Speech problems?

[TabulaRasa]

Lately I've been having some problems with my speech by mixing up pronouns, saying the opposite thing, not being able to articulate things, and misidentifying nouns. This is unlike me and used to only happen when I was very tired or stress, but it's seeming to happen every day. Is this related to the Chiari or no? Has anyone else had these problems?

[gunflint]

I'm guessing here, it could be related but probably not directly. In other words it probably has more to do with meds and being more tired,stressed, and exhausted due to the long term effects of both CM/SM and the meds your taking. However if the change is happening rapidly it could be something serious and totally unrelated.

[redhed1978]

It happens to me a lot. My son (13y.o.) makes fun of me for it. Sometimes it's funny and I get a laugh.

Other times, it is very frustrating. Funny how we are never alone no matter how 'off' the symptoms seem to be.

[TabulaRasa]

Well I just started seeing a specialist in Cincinnati and he wants me to keep a symptom diary so maybe I'll add this to it. And yes it's very frustrating; I called a juvenile client "Hun" because I thought I was talking to my cats and I called myself a "son" today instead of a daughter. It's more embarrassing than anything!!

[birdlover3]

Pain & CM can affect our thinking & memory process. Some of the people with CM have trouble with what you described and I’m one of them. We’ll be thinking one thing & say another. I used to have a link with a long list of Chiari symptoms, but when my computer crashed, I lost it. I do know this was one of the symptoms listed on the Chiari symptom list since I had/have it. I usually have the most problems when I’m at my worst

Like redhed1978 pointed out, our family will (lovingly) pick at us about it. Most of the time we can laugh it off, but sometimes it is frustrating.

I did find one list. It compares Chiari and fibromyalgia and compressed cervical spinal cord symptoms: http://www.nfra.net/Symchart.htm

[toport20]

Tabula, wondered what doc your seeing and how well you like them? Looking for a doc closer to home.

[LFRM]

Hi!

Speech problems are definitively a Chiari symptom. When I went to The Chiari Institute in New York there was a neuropsychologyst studying the language and speech problems. At that time she was part of the teams, and as I visited the neurologist I visited her too. She put me some tests, but I could not do them because my native language is Spanish no English so this was a variable affecting the results, she decided not to continue. But she explain to me at that there were three important symptoms that many Chiari patients have:

- Naming things, this is you can imagine the thing, this means you have the actual representation but you can not say it, you have it on the tip of your tongue but you can not say it.
- Saying one thing for another
- Articulating like a drunk person, like when you drag some consonants, you can not articulate well

In the Mayo Clinic web page there is some information for patients about Chiari and it says that trouble speaking and word finding is definitively a symptom, go to: http://www.mayfieldclinic.com/PE-Chiari.htm

I have all of them, but I have discovered they are related to dehydration, the more dehydrated I am the worst all these are, but drinking water does not have the same effect as drinking coffee, all these symptoms improve, in my case with coffee!!

My sons and husbands are my interpreters, particularly the youngest one as he is almost a professional in doing this.

Laura
Mexico

[bmxgirl]

When I was born with Arnold-Chari I have speech problem. I talk different than other people do.

[TabulaRasa]

Tabula, wondered what doc your seeing and how well you like them? Looking for a doc closer to home.

I'm seeing Dr. Tew at the Mayfield Chiari Center and I've only seen him twice but he is definitely a good doctor who knows what he's talking about. My neurosurgeon at home has maybe 5 Chiari patients annually whereas this guy will see 5 or more Chiarians every day.

[TabulaRasa]

- Naming things, this is you can imagine the thing, this means you have the actual representation but you can not say it, you have it on the tip of your tongue but you can not say it.
- Saying one thing for another
- Articulating like a drunk person, like when you drag some consonants, you can not articulate well

I definitely have problems with all of these things. I will try to keep more and more hydrated. And what she was looking for were abnormalities in the left hemisphere of the brain, that's where the language center is. Naming things is a problem with Broca's area (expressive speech). I'm also dyslexic so a lot of people think it's due to that or stress. I've brought it up to the doctor, but that's a symptom on the bottom of the ladder.

