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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Blanking Out Spells And Slurred Speech?

I have a sister that has spells, that seem as if she is drunk. she says she hasn t been drinking although its hard to believe. she stairs blankly sometimes, but most times she has slurred speech & has a hard time completing a thought. she also repeats herself over & over. It drives us crazy, yet I m very concerned for her well being. she gets weird facial expressions &squints a lot when this comes over her. its happening more often as time goes on. she knows something is wrong but doesn t realize how bad it is. she does drink often, but this thing comes on when we re pretty sure no alcohol is involved. what could be happening?
Wed, 25 Feb 2015
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Radiologist,  's  Response
Hi,
Thanks for writing in.

There are many possibilities for the behavior displayed by your sister. Alcohol intake is one of the causes but not the only cause. Following possibilities need to be investigated.

1. She might have some condition in the brain and spinal cord causing slowing of responses including slurred speech, squinting of eyes and abnormal facial expressions.

2. She might be trying to dramatize to get more attention from people around her and this can be a attention seeking behavior and can also be malingering.

3. Possible that she has been with friends taking alcohol and banned addictive substance and she is having which show her to be in delirium and abnormal appearance.

4. As you have also mentioned that this behavior is happening more when she is away from alcohol and possibly other addictive substances therefore this can be a withdrawal behavior due to stopping intake of certain substances.

AS you are concerned for her well being it is suggested that she consults a psychiatrist and gets evaluated completely.
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What Causes Blanking Out Spells And Slurred Speech?

Hi, Thanks for writing in. There are many possibilities for the behavior displayed by your sister. Alcohol intake is one of the causes but not the only cause. Following possibilities need to be investigated. 1. She might have some condition in the brain and spinal cord causing slowing of responses including slurred speech, squinting of eyes and abnormal facial expressions. 2. She might be trying to dramatize to get more attention from people around her and this can be a attention seeking behavior and can also be malingering. 3. Possible that she has been with friends taking alcohol and banned addictive substance and she is having which show her to be in delirium and abnormal appearance. 4. As you have also mentioned that this behavior is happening more when she is away from alcohol and possibly other addictive substances therefore this can be a withdrawal behavior due to stopping intake of certain substances. AS you are concerned for her well being it is suggested that she consults a psychiatrist and gets evaluated completely.