I am a year (7th October 2017) after having 3 strokes, and my speech is getting worse. When I came out of hospital (after 8 weeks) it was very, very quiet - this slowly improved, and I would say it is at normal levels now. It was also slow, this hasn’t improved and is getting worse, I also started to stutter in January, just one a couple of words, but it is with lots of words now, mainly ‘s’ and ‘w’ words.
I am getting frustrated and not wanting to talk. Can anyone make any suggestions
Im one year on 22nd of this month also after having 3 strokes 2 weeks before my 30th birthday, my speech is also quite bad, although people who know me know not to point it out, im a waitress and i think its really helped me, anytime i slip up i just explain that things just sometimes dont come out right, dont be too hard on yourself, i think by studying speech and certain apps help xx
APP’s - Tactus therapy - practice, practice , practice etc, etc
I was really lucky there my stroke on 3rd March this year affected my mobility I have no use of my left leg and left arm my speech wasnt affected at all nor were my cognitive functions either. I hope your speech returns soon.
I had my stroke 13 years ago and my speech was affected but not lost. I soon learnt that it got worse when I got anxious or frustrated. By trying to plan my life more carefully it improved my speech. My top tip is to try and reduce your anxiety level if possible? As your self confidence returns your speech could improve. Brin
Phew, that's a tough challenge, you sound amazing, inspirational ? thanks very much for your post xx
I had my stroke in february this year affecting my right side. I had a stutter from the start quite badly, made me retreat into myself. slowly my Speech returned but my problem now is that i cannot bring out the words i know are in my head, very frustrating when everyone tries to put the words in for you.
Hi, I had my stroke on the 17th June. I felt the same until Monday, I belong to a local stroke group and this is normal. I feel like I have gone backwards in my recovery because at the moment my brain knows what I want to say but my mouth doesn't work. Rest assured this is extremely common, just don't stop speaking and keep going it will get better but as you know there is no time limit on our recoveries, it is frustrating. I love going to my local group, it is only once a month but the support and reassurance they give and have given me I treasure. I had no one to turn to, I'm the first in my family to have a stroke and knew no one who had had one. When in hospital they get you to do exercises every day just remember to continue this every day at home. One of the hardest things is accepting what has happened as well. You are here, you can do it but it will take time, frustrating but just persevere. At the moment I'm in positive mode (I've had more negative modes since June), just keep telling yourself you can do, you can xxx
HI
I had a stroke 6 March
I couldn't even remember my son's name
now I'm in Benidorm for a month
memory and speech returned....energy levels are at last back to normal
hope this enspires someone
Dennis
Great news, really pleased for you - enjoy your holiday ?
I had a stroke in 2015 ,my speech was affected slightly ,since then it has gradually got worse . people tell me that they can understand me but I now try to avoid social conversation because I can't keep up with the topic ,by the time I get my words out the conversation has moved on .I spoke to someone at the Stoke Association and they told me that the affects of a sstoke are not regressive and there must be another cause .This is not true ,it quite deffinitde can be regressive
I mainly have trouble saying certain words like Rural, Frivoulous and prescription. Yesterday another word joined the list...Executive! I've not had stuttering problems but do have trouble finding the right word to say, but I'm not sure that my stroke is the cause of that because it always has been a problem!
I try to remember to whistle when out walking. This is a good time to do it. When I want to practice saying a word when out walking I've learned a trick of holding my mobile phone to my ear. This makes everyone think you are talking to someone and you don't get written off as an idiot!
Deigh
Hi Dennis, that really is encouraging, I had my stroke in September, and worry that we won’t be able to go abroad again, so to hear that you have achieved this in such a short time, really boosted me. Enjoy the sun , Lyn x
Hello Lyn, we’d already booked a holiday in Portugal pre Stroke, so 5 weeks after John’s Stroke, we got Airport assistance, arranged hotel transfers online and had a weeks holiday in Albufeira. Unfortunately, it was the coldest week in 40 years otherwise it would have been perfect.
Going abroad is certainly doable and we just did one weeks insurance on that occasion. Since then we’ve been to Spain twice and have booked to go to Madeira for Christmas. We now have annual insurance for Europe.
I hope you go ahead and have a great holiday. Take care, V&J
Thank you so much for your encouragement Veronica and John, the day before I had my stroke we had just come back from France, to prepare for a cruise the following week, travel and holidays were a big part of our life as we are retired, So to know we can get that back is so uplifting to hear, carry on enjoying your holidays, Lynx
No worries, Lyn,
I’ve put earlier posts telling about our friend, Scott, who is paraplegic and is an inspiration to us. We met him and his wife on a cruise to the North Cape and have been friends ever since. They travel the world! You will probably have seen many wheelchair users on holiday, especially on board ship.
hope all goes well for you both. X
I tried reading my book out loud although this hasn’t stopped the same problem it has helped ease it slightly,which has given me hope for the future
practice, practice, practice lol as somebody else has said. My dog seems to enjoy the story of my book while I’m doing this
Practice makes perfect! Do you have a list of words that give you trouble? Start it’s the one syllable words, and expand from there into two syllable words, three syllable words…reading aloud - your dog is helping you ?! I’m having conversations with the cat. Sometimes he walks away, bored. Nevermind, onwards and upwards!
I have just completed my fourth year as a victim. I can understand and sympathise with the other correspondents coplaining that their speech has regressed. I find it really is very necessary to keep up one's attack on the problem. I read aloud daily to my wife (who takes no prisoners) so I get away with nothing! I deliberately plan my daily walking exercise to meet with others for a conversation.
Despite all this I was quite sure that I was going backwards till someone convinced me recently that my projection had greatly improved and this was making a difference. The fact that recovery is a marathon and not a race is the hard to accept truth.
This week I found that it has taken me four years to get my right hand to pick up a scrabble token between the second finger and thumb by the edges, an action easily accomplished with my left hand. I now am doubling my efforts to do it between first finger and thumb. There is no real profit to this exercise since I can do it easily with the token flat, but it is a point of honour! For the same reason I daily make my right hand play a few octaves on the keyboard just to make sure I am pushing the boundaries.
Deigh
Hi Deigh, more examples of life post stroke - thanks for sharing your on-going challenges. I think it's a work in progress, like any long-term project, you can always find something else to tweak and to improve!! Embrace those boundaries!! It also pushes "us others" I know I give up too easily, and it makes me feel ashamed that I don't push myself when you guys have so much trouble with simple tasks. However, if you'll forgive me, I'm not going to push myself to walk to the bottom of the garden to sort out the compost - it's lashing down and I don't need a drenching just now, it can wait until tomorrow.
Keep up the good work, we love hearing from you, especially those little victories - thanks so much xx