Do you ever have difficulty speaking?

How often does this happen? How sever and how long does it last? It could be you simply getting tired, or signs of a more serious issue.

I have had this issue with certain anti-epilepsy meds I was taking. I also get like this during my seizures (not all seizures are ‘fall down and thrash’).

If this is happening enough to disrupt your life or concern you then you need to tell your doctor.

@jackm I’m not sure. It’s kinda like I’ll notice all of a sudden that I can’t understand someone’s words, or I’ll try to say something but suddenly can’t find the words to say it, but I know I had them a second ago. So I guess not very long. I’ll give up trying to say whatever it was, or will put extra effort in understanding the other’s words. It just feels weird… I’m not explaining it very well.

Interesting, same thing happens with me all the time. And here I thought I was special.

I don’t speak out loud a whole lot, and I’m an English major. All my communication occurs best in writing, I guess. I can’t even give speeches without reading them directly from a printout. And when I write speeches, I even write in the um and err and ah noises to make it sound more natural as I’m reading. The reason for all this is that I’d totally fail at speaking from my head and/or memory.

In my own case I realize that I’m acutely aware of how I sound. Sometimes when I speak I’m listening to myself to make sure I don’t mess up (or maybe there’s some kind of subtending narcissism there, I don’t know). But being so self-conscious just compounds the potential for errors, so they occur more frequently. In the rare event that I’m not sweating through a conversation or paying too much attention to the language, I find I can speak more smoothly.

Are you also really self-conscious, especially in conversation, or is it something different? I’ve always been intrigued by this.

@absalom I’m not sure if it’s self-conscienceness… I don’t know if I’m self-conscience or not! I know some people that say I am, but I think that’s more because I’m quiet now, which I thought was because of this issue. So maybe that’s the root of this and I’m not aware of it? I know I’m closed off and private, but I’m not sure that’s the same thing…
I can give speeches/presentations/performances just fine… it’s normal talking/discussions are where I have the issue.

nope, i just say what’s on my mind.

@DancingMind This sounds like it may be the onset of a serious neurological problem. Broca’s Area, located in the left hemisphere of the brain, is associated with speech production and articulation, both written and spoken. Wernicke’s Area is connected to Broca’s via a neural pathway and is associated with comprehension, language processing. Have you suffered any trauma to the head? Even if you haven’t that you can remember, you should make an appointment, as this could be early symptoms of a clot or rupture.
Go soon. Be well. I hope I’m wrong.

I have troubles with speaking. I’m very good at forming my thoughts into the written word, but the spoken-word trips me up. I often can’t think of the word I want, especially if it’s a name or title of some kind, but even common words escape me sometimes. I sometimes stutter, often switch words up (like “belt-seat” and “I won’t dant to do that” instead of “I don’t want to do that”), and generally phrase my sentences all mushy and mixed-up. Or I simply can’t form my thoughts at all. I’ve always been like this.

I don’t have any trouble understanding things I hear.

Sometimes we simply say what we don’t mean to say. This is all evidence, to me, that we don’t really have free will. We only act according to the wiring of our brains.

When I was 12 years old, I discovered I was unable to connect with words. I could think, but I could not say what I was thinking. This came along with a headache. Fortunately for me, it only lasted about 24 hours.

When you have something happen that affects your brain and you are unable to understand words anymore, it is called “aphasia” (or in some parts of the world, “disphasia”, but it’s the same thing.)

Another, similar problem is visual recognition of printed language, so that words you’ve seen your entire life will for no apparent reason become strange and hard to read.

I sometimes feel this way in terms of communication. I have to be really “in the zone” to find the correct words consistently. For example, if I’m giving a poster presentation, the first few explanations are bound to be confusing, me forgetting the right words and forgetting the order… and then after a few times I “get in the zone” and I can do it perfectly and find all the right words. It takes a few minutes.

Another time this happens is when I’m on vacation and a scientist asks me about my research. I’m in “relax” mode, so it’s hard to kick my brain into science mode and explain my research at the right complexity level since I’ve been explaining it to my family and friends who need it explained at a… well, lower level.

So for me I guess it’s a problem coming up with appropriate language… I’m perfectly able to carry on a conversation with either a friend or a famous biologist, but don’t throw my headlong into either because I’ll sounds like an idiot for the first ten minutes.

For me, its a bit different. I can be in the middle of a conversation, picture the word I wish to speak out, (it’ll be a noun, always a noun…) and I won’t be able to say the word because I can’t ‘find’ the spoken word to say it. This has happened to me since I was in my twenties, for a couple of decades now. I’ve heard its called “verbal memory loss” when it only has to do with not recalling nouns.

…anybody else out there dealing with this?

I’ve had problems with that most of my life but the past few years it has gotten more noticeable. Problems grasping for the right word or something I want… I’ll blank easy things like Refrigerator, Microwave, Bottle Opener, Mouse, Notebook… Or say things out of order like “be back right”

Some type of cancer, epilepsy, seizures, and thyroid issues all have been shown to increase memory loss and aphasia though a lot of the time unless you are over 40 or have had many head injuries or seizures doctors just brush it off as being tired or an insignificant blip.

If they think you have an issue they will send you off to a specialist who will have you answer questions, name objects, and carry on a conversation… and if your symptoms are intermittent there is a good chance they will send you home because it probubly isn’t serious and you will be one of the people they think is not sick or will completely recover without treatment.

If you do show issues they give you speech therapy or worst case brain surgery and give you pamphlets for family and friends telling them to simplify things by using short uncomplicated sentences… not to interrupt you and let you try to remember… to try and minimize distraction and not baby talk you etc.

I personally have had many concussions as a child and had a thyroid tumor removed at age 16 and the doctors explain it as noting significant (after a dozen doctors and 2 neurologists) even though it’s getting worse. So if anyone has any ideas please… all ears.

I am epileptic and this sounds like something I go through. A lot of people don’t know that epilepsy is not just the tonic clonic kind (where you lose consciousness, fall to the floor and convulse). In fact, before I got diagnosed with it, I thought those were the ONLY types of seizures. I also thought they were all induced by flashing lights (photosensitive). Wrong! There are actually about 40 types.

I found out I had epilepsy after having a few tonic clonics. An individual can have just one, or multiple types of seizures. It’s not till recently that I started realizing I would be in the middle of a thought process and the sentence I was thinking would all of a sudden get jumbled up. Just like you said. Saying it sounds like a foreign language is a good way to put it. Sometimes it will be that the words still sound like words, however they get all mixed up into a sentence that makes absolutely no sense. Then, after several seconds, it will go back to normal sentence structure or sounds.

I haven’t gotten to talk to my neurologist about it yet because I just started realizing this was happening. I’ll also sometimes feel like I blank out for several seconds at a time. Not in the daydreaming way. Daydreaming feels quite different. In addition, my memory seems very off about certain situations. I will have no recollection of certain events I experienced as well as major scenes in a movie or show. I never had the best memory, but I never thought of it as being bad. I feel like it’s gone downhill since I became epileptic. I searched some epilepsy forums and found that other epileptics have these experiences as well. Anyhow, I wouldn’t start stressing out that you’re epileptic, but at least get it checked out if you can.