Struggling to Type Your Questions & Comments?

Posted by John, Volunteer Mentor @johnbishop, Oct 9, 2021

Myself, @cgent and I'm sure others have found it difficult to type a post on Connect at one time or another. Sometimes I get the minor tremors or shakiness in my fingers which do not normally last very long but when they occur I have to step away from the keyboard for awhile. If I try to keep going and using my old one finger hunt and peck routine, it is still hit or miss the right key.

I have found a work around for me and it may also help you. I use a Notepad window on my Windows 10 computer and keep it on the screen where I can type and make corrections until I have it saying what I want. Then I can cut and paste the text from the Notepad window into my Connect reply or post.

I've experimented with speech to text on Windows 10 and Google Docs and both seem to work fairly well but you may have to practice with it a little. There are also apps for android phones and iPhones that allow you to use the microphone and could be useful. The only caveat is that you have to read and possibly do some corrections after you do the voice to text so it may take longer to do a post.

More information:

Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC - Microsoft: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/use-voice-typing-to-talk-instead-of-type-on-your-pc-fec94565-c4bd-329d-e59a-af033fa5689f

Have you tried voice to text?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Just Want to Talk Support Group.

carolhitchie | @carolhitchie | Sep 8, 2023

I want to know about spinal fusion. Success rate, alternative options, etc thank you Carol Hitchie

John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Sep 8, 2023

In reply to @carolhitchie "I want to know about spinal fusion. Success rate, alternative options, etc thank you Carol Hitchie" + (show)

Hello @carolhitchie, Welcome to Connect. There are a couple of discussions on the topic that you might find helpful:
--- What are people's experiences with spinal fusion surgery? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/spinal-fusion-2/
--- Spinal Fusion: Upcoming surgery, what was your experience, any tips?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/new-2/

There are also other discussions in the Spine Health Support Group that you might find helpful. Here is a link to the page with the list of discussions - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/spine-health/.
Have you done any research on spinal fusion or discussed it with your doctor?

kalliope56 | @kalliope56 | Sep 9, 2023

In reply to @becsbuddy "Ive certainly tried the voice to text before, but i always get hung up on punctuation...." + (show)

I often use voice to text on Facebook and texting. Once you get the basic paragraph transcribed from voice to text, you can then go in manually and correct spelling and punctuation.

wascaly | @wascaly | Sep 9, 2023

In reply to @becsbuddy "Ive certainly tried the voice to text before, but i always get hung up on punctuation...." + (show)

No need to worry about punctuation. It seems no one cares anymore. Very, very different from the way I grew up!

kentrlarsen | @kentrlarsen | Sep 11, 2023

We have a major issue in our family with Long Covid. We would be very interested to know if the Mayo Clinic has any answers for us.
Thank You,
Kent Larsen

SusanEllen66 | @SusanEllen66 | Sep 12, 2023

In reply to @kalliope56 "I often use voice to text on Facebook and texting. Once you get the basic paragraph..." + (show)

@kalliope56
Punctuation is really easy. You speak it.
At the end of a sentence say”period”
or “question mark”
Or even “new paragraph”
Or “comma”

It has to be done quickly otherwise it will type the word.

kalliope56 | @kalliope56 | Sep 12, 2023

In reply to @SusanEllen66 "@kalliope56 Punctuation is really easy. You speak it. At the end of a sentence say”period” or..." + (show)

Exactly. It’s great!

mcd123 | @mcd123 | Nov 13, 2023

In reply to @johnbishop "Hi Becky, I’m responding to your post using my iPhone microphone. I’m not sure how hard..." + (show)

I have forgotten how to ask question. Trying to find info on viability of tins unit.

John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Nov 13, 2023

In reply to @mcd123 "I have forgotten how to ask question. Trying to find info on viability of tins unit." + (show)

@mcd123, The search function on Connect can help you locate other discussions on the TENS unit and other devices. I typed TENS in the search box and here are the results - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/?search=TENS

Click on the Discussions button at the top of the search to see the different discussions related to TENS units.

Scott R L | @scottrl | Nov 13, 2023

Since having a stroke, I have to type one-handed, which is frustrating. I'm getting a little better at it, but I sure miss the days when I typed 80+ wpm.

I've tried speech-to-text, and it doesn't work for me. Ironic, since I used to do professional narration. I also designed American Airlines' first speech-recognition product, 1-800-AA-FLIFO.
Go figure.

For typing, I keep a permanent text file with a lot of common phrases. (It's actually a draft email.) That way, I just copy and paste. Helps a lot, especially in chat rooms and such.