postr/StutterApril 23, 2024

Stuttering and hormones/PMS

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Stuttering and hormones/PMS I’m 24F and I grew up with a SEVERE stutter. It was present from the time I started speaking and was exacerbated by trauma in early childhood, made worse by bullying in school because of the stutter. I was pretty much selectively mute in primary school because of the misery it caused me. I tried multiple speech therapists, attempted to get into clinical trials and even tried hypnotherapy but nothing worked. Then, by some miracle, I had a spontaneous “recovery”? It seemed like my fluency improved almost overnight (realistically probably over a few months) around the age of 18/19. I still stutter but very mildly, when I’m passionate and engaged in long, explanatory conversations. However, no one would expect that I had a speech impediment unless I disclose it. About 3/4 weeks ago, I started to notice I was getting stuck a lot more. It started with an/en/in/on/un prefixes and words that start with N and got progressively worse. Last Wednesday I was participating in a discussion at university and struggled more than I have in YEARS. I was absolutely mortified and spent the whole 2 hour lecture spiralling, thinking I was relapsing. I had a breakdown. I got home and I cried so hard I was gasping for air while talking to my mom. I booked to see my therapist the next day because I was so scared and BOOM! My speech was fluent again, probably more so than my baseline fluency? Even while crying the whole time? Tracing it back, I was experiencing severe PMS (not really cramping/physical pain etc., but emotionally things were INTENSE). Now that a new cycle hast started, I’m back to my new normal? This was wild to me as for the past 5 years, I’ve never experienced anything like this. I was diagnosed with PCOS (+ a subsequent progesterone imbalance) in 2020 and with ADHD last year which has changed everything (positively) for me. But once again, this is completely new? Has anyone experienced something similar? Or read any literature that explores this? I’m in health research so I have a few university subscriptions to research databases but the very few articles and studies that focus on hormones (outside of exploring why stuttering is more prevalent among men) are behind paywalls and I don’t have the cash to subscribe to a journal/database for one or two articles. Any info, including anecdotal, will be greatly appreciated!

Themes

Causes & VariabilityMeds & Substances

Subthemes

Severity & FluctuationStress & Fight/FlightTrauma & PsychologicalEnergy & Biological RhythmsHelpful Med Outcomes