My husband’s speech has really gone downhill the past month and I am having to ask him to repeat nearly everything he says which is not nice for him.
The speech therapist has visited and is coming again this week but does not seem concerned but we know, as his family, it is worse and not clear at all now.
He says it feels like his cheek has collapsed and his tongue is too large so everything he says is muffled.
We have tried some exercises on You Tube and loads the ST gave us but they haven’t made much difference.
His speech had been coming on quite well and we can’t understand why it has gone off now, nearly 5 months after his stroke. Neither can the ST.
Thanks all. physio has just been out and she thinks it is because he is talking more than he was. If he reads words aloud off a sheet they come out clearer because he doesn’t have to think about using correct word.
I asked her whether we should get GP to come out but she says they will probably suggest speaking to ST or Physio anyway.
I agree with @Veggiepatch as mine still deteriorates 4yrs post stroke. It also deteriorates in the evenings as I get tired, but at the same time if I were to read off a page of text I could be clearer but I’d also be tripping over my tongue.
But he’s still only 5 months, in the first year there’s a lot of 2 steps forwards 1 step back, decompensation!
I don’t mean this as a “dig” but my suggestion is that you get your hearing checked. I know it sounds obvious and possibly stupid but it’s always good to get a baseline to measure from. I am 10 years post stroke and even today my speech tends to deteriorate when I am tired and/or stressed. Just a thought.
Very good suggestion Ed.
I would suggest that sometimes, things aren’t always obvious nor are they stupid and that it is only with hindsight they may seem so.
That is actually a good suggestion for @Trisha2 's husband. My hearing was fading to nothing by 9pm, which didn’t help with speech at all, so I’d just go to bed. So the doc referred me ENT and they couldn’t explain why but other than stroke related. So they game me hearing aids and I’ve helped with both the hearing and the speech enormously.
Hi, I take it you mean my husband, not me @ Edmitchell41a.
Sounds a good idea. I have noticed that when we watch TV he has started cocking his head to one side. I mentioned it to him and he doesn’t realise he is doing it. Thanks
Today he can barely talk at all. He gets days when he can hardly get a word out and gets really angry. Nobody on the team seems bothered except us. He hates me repeatedly asking him to “say that again.”
Did you have a busy or stressful day yesterday? I am still affected by these sort of days. I know its easy for me to say, i hope tomorrow is a better day for you and hubby. Anne
Hello Trish.
I was fortunate in that I didn’t have any speech problems so I have nothing to offer in that area. But the mention of a swollen tongue did remind me of something. Is your husband on BP meds? I remember being prescribed ACE inhibitors which made my tongue swell up so they were discontinued. I’d been taking them for a while before it happened.
As a rule, I always check the medications for possible side effects before taking them or administering them for my Mum.
There are always side effects with most if not all medications, even something as simple as aspirin. The medications may also react with other medications or even certain foods. For example, they advice you to not eat grapefruit or drink juice of grapefruit if you are taking BP meds etc.
You may like to read this post on this forum from earlier this year …
