Quote:
Originally Posted by Mimsies
I got a concussion December 14, 2010 when my head was accidentally hit in the front by a (very strong) 8th grade child playing dodgeball and it was slammed into the brick wall behind me. I also had a tiny hairline fracture in the left base of my skull.
I re-injured myself last summer when falling out of a chair. However even before the second injury, I still had (and still have) a constant mild-moderate headache (on a rating of 1-10, 6 without lexapro, 4 with it). I tend to list/tilt to the left, have no memory for numbers, unreliable "short term memory," sensitive t light (pretty much always need sun glasses), sensitive to sound, and am far more easily irritated and much less patient than I used to be. I also lost 12 IQ points. I am very sensitive to sensory stimulus in general, and have a strong reaction to being touched when I am not expecting it.
So I have ALWAYS been on the quiet side and tended to keep my thoughts to myself. Because of this, I just recently noticed that I actually now have a very difficult time translating my thought into speech. I can know what I am thinking, which is totally lucid, but then have the hardest time getting it into words. It is especially pronounced when I am upset, stressed, or very tired.
Sometimes I cannot even say "Hi" to someone I know, and give them a little wave instead. I regularly have an impossible time answering questions like "How are you?" and if someone notices that I am upset, "what's wrong?"
I also often stutter, and mix words up in order, or mix different parts of word up, e.g. I often struggle to say water bottle or bottled water and struggle my way through iterations like "botter wattle" "wobber bobble" etc.
My ability to write is unaffected, and my ability to read aloud words that are in front of me is unaffected.
Does anyone else have this trouble? How are ways you cope with it?
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Hello Mimsies,
I initially had worse problems with my speech, with the stuttering and stammering, but I had some speech therapy which helped me slow down my sentences and become less anxious when speaking aloud. I do still have halting speech patterns and word finding difficulties, and I am 10 months post injury.I also get the wrong word and transpostions like you do, especially when I'm stressed or fatigued. I laugh about it now, but it used to make me feel anxious and "dumb."
Unlike you, I cannot write because of graphomoter ataxia, and I start off reading at an acceptable pace when reading aloud, however this slows down, too. If my speech or word finding bogs down too much, I totally forget what I was saying.
You may want to get a Speech therapy referral. It helped me at least be less stressed and somewhat more successful with conversations.
Hope you are feeling better soon.