[LFRM]

Yes from a neurophycological perspective language is located at the Broca Area ( left hemisphere of the Bran up of the ear) and in the Wernicke area too, a little behind the ear, but it seems the cerebellum has a role in language too as it has a role in coordinating many processes, from movement to thinking what goes first. It seems the cerebellum has a role in executive functions too, these are the brain skills that help us plan, execute and evaluate one task. So this means that the cerebellum coordinates movements and many other brain capacities. Language needs a coordinating process too. When one person speaks he or she has to coordinate many elements, such as: first we have to coordinate the relation between the image and the name, this means that we can imagine one thing and then represent it with a word, then we have to coordinate what word goes first, then we have to coordinate the velocity of the speech, and in doing so what is said... So the process of talking is a process of coordinating many parts of the brain to do one thing: speaking. Taking into account that the right hemisphere has the representation and the left hemisphere the word, both have to be coordinated too. So the language coordination process is probably done my the cerebellum which is pressure by the skull in Chiari and therefore it is affected by this.

Laura
Mexico

[reedy]

Laura,
That is a very clear and useful overview of the language and motor links of the brain, and an interesting link to the condition that plagues many of us! Thanks for a really excellent post! And to underscore, since your first language is not English, you've gone through several extra challenges to get that written out so clearly.

I found it particularly interesting as my job is specifically concerned with names...and also requires dealing with some complex rules, links, processes, etc. I have found that some times I struggle with this, and other times its no problem. I hadn't tied it to the disease process quite so closely, but will try to be alert to the link from here on out. Although I don't have Chiari, only SM, and the slowing process is more in my motor areas, I do occasionally feel that kind of mental slowness too. I'd put it down to fatigue, but I think I will also make an extra effort to ensure my physical system is in top shape - IN ORDER that I keep my mental acuity. Often I will sit in a chair all day and night just because I'm struggling to finish some writing project or whatever. My arms ache from the SM pressure building up, but I try to soldier through and finish whatever I'm supposed to write or think about, but usually working more and more slowly. Your post has made me consider that perhaps the faster way to get things done is to get out of the darn chair, go for a long walk (in my wibblywobbly way) or go to the gym. Then try again on the work.

Can I tease you a little on this? You wrote:

...from a neurophycological perspective ...

which means from a 'nervous algae perspective'. Indeed! I often feel like an edgy bit of seaweed too!
(I know, you meant 'neuropsychological perspective'. Funny that a misspelling popped up just there, on the very topic you were writing about!)

[LFRM]

Thank you for the joke!!
One problem that I have is coordinating my fingers to write, one hand writes more quickly than the other, I can not coordinated my hands to write well. Some times I do doubt about how to spell some words in English, of course I have many mistakes, but my real problem starts with finger coordination in typing!! So I if the word has and H in the middle, the right hand will write it first even though I have not gave the order to it. I do this in Spanish too, but I do it more in English.
In case the other members have some doubts about what neuropsychology, it is the science that studies the relation between brain and behavior. This is that what ever happens in the brain it may show in some behavior. For example is someone has a damage in the cerebellum like us, he or she will show it in any coordination skills from talking, to walking, writing, and so on... As all these activities need some coordination. The word coordination means the articulation between our body parts. What goes first in a task and what goes after is decided by the cerebellum. So we will have coordination problems is it is pressured by the skull!!
I have a studied a lot of neuropsychology because of my profession, I have written a book about it: "Learning from the brain", I hope it gets published this year. This is why I can explain it. But it is even harder to explain it in English!!
Laura

[fidget]

I'm so glad this topic has come up. I had my decompression surgery in 2010, and when I tried to explain these symptoms to my neurosurgeon (along with memory issues I was having), he told me it could not possibly be Chiari and completely dismissed it. I was so upset by this that I went to another neurosurgeon, who told me the exact same thing - it couldn't possibly be Chiari related. I knew it had to be a Chiari symptom and insisted he look into it. Instead he referred me to a neurologist, who did another MRI, and told me there was nothing wrong and not to worry. Both the speech and memory problems have lessened over the past 3 years, thankfully, but I still get those weeks where I can't say a word or a completely different word just comes out. And as someone else mentioned, sometimes my hands react at different speeds (mostly noticed when typing). It's great to see these symptoms showing up on symptom lists now. Back in 2010 I scoured the internet to find a Chiari website that listed speech and memory problems as symptoms to show to my neurosurgeon, but it just wasn't there (a few people on this forum admitted to the same symptoms, but to my neurosurgeon, mere patients couldn't possibly know what they're talking about). Amazing what a difference a few years of research can do!