Thank you so much for sharing your story. This is why I became a specialist in stuttering, to help people like you learn to become more fluent and confident. I know there are a lot of prejudices in the stuttering community about speech therapy. Some people say they tried it and it didn't work and that puts off the rest of the people that haven't tried it yet. Honest truth: speech therapy is hard work. To change your physical habits and to change your thought patterns you have to really persevere and practice, practice, practice every day. Same as learning a new language, playing the piano or tennis. Everybody will tell you that there is no cure for stuttering. What few people know is that with hard work and determination, any person who stutters can become so fluent that nobody will notice their stutter anymore. Plus: you will shake off the ballast of negative self-beliefs and become truly happy in yourself and confident. The techniques are out there and any well trained and experienced Speech and Language Pathologist will be able to help their patient to that point. I have experienced it many times with my patients and it is hugely rewarding. So please don't dismiss speech therapy!