Speech Problems

Hi all. I've never really posted in here before, but I do have a problem I need some help and advice with.

I've always had difficulty in speech and being able to communicate. When I was a child I had a bad stutter and needed to see a speech therapist once a week. I stopped receiving sessions because they reckoned I was okay.

However all throughout my teenage years I've had problems in talking. Not so much a stutter anymore, I only occasionally get that, but for the most part my problem seems to be slurring words (when I'm sober that is), talking too quietly, swallowing difficulties, stumbling over words and in general people find it difficult to understand me.

One problem I also keep getting lately is not remembering even the simplest of words that I'm trying to say. For example, I was once trying to say to a friend "There's a light over there", but for the life of me I couldn't even remember the word "light". When I eventually did remember it, it felt near impossible to actually say it.

I'm just getting increasingly frustrated with myself these days, and my problems are getting worse. At my worst, especially lately, I can barely manage to mumble more than a few words at a time, either because I can't remember them, or because the words won't come out. It's becoming a real effort to try and be coherent, and just speaking normally seems to be a real strain.

This is really holding me back now, because a lot of people can barely understand me anymore, and I feel the only way I can communicate is by writing.

Is there anybody else have any problems like this, or suggestions what to do? I'm starting to think I need to take this up with a doctor now. Are there any classes out there that can help me? I'm really worried about the forgetting my words bit, because I remember somebody once saying to me that it might be a form of dyslexia. Can anyone confirm?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Yeah, I've been away from home for the past few days so I haven't been able to sign in and read these replies.

Thank you very much for your help both of you. I'll give it a try, see if it works. I guess it's mainly a case of practice at the moment and staying calm.

There's nowhere I can't reach.