Slurring speech/Mild stutter
 

Hi I have a problem of slurred speech which can turn into mild stuttering at times, my speech was fine until i was about 14 yrs of age ,I was told by a friend that if I protrude my jawline i will get a chiseled jawline(ALL NONSENSE OF COURSE) , I started doing this obsesively even though it was affecting my speech ie (causing slurring words, mild stutter, dry mouth) and making me look foolish in front of friends.
I developed an obsession with this and kept on doing it till i was about 25 when i finaly decided to stop because it was and already had, had a serious impact on my life ie caused me to drop out of a physics degree, no girlfriends, very few friends ,turned into a very reclusive depressed guy.
I am now 35 and even though i dont protrude my jawline for the best part of 10 yrs i still slur my speech and stutter slightly , not to the same extent as i was before, never the less could it be that i have permanently deteriorated the coordinaton of my jaw muscles. I would be EXTEMELY grateful if i could have some feedback which could alievate my problem.
thank you

Hi Jon (no relation :D), welcome.

You say you stopped the deleterious behavior ~ten years ago, but it's unclear if you've put as much effort into rectifying your speech as you did in modifying it in the first place(?) :Dunno:

I spoze a logical first step might be to find out if there are any coincidental/resultant organic reasons for your speech impediments, or if they're entirely conditioned.

Have you consulted with a speech-language pathologist (formerly speech therapist)?

Doc

Thank you for your rapid response Dr Smith, I went to a few lessons of speech theraphy , informed my therapist about the cause of my disorder, she was completely lost as she had never encountered a situation as was mine, after a few lessons on enounciation i decided it was not having any real effect.
As for organic reasons i can only speculate ,i have never consulted a dentist on this issue, i have tried techniques such as drinking lots of water to prevent my mouth from becoming dry, omega fish oils (equazen) ,centrum multivitamins to keep myself mentally alert.
What I can say is I managed to put my self under enormous strain for many years, ie getting emotionally bullied , this resulted in long term stress which lead to depression ,which leads to prolonged exposure to cortisol which damages the hippocampus thats why my memory is shattered, my spatial awareness is diabolical , i dont like to drive to places which i am not familiar with because i get lost, i never used to have this problem when i was young.
I easily get stressed out because after so may years of stress ,the part of my brain that generates cortisol must have been enlarged, thats why even the smallest of things give me stress, this may well be the organic cause to my slurring speech, btw if i try to read something out aloud from a book my stutter/slurry speech greatly diminshes.
Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated Dr Smith because i have tried exercising (aerobics everyday), improved diet , vitamins etc, sudoka( which im pretty good at) nothing seems to be working for me, btw do you think damage to the hippocampus caused by cortisol can be completely reversed.

What about singing? Reciting from wrote? I'm wondering if the stuttering may be unrelated—just coincidental.

What I meant by exploring organic reasons is being checked out by your doctor/s. I think there may be a couple of different things going on—the speech impediments, and the cortisol issue.

I'm not sure if the speech issue would be addressed by a dentist, otolaryngologist (ENT), or something else—or a combination. The cortisol questions would probably best be addressed by an endocrinologist. Have you talked to your PCP about any of this, and if so, what's his/her opinion? Have you been tested for/dxed with Cushing's Syndrome?

Doc

I do have some syptoms of cushing syndrome ie bloated face, loss of sex drive,stress, depression however i have been made aware it cannot be induced by stress and no i have not tried singing or reciting from wrote however i will implement these methods thnx again Doc

I think that could be a good/hopeful thing; the little I've read about Cushings suggests that most symptoms are reversible, so I don't think it makes sense at this time to make any dire/negative assumptions.

Just want you to know that there are others here who may have information/opinions/suggestions for you; there are some sharp folks here. Activity here seems to go in waves, and we (IME) seem to be in a bit of a lull. Please keep reading—maybe try some other forums. Also (if you haven't yet) make use of the Search facility for threads/posts concerning Cushings, etc.—whatever.

Doc