depression, exposure to toxins, long periods of physical inactivity, lupus, menopause, nutritional deficiencies, pregnancy, sleep deprivation, when taking certain medications, and during the grieving process after a loved one’s death.

Anyone can zone out a bit when overtired, overburdened, or overloaded. MS just tends to tip the scales in that direction much of the time.

Despite our earnest efforts to pay attention (especially when we’re viewing programs and presentations or when someone is speaking to us), we may zone out for a moment. We might miss a piece of something a person just said, take a few extra moments to answer a question, or forget an appointment.

Sensory overload can do that to us. So can MS fatigue, pain, or any number of other MS-related symptoms that interrupt our daily functioning and ability to concentrate.

MSers join the countless crowds who keep daily calendars, to-do lists, and other reminders, just in case they zone out. We might ask others to help us remember something important (although we cringe at the idea of inviting nagging). We set up notes on our smart phones.

And we try like heck to stay in the zone.

Note to loved ones: Beware of telling an MSer that he or she has brain fog or is zoning out. It’s much safer, more tactful, and wiser to let us tell you about it, if we feel like sharing.

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Series title graphic adapted from public domain artwork.

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Interrupting: Describing multiple sclerosis from A to Z

MS is unmistakably an interruption, from its onset and with each episode. Those crazy multiple sclerosis symptoms don’t issue any warnings before striking and inciting all sorts of inexplicable irritations.

I had a little interruption this morning, and it still hurts. Although I have no idea how it happened, I bumped my head in the shower. I think I was reaching up to grab my shampoo bottle from the rack that hangs from the shower faucet. However it happened, I have a sore welt on one side of my forehead. My hair kind of covers it, but it still hurts. (Hey, they don’t call ‘em bangs for nothing.)

Yes, MS is interrupting.

At the same time, the MonSter seems occasionally to incite interrupting as well.

Maybe it’s a cognitive thing. It could be one of MS’ emotional impacts. But it does seem as if the intermittent scatteriness (OK, I just sort of invented that term, but it fits.) can remove social inhibitions sometimes, leading the MSer to jump in or blurt stuff out once in a while.

It’s not that such items are necessarily inappropriate.

It’s just that the juggling of so many heightened and numbed sensations at once can sort of cross one’s wires, even for a moment. It's not intentional. MSers don’t mean to be impolite when this happens. It’s just sort of an impulse.

On the other hand, many of us will simply step back, physically or figuratively, when the MonSter rages. Sometimes it’s easier to let things roll for a while, if MS is in full flare. Trust me. We're not ignoring you.

Bear with us. Our etiquette and sociability will likely return when our symptoms subside.

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April A to Z Challenge 2016 logo – fair use

 Adapted from public domain artwork

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