My voice journey

[calicarly]

Well. Like I said, it's undeniably female. And it sounds better than last recording , you might even get more of a pitch increase with time like you said. But even if you didn't your voice sounds great now Hun.

If my perception and understanding of the way you explain things is right , the more you explain to me, the more it sounds to me like this procedure is right for me too.

[Teslagirl]

Hello again Anjaq.

I'm hoping to book with Yeson very soon. Can I ask what method you used to transfer funds to Korea? Also, I think you said you wish you'd got the local currency from an ATM rather than get it in advance. Is there a ATM machine in the airport? Do I remember you saying that the beds in the PhilHouse were really hard? I have a back problem. Perhaps I'd be better off in a mainstream hotel?

Thanks again for all your really useful information.

Sarah.

[anjaq]

Well. Like I said, it's undeniably female.

Oh thanks. Really? Thats great then
I feel a lot more confident with it. I dont feel the urge to be silent if I meet random women in a group anymore (before I always felt like an outsider because I was reminded of having a different voice all the time), I actually liked singing last week, so things really are quite good already and maybe they will improve a bit more still.

Can I ask what method you used to transfer funds to Korea? Also, I think you said you wish you'd got the local currency from an ATM rather than get it in advance. Is there a ATM machine in the airport? Do I remember you saying that the beds in the PhilHouse were really hard? I have a back problem. Perhaps I'd be better off in a mainstream hotel?

I wire transferred the money as my credit card company could not guarantee that I would be able to charge my card with such a large amount in a foreign country without tripping security checks. It cost a bit of money to transfer the money, but it was ok. Better than getting it in cash and wandering around with it.

There are a lot of ATMs in Seoul. Look for the ones that say "global" or "international" on them. They usually accept "MAESTRO" cards as well as Mastercard or Visacard - but not all banks have a contract with Korean banks, so please ask first at your bank, if they allow you to withdraw money in Seoul. A friend of mine could not withdraw money with her Maestro card and I could, the reason was that she has her account at a bank that is less well known and that had no contract while I was with one of the bigger banks in germany. If it works, its really easy though and ATMs are everywhere, even in the building at Yeson clinic.

I think in Korea, beds are always a bit harder. I felt that even the hospital bed was much harder than I would have expected from a clinic at home. So I am not sure that hotels have much softer beds than Phil House. Maybe you can find information on some of the travel portals online where people report their experiences.

[iKate]

Hello again Anjaq.

I'm hoping to book with Yeson very soon. Can I ask what method you used to transfer funds to Korea? Also, I think you said you wish you'd got the local currency from an ATM rather than get it in advance. Is there a ATM machine in the airport? Do I remember you saying that the beds in the PhilHouse were really hard? I have a back problem. Perhaps I'd be better off in a mainstream hotel?

Thanks again for all your really useful information.

Sarah.

I did a wire transfer from my credit union. It was US$25 in fees. Yeson will also ask you to cover their bank's commission fee about US$40.

ATM is best for cash however watch out for international transaction fees. My bank (TD) charges a small flat fee but some of them tack on a percentage. Chase in particular is notorious for this. The credit union (navy federal) reimburses me some of the fees.

Citibank ATM is a safe bet especially if you have a citi account.

Some credit cards also charge forex fees. I have platinum Amex which don't have those fees but some do. But Amex is not accepted everywhere. I have a Visa card but it has forex fees.

Discover apparently works in Korea wherever diners club is accepted and has no forex fees so I guess I will be using them.

My plan is to order some KRW here from my bank before I go and try an ATM when I get there.

Do notify your bank and credit card issuer of your travel dates and destination in advance of your trip as they may freeze your account if they see foreign transactions all of a sudden. It happened to me once and a phone call had to be made. Kind of difficult if you have no voice. My mom will be with me so she can call.

[Teslagirl]

I did a wire transfer from my credit union. It was US$25 in fees. Yeson will also ask you to cover their bank's commission fee about US$40.

