Verble dislexia??

[Mytical]

Ok, here not too long ago I had to go into the ER because my head was spinning, I was vomiting, and otherwise feeling poorly. No not the Exorcist type head spinning either . I encountered something during this time that is new. My mom was talking to me, making perfect sense.. and then suddenly I was hearing the words.. but she might as well been speaking Ancient Martian. Has anybody else encountered something similar? I know that my body's amonia (spelling) levels are pretty high because of my liver issues, and I've encountered it before, but just passed it off as wasn't paying attention. Needles to say in the ER I was of zero help to the doctors and nurses. I couldn't form sentences that made sense. So just curious if anybody else has ever experienced this?

[Kittish]

What you're describing sounds a lot like aphasia to me, though keep in mind that I've had no formal medical training, ever.

[Javarod]

Ok, here not too long ago I had to go into the ER because my head was spinning, I was vomiting, and otherwise feeling poorly. No not the Exorcist type head spinning either . I encountered something during this time that is new. My mom was talking to me, making perfect sense.. and then suddenly I was hearing the words.. but she might as well been speaking Ancient Martian. Has anybody else encountered something similar? I know that my body's amonia (spelling) levels are pretty high because of my liver issues, and I've encountered it before, but just passed it off as wasn't paying attention. Needles to say in the ER I was of zero help to the doctors and nurses. I couldn't form sentences that made sense. So just curious if anybody else has ever experienced this?

A couple times, usually accompanied by a head ache or dizziness (especially this), but its rare. I've had the opposite too recently where to me i'm speaking American, but the person i'm talking to can't understand me. Never bothered to look into it though.

[Geek King]

Yeah, that's not a good sign, usually. It can mean you had something seriously wrong going on in the braincells. It can mean other things too, so I'd bring it up with a doctor when you get the chance, and see if there's an issue.

[Mytical]

GK, I actually know why. A persons body produces ammonia naturally. The liver cleans it out. When the liver stops doing its job, the levels start rising. It makes it's way to the mind.. and causes confusion, lack of concentration, memory issues, etc. Basically my mind is being poisoned by my own body. Not fun. However, this was the first time that it has ever been this bad though. Got to the point I couldn't string together two words, or recognize my own family.

[AccountingDrone]

Yeah, that's not a good sign, usually. It can mean you had something seriously wrong going on in the braincells. It can mean other things too, so I'd bring it up with a doctor when you get the chance, and see if there's an issue.

Had it, associated with my migraines since I hit puberty and the hormonal migraines started. I am extremely verbal - I pick up languages very easily - and so is Rob, so it is handy when I lose parts of my english and can find the correct words in a different language. When it is particularly bad, I can have a long sentence that is in English, french, german, spanish, italian, japanese, esperato, klingon, high elvish and zarathustran fuzzy. Handily, Rob can cope with this. What sucks is if I get stuck in french [like if I fall asleep listening to a movie in french, like one of the Asterix movies] and for a while after I wake up I can't cope with English.

[And yes, I saw a neuro way back when it started and occasionally since then. And yes I am worried about stroking out ... ]

[Mikkel]

What you're describing sounds a lot like aphasia to me, though keep in mind that I've had no formal medical training, ever.

Yep, that symptom is called aphasia.
Tell it to your doctor, even though you know why. It isn't a good thing to have happening.
It must really be scary too .


I had a customer once, in the bike-shop, who had just come out of the hospital after a stroke. He tried to explain what repair he wanted on his bike but he just couldn't say it. He borrowed a pen and paper too and wrote "dnrk" which did nothing for my understanding.
With a lot of pointing and grunting he at last got it over that he wanted a new chain .

[Seanette]

My husband (believed to be somewhere on the Asperger's/autism spectrum) reports that when he's overly tired, his comprehension of spoken English (his only language) occasionally fails. He seems to still be able to read at these points, so it seems to be an audio processing thing for him (he's also at times hypersensitive to sound).

[Mytical]

Interesting. I am also very sensitive to sound. I've had to walk out of movie theaters when they decide that sound should be turned up to 12.

[Seshat]

I get it, and I speak it. For me, it's part of the fibrofog.

