[pink&grey]

Hi PC, I wanted to ask this community if anyone has ever experienced a sudden onset of difficulty speaking - producing words or getting them out? This hit me on Sunday and has not gone away. The cardiologist I was seeing for a recent onset of heart palpitations admitted me inpatient so I could have an MRI and see a neurologist. MRI was clean as was neurological testing. Neuro believes it is caused by my mood problems. I've made an appointment with my Pscyh tomorrow. I did go off of the 25mg of Lamictal that I had only taken for about 2 weeks to see if my heart palpitations would go away. Honestly this did affect my mood a great deal. I started taking it again last night because the heart issues didn't go away during that trial time.

This is so frustrating, scary and embarrassing!!! Thanks so much to anyone with experience or input.

P.S. this is obviously affecting my ability to work too. I don't know what to do about that and am soooo embarrassed. I have never told work that I have mood issues and have been able to hide it. Now what do I do? I've taken 4 days off in the last week and have cancelled all my phone conferences so no one would hear me. I work from home.

[middlepath]

YES!!! I was going to post the same thing. I have only experienced it once, but it was during my last episode of depression (which was the worst of my life!!) and as i was coming out of it, my words started becoming lost. Its not that I would just forget a word or two, it was like speech suddenly became challenging and I couldn't complete a thought sometimes. It was really bad at some point when I ended up saying words in a way they are not meant to be said...I can't think of an example right now, but it was just plain odd. I am not sure if this is what you have been experiencing, but it finally went away once the depression was completely gone. Even then, it took my brain about 8-12 weeks to regain function. freakin' sucks. sorry you are dealing with speech issues too : (.

[faerie_moon_x]

Yes. I suddenly get onsets of, hard to explain, almost like a confusion. It's like my brain goes dim or something. I can't think of words. I can't even type clearly. I've been trying not to edit my posts when it hits so I can show what I mean. (This is hard, it is embarassing.)

I often confuse words. I will say "good morning" in the afternoon and "good afternoon" in the morning. This is a daily thing now, and lots of people call me on it. But, the sudden loss of words just comes suddenly. It can last a few minutes to a few days. It also effects my ability to read clearly.

[Moose72]

Yes. I can't find words or I stutter or I say the wrong word.

[wotchermuggle]

Originally Posted by pink&grey

Hi PC, I wanted to ask this community if anyone has ever experienced a sudden onset of difficulty speaking - producing words or getting them out? This hit me on Sunday and has not gone away. The cardiologist I was seeing for a recent onset of heart palpitations admitted me inpatient so I could have an MRI and see a neurologist. MRI was clean as was neurological testing. Neuro believes it is caused by my mood problems. I've made an appointment with my Pscyh tomorrow. I did go off of the 25mg of Lamictal that I had only taken for about 2 weeks to see if my heart palpitations would go away. Honestly this did affect my mood a great deal. I started taking it again last night because the heart issues didn't go away during that trial time.

This is so frustrating, scary and embarrassing!!! Thanks so much to anyone with experience or input.

P.S. this is obviously affecting my ability to work too. I don't know what to do about that and am soooo embarrassed. I have never told work that I have mood issues and have been able to hide it. Now what do I do? I've taken 4 days off in the last week and have cancelled all my phone conferences so no one would hear me. I work from home.

Yes, on Lamictal I believe. I would often have a hard time finding the words I wanted to speak.

[~Christina]

Yes , I lose words , trip and fall over some others and unable to pronouce many.

My brain is always running a million miles a minute and the results are annoying.

[Tamster]

I get slurred speech, forgotten words, stuttering, it makes my daughter almost angry cause she can't beleive me. Psych understands but says I need the meds, neuro has tried to help. Cardio can do nothing. It is the most embarrassing , frustrating time in my life. I have 2 friends that say they really know I am trying to get the words out and sympathize with me. I have found myself hitting the keyboard sometimes when i think it is broken or the keys are warped. Cant they fix the side effects of some of these meds.

[faerie_moon_x]

I guess I should also say, I'm not on meds but still have this problem anyway.

[kaliope]

when i was on zyprexa and another med i lost my words. they came back after i stopped the med.

[pink&grey]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. Middlepath what you describe sounds very similar. It takes me a while to say my words, or I stutter or there is a long pause in my sentences. When I get stressed it gets very, very bad & I'll begin to cry from frustration and embarrassment. I can't believe so many people are having this problem. I'm unsure that it's the meds causing it since I had cleared the lamictal from my system before it started. I was only on 25 mg so I really doubt it is withdrawal. But maybe I'm in denial - kind of hoping getting back on the lamictal will make it go away. The neurologist explained it as a symptom of very low mood where the brain was misfiring. He felt confident that bringing my mood up would correct the issue. I hope so. Looking forward to hearing what psych thinks tomorrow.

As for work, I think I'm going to just go to HR and tell them I've been having health issues and one is a sudden onset of stuttering - cause still unknown. I feel like if I cover my base with HR then I can feel less nervous avoiding talking to people until it goes away. Which I hope is very soon!

Thanks again. I hate that you all deal with this, but it is a huge deal to know it's not just me.