Some credit cards also charge forex fees. I have platinum Amex which don't have those fees but some do. But Amex is not accepted everywhere.

My plan is to order some KRW here from my bank before I go and try an ATM when I get there.

I'll be on my own, so things have to go right. Yeson say I can pay on the day using a credit card though that does make me nervous. What happens if I get there and it doesn't work? I also have an AMEX platinum but it's the British version. I do have a Halifax Clarity card which is designed for foreign use (without fees) though once again, how can I be sure it works? I suppose I could phone Jessie with the card details and ask her if it goes through.

How much in KRW are you taking?

[iKate]

I'll be on my own, so things have to go right. Yeson say I can pay on the day using a credit card though that does make me nervous. What happens if I get there and it doesn't work? I also have an AMEX platinum but it's the British version. I do have a Halifax Clarity card which is designed for foreign use (without fees) though once again, how can I be sure it works? I suppose I could phone Jessie with the card details and ask her if it goes through.

How much in KRW are you taking?

About US$400 if I can. That will at least pay the hotel bill balance plus some extras for cabs. I am carrying more in USD plus my credit cards but that $400 will be in KRW that I get here (if possible).

Jessie said you need to swipe the card so you can't just phone them. (They pay more for card not present plus I think it has something to do with fraud rules).

If the card doesn't work? You need alternate payment. They only take cash (KRW or USD) or credit cards. I'm not sure they take Amex. They may only take visa/mc.

[anjaq]

My plan is to order some KRW here from my bank before I go and try an ATM when I get there.

Do notify your bank and credit card issuer of your travel dates and destination in advance of your trip as they may freeze your account if they see foreign transactions all of a sudden. It happened to me once and a phone call had to be made. Kind of difficult if you have no voice. My mom will be with me so she can call.

Thats exactly why I wired the money for the surgery - everything else was smaller amounts that dont ring the alarm bells in the banks.

I ordered cash to my local bank to take with me. The ordering and exchanges fees were gigantonormus - I think I paid overall 25% more more the cash than if I had used an ATM in the city and almost as much compared to taking cash with me and exchanging it in the country. Given the choice again, I would just take maybe 200 EU with me as EU and exchange it to local currenty in Seoul, but pay for surgery and hotel in advance by money transfer or credit card (e.g. booking online for the hotel) - and then look for an ATM that accepts one of my cards. I would ask at my bank before the trip though, if the cards are useable at Korean ATMs.

[anjaq]

I'll be on my own, so things have to go right. Yeson say I can pay on the day using a credit card though that does make me nervous. What happens if I get there and it doesn't work? I also have an AMEX platinum but it's the British version. I do have a Halifax Clarity card which is designed for foreign use (without fees) though once again, how can I be sure it works? I suppose I could phone Jessie with the card details and ask her if it goes through.

I definitely would ask the bank if they can guarantee you that the payment in Korea will work in such a high amount. I asked my bank and they said that it "should work", but that it "might need authorization". So I skipped that risk. If they cannot guarantee me 100% that it works, I opt for money transfer some weeks in advance, then Jessie can email you when the money arrived and any small differences in the amount or the Botox can be dealt with by Credit card or in cash locally. No risk, but it costs $40 or so - it was worth it to me to not experience what happened before - that someone is at Yeson and the credit card is not working, so they have to call the bank but it is closed because of the timezone difference and then all gets complicated...

[iKate]

Thats exactly why I wired the money for the surgery - everything else was smaller amounts that dont ring the alarm bells in the banks.

I ordered cash to my local bank to take with me. The ordering and exchanges fees were gigantonormus - I think I paid overall 25% more more the cash than if I had used an ATM in the city and almost as much compared to taking cash with me and exchanging it in the country. Given the choice again, I would just take maybe 200 EU with me as EU and exchange it to local currenty in Seoul, but pay for surgery and hotel in advance by money transfer or credit card (e.g. booking online for the hotel) - and then look for an ATM that accepts one of my cards. I would ask at my bank before the trip though, if the cards are useable at Korean ATMs.