In my hearing tests, I consistently get told that I'm missing the ability to hear the frequencies that distinguish the plosive sounds (t, b, p - anything where you speak 'explosively'); but that I also have audio processing failure. As in, there are words in the tests where I tested out perfectly capable of hearing each individual sound of the word, but I simply couldn't interpret the sounds as the correct word.


It's a consistent failure, I've been CAT scanned and my brain is physically normal (no, I'm not stuffed with sawdust!), so we (family doctor + family + me) have decided it's a symptom of my numerous disabilities.


As for spoken aphasia, we get it often enough when under stress that we have a name for it. 'Cranberries' - because one day K was replacing whatever word she couldn't think of with the word cranberries, and not always noticing.
Ironically enough, when under stress I can't remember the word 'cranberries' either.


Another worthwhile piece of research is 'spoonerism'.

Yes, get any neurologically-caused phenomena checked out. They can be the only 'visible' symptoms of such nastinesses as tumours. But don't fret about it while you're getting it checked out: one of the most likely causes is stress.

The brain is our interface between our mind/will/intent/soul/whateveryoucallit, and our bodies. The brain is also highly sensitive to things as subtle as not enough of a micronutrient in the diet, insufficient or poor sleep, insufficient exercise, body health, and even the mood of people around you.
Take as much care of your tools as you can (in this case, your brain is the tool), and get it checked by a professional if it's misbehaving, but don't let yourself worry about it. When it's misbehaving, do what you can to give it better conditions to work in.


I have a dear, dear friend who had a brain tumour removed last year. (year before?) Her symptoms were extremely mild, and it was only when it started affecting her vision that it was found.


I guess my point is that I want to strike a balance between advising people to get checked out in case you do have a tumour like my friend did; and the simple fact that 99.999999999% of the time, it's either harmless or nothing much.

[Mytical]

As a regular part of my cirrhosis testing I undergo I have CT scans, MRI scans, EKG, and I have no clue how many more. (They sort of blur together after awhile). The first time they scanned my mind... I told them "You won't find anything." (which went over their head, or they just ignored it). Sure enough they returned saying "We found nothing." I laughed and said "I told you that, nothing up there to find." They seemed to get the pun then (or were just humoring me)

[Barracuda]

You should talk to a neuro specialist right away. The earlier posters are correct, that sounds like spontaneous aphasia, and while there can be other causes, often it is an indication of neurological trauma, injury, or other physical cause. (Another cause as indicated earlier in the thread is extreme stress.) You may need to ask your doctor if you need an angiogram (your doctor can explain what that is) or perhaps a PET scan. Above all, consult your doctor! Research aphasia yourself, some doctors don't like to dig without you pushing them and write something off without bothering to make a comprehensive diagnosis. I am not a doctor and the only reason I tend to know something about brain injury is I suffered a hemorrhage when I was 20. In my brain. So, I find the topic interesting to read about. But obviously, a doctor can tell you much more.

[Mytical]

Thanks for all the tips everybody, however.. I already know what is happening as I have stated. Me and my doctors have already discussed it, they run tests frequently as well. I do appreciate the concern, but there is nothing that can be done. Until I get a transplant of a liver I am stuck with it. This was more a 'this is odd, wonder how many more people might have similar experiences.

[Dasota]

I totally understand what you're going through as far as the liver causing the issues. My mom had Hep C and was untreated for it except to try and manage the symptoms. The apashia is extremely frustrating and I cannot imagine having such difficulty communicating. Unfortunately I was a punk kid when my mom was going through it so I was very impatient and would try to finish her sentences much to her annoyance since she hated feeling like she was dumb. It used to take an extremely long time for her to get out simple ideas. On top of the ammonia she had to deal with messing up her brain functions, she also couldn't get enough air into her body which meant not enough oxygen to the brain.

Hang in there Myt.

[crazylegs]

I had a customer once, in the bike-shop, who had just come out of the hospital after a stroke. He tried to explain what repair he wanted on his bike but he just couldn't say it.

That's a distressingly common symptom with a CVA. It can also be caused by other issues as well including a raised ICP. I know of one pt who's ICP was over 40mm H2O and couldn't string a sentence together. Because communication and language is such a basic thing that adults take for granted patients tend to get very upset when it happens.