Why do I feel like I'm not speaking properly?

[thebince]

Hi. I have had severe health anxiety for quite a while now. In January, I started having fears about ALS due to twitching (this was my only symptom). Went and got checked by a neuro and had an EMG on all 4 limbs and paraspinal muscles. Everything was perfectly normal. Clinical exam was perfect, reflexes were normal, everything fine.

When I am highly anxious, I have a habit of clenching my jaw as well as pushing my tongue up against the roof of my mouth very hard. When waiting for my EMG with the neurologist, I was extremely nervous and was doing this. The next day, my tongue and jaw were sore, my teeth hurt, and I found it hard to speak. This is obviously attributable to the clenching and pushing my tongue up.

After a couple days, I still found it difficult to speak. My tongue would still get a little bit sore some days, and my jaw too.

It has been a little over 3 weeks now, and I feel like some sounds are difficult to say. This has been a cycle that makes my anxiety worse because slurred speech is the most common first symptom in bulbar onset ALS.

Nobody else thinks I sound any different than normal. When I record myself, I sound normal to me too (I think, I've never really listened to myself that much before, but I don't sound much different than I'd expect when I record myself. I also ask my friends, family, and girlfriend constantly if I am talking properly, and when I feel like I slurred something I ask. Nobody can tell anything)

My question is, what could be causing this? Going by the statistics, I am 19 years old, and I'm not sure if there has EVER been a case of sporadic juvenile bulbar onset ALS in someone by age. That is what the rational part of me tells me. But anxiety doesn't care about the rational part, anxiety IS the irrational part. I want to just get this figured out so I can stop worrying about it.

Could it be related to the tension in my jaw? I notice that I am pretty much always clenching my jaw to some degree these days, and only when I notice it do I relax it for a little bit. I'm starting to think that it isn't that it SOUNDS different to me but FEELS different and that is why I notice a problem and other people don't.

I don't know. Really hoping I can get this figured out.

EDIT: I also have TMJ, but it has never caused any problems for me. My dentist told me I have TMJ last time I went in a few months ago and I was curious to learn what that even is. I've read that TMJ can give rise to this type of feeling, but I have no other symptoms that seem to accompany everyone else (I don't feel like my jaw is super restricted, and my TM joint doesn't hurt, just the muscles when I clench too much I think)

Thank you

[Paxiled]

When your dentist told you that you had TMJ, did he not recommend a mouthpiece be made for you to cushion it?  It's possible your dentist doesn't specialize in TMJ -- some do, some don't.  If you don't get this taken care of, you will grind your teeth down and crack them, so you need a night guard.  Maybe even a day guard.  Now, it might not be TMJ, clenching isn't always TMJ.  TMJ is the jaw, clenching is clenching.  See a dentist who knows how to treat this.  But that won't solve your anxiety problem.  You appear to be googling symptoms, I don't know how else you would come up with something as severe as ALS when you just had a twitch.  Never google symptoms -- only google diagnoses and treatments suggested by a professional who has diagnosed you.  As for the anxiety, have you tried therapy with a therapist who specializes in anxiety treatment(most don't)?  Do you do anything to help relax you, such as meditation, exercise, etc.?  You're young, you can get over this.  But you have to work on it, as the anxiety seems to be the source of what's ailing you.