Is it normal in m e for your speech to change

[curlytots71]

Just wondering I have had m e for the past four years but for the past three years I haven't been able to walk and have severe muscle weakness i the right arm which means unable to write or cook etc, I also have very bad speech problems I have lost my cockney accent and now have Eastern European accent I have had s a l t as also my speech goes completely for about fourdaysthen comes back again . Just wondered if anybody else has same problem or do I have something else as wellas m e

[snailspace]

Yeah, I used to have speech problems....sometimes people thought I was drunk as my speech was so slurred. It got better as general health improved a bit. Now I say things wrong occasionally but on the whole it's ok. I have problems understanding other people too and can't recognise accents at all. Thought an english person was american recently! If it's anything like it was with me, it is worst in bad phases but will get better in good phases. Might be worth checking with your gp though. Get better soon!

[curlytots71]

So your whole accent changed then ?
My g p knows all about it he sent me for speech and language therapy that hasn't made a difference

[Dr Charles Shepherd]

Part of what we call cognitive dysfunction - which is very common in ME/CFS and involves problems with short term memory, concentration, information processing etc - can also include mixing up words and forgetting words.

But significant changes in the way you articulate speech - for example slurring speech or sounding drunk - is something that you must discuss with your GP, especially if there are other neurological symptoms/signs as well.

You may need to be referred to a neurologist for further assessment before concluding that this is ME/CFS related

[curlytots71]

I have seen neurologist in 2010 and they didn't seem intersted in anything I had to say . My speech therapist says it could be foreign accent syndrome even though mt ct scans and MRI came back normal in 2009 , I have learnt to live with this forthe past three years now

[snailspace]

Ditto....my GP has never been overly interested in these weird (and frankly sometimes quite disturbing!) symptoms. I have never even been referred to a neurologist or any other specialist despite 15 years of illness, sometimes quite profound. I get the feeling that if I went to GP with slurred speech and had not been previously diagnosed with ME/CFS it would be taken seriously and investigated, but with an ME/CFS diagnosis it's just put into the 'another unexplainable weird symptom' category and not investigated.

[curlytots71]

That's so true , but my speech and language therapist has said dont just let everyone say all ur symptoms are to do with m e .