[HabitualQuitter]

I just took my last 25mg does of Lamictal this morning. But I've had this issue alot. I've had a moderately elevated mood for about a week now and I experience the ling pauses, brain fog, loss of words, it's awkward. I don't see many people other than my husband and sister but it makes me not want to be in public. I used to be very articulate, witty and fun to be around. Now it's like I'm an old model computer "brain not responding" and just freezing in mid sentence. I hate it.

I do it when I'm really cycling rapidly. It feels like my brain shuts down, and I know what I want to say, but can't get it out of my mouth. I always thought it was b/c I was stressed, b/c that's usually when it happens.

[Chupacabra]

Mostly like Christina... It's always like this. Worse when cycling. I try to ignore it. Although I will say, only those close to me seem to notice. Others do too, I'm sure, but may not actually realize how frequent it is.

[BipolaRNurse]

I've noticed a definite decline in my cognition over the past year or so, and it frustrates the hell out of me. It contributed heavily to my difficulties at work, and makes me question exactly what I can do as a nurse that doesn't require a decent memory and attention to detail.

I have trouble with word-finding occasionally. What's most alarming to me is the fact that my short-term memory is SO short-term that I can be in the middle of writing a post and not remember that I've already discussed the same content in a previous paragraph! Or I'll be in a conversation and not be able to remember what the original topic was, which can be very embarrassing when you're talking to someone who doesn't know you have a problem because they don't know you're BP/on meds and are too young to have dementia. Bleah.

[hamster-bamster]

I am glad you are able to work from home. Do not mention psych issues to the HR - either "health issues" or "neurological concerns" at the most.

I very much doubt that such a tiny dose of Lamictal can be the culprit. However, some people do react to tiny doses...

[anon61514]

Had this pretty badly every time I took my dose of Lamictal, back in the day.

[bluemountains]

I have a rough time with mixing up words. I have a certain word in my head, but another comes out. Also, I find that I am not as tuned in on details with my job as I used to be. I'm not sure if lamictal is the culprit. I take 200 mg.
Bleumountains

[A Red Panda]

This has been a long-standing issue for me, mostly noticed it within the last 3-4 years though, although it started out before then.

I'll just forget what something simple is called, and I'll substitute some other word that either has a similar sound, or a similar function.

I once asked my class to line up at the window, because I couldn't remember the word door. That's my clearest example because I was sooo embarassed but the kids found it funny.

I also forget what I'm talking about half way through a sentence, but that's usually because I'm so far ahead in my thinking!

(for me, none of that is influenced by meds, as I've only just recently started any)

[notALICE]

Originally Posted by pink&grey

Hi PC, I wanted to ask this community if anyone has ever experienced a sudden onset of difficulty speaking - producing words or getting them out? This hit me on Sunday and has not gone away. The cardiologist I was seeing for a recent onset of heart palpitations admitted me inpatient so I could have an MRI and see a neurologist. MRI was clean as was neurological testing. Neuro believes it is caused by my mood problems. I've made an appointment with my Pscyh tomorrow. I did go off of the 25mg of Lamictal that I had only taken for about 2 weeks to see if my heart palpitations would go away. Honestly this did affect my mood a great deal. I started taking it again last night because the heart issues didn't go away during that trial time.

This is so frustrating, scary and embarrassing!!! Thanks so much to anyone with experience or input.

P.S. this is obviously affecting my ability to work too. I don't know what to do about that and am soooo embarrassed. I have never told work that I have mood issues and have been able to hide it. Now what do I do? I've taken 4 days off in the last week and have cancelled all my phone conferences so no one would hear me. I work from home.

Yes also. I thought I had a stroke. Before I was on meds even. It wasn't until after my diagnosis, & on here, that I found out it was not uncommon.

I was let go at my job, on the day I was diagnosed, but would not have been able to work. It's been a blessing in disguise. I need time to adjust to meds, heal...

How are you today?

[pink&grey]

I thought I might have had a stroke too. The doc actually admitted me stating a TIA (stroke related) speech impediment. Luckily that wasn't what it was! I'm doing better today. Last night the heavy stutter and fear of talking lifted. This morning I'm only having trouble every other sentence or so and when I get stressed (dang kids not cooperating).

I have not said anything about mental health to anyone at work. I like neurological concerns. If I wasn't working from home I would be in big trouble right now.

[hamster-bamster]

I do not want to sound alarming but my friend's mom had that, the doc thought that it was stroke, did tests, and found out that she was having a malignant brain tumor. She died within a year.

[pink&grey]

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

I do not want to sound alarming but my friend's mom had that, the doc thought that it was stroke, did tests, and found out that she was having a malignant brain tumor. She died within a year.

Thanks - I've been seen by a neurologist & had an MRI so feel pretty confident it's not any of the big physical issues. I'm just cray cray - I guess I should feel blessed

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by pink&grey

Thanks - I've been seen by a neurologist & had an MRI so feel pretty confident it's not any of the big physical issues. I'm just cray cray - I guess I should feel blessed

Clean MRI = confidence.

Yes, that is good.

[Moose72]

Great. Now do we all need mris?

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by Moose72

Great. Now do we all need mris?

I would think that no, if you can definitely say it is drug-caused.

In pink&grey's case, with so little Lamictal, it was not definitely drug-caused, so getting an MRI was the way to go.