That's interesting. I am thinking I may just carry USD then.

I should have no problems with using my ATM card as they are Visa/Plus and I asked my main bank (Toronto Dominion). I also have an account with Navy Federal Credit Union and with there being service personnel in Korea I'm sure at least some ATMs will accept it. They do charge $1 plus 1% but I get the $1 reimbursed. But I will try to use TD for cash since I have a checking account without any foreign ATM fees.

[anjaq]

Update for about week 11 or 12:
english (rainbow) : http://vocaroo.com/i/s17GTFAEqGns
german (nordwind): http://vocaroo.com/i/s0AJ6G0JMQb1

Both are at about 195-205 Hz according to PRAAT. It seems I am entering the phase where pitch really does go up between week 8 and 16  .

This was done afte a bit of voice exercises though, they seem to help a lot in getting the pitch a bit better and help to not use a pitch that is too low and actually straining on the voice.

However, I still notice that my voice is hoarse and breathy, especially after a day of chatting with friends and talking a lot generally. So it will take some more careful training plus rest periods to get this all well healed. On some days pitch goes lower, on some it is ok. Volume is not yet up by much, so I still cannot talk to someone in a bar or such, I believe this will be one of the last things that normalize to a degree in some months, but from what I heard it will not go to 100% - but something like 90% would be not much of a loss

The upper range is sometimes close to 1 note to the pre op upper range, on bad days it is 2 or 3 notes lower , when I am hoarse. So still some room to improve there as well.

Greetings

[iKate]

Not bad!!! I'm getting super excited as I'm about a month away.

[anjaq]

Yeah well. I still need to work a lot on getting rid of the hoarseness and get back volume and also work on the way to speak properly. Its still the adjustment phase. I think I still sound strained and hoarse and don't get the resonance right. So its not bad, but also not good yet

[Jennygirl]

Hi anja. It's nice to come back and see that you are still updating your progress. Sounds like things are coming along well, and very happy to see that you are keeping a great attitude during your recovery. I think that was a key thing for me as well.

On the volume, mine has come back a lot in the second year (I am now just over 2 years p/o). Also, my voice has become a lot stronger, especially in the bar-type situation that you mentioned. People no longer have difficulty hearing me / I don't feel like I'm pushing harder to be heard. After a night of loud talking, which happens fairly infrequently, there is still occasionally a dip in pitch the day following (especially if alcohol was part of the picture). It's funny, alcohol really does seem to make a difference. I can't remember the last time I lost my voice due to loud talking at length, so that is a major plus. Lots of my friends lose their voices in those situations and I have been fine

Anyway, it's nice to see how you're coming along. I just wanted to stop by to wish you a continued happy recovery!

[Cristal Muso]

Hi anja. It's nice to come back and see that you are still updating your progress. Sounds like things are coming along well, and very happy to see that you are keeping a great attitude during your recovery. I think that was a key thing for me as well.

On the volume, mine has come back a lot in the second year (I am now just over 2 years p/o). Also, my voice has become a lot stronger, especially in the bar-type situation that you mentioned. People no longer have difficulty hearing me / I don't feel like I'm pushing harder to be heard. After a night of loud talking, which happens fairly infrequently, there is still occasionally a dip in pitch the day following (especially if alcohol was part of the picture). It's funny, alcohol really does seem to make a difference. I can't remember the last time I lost my voice due to loud talking at length, so that is a major plus. Lots of my friends lose their voices in those situations and I have been fine

Anyway, it's nice to see how you're coming along. I just wanted to stop by to wish you a continued happy recovery!

Hi Jenny, just a quick word to say that from the few videos of yours I was somehow feeling that you were a nice person, but this message confirm it, you're caring and very articulate in your wording. Kudos for you...And yes Anja is a sweety and I'm sure she will do well

[Jennygirl]

Hi Jenny, just a quick word to say that from the few videos of yours I was somehow feeling that you were a nice person, but this message confirm it, you're caring and very articulate in your wording. Kudos for you...And yes Anja is a sweety and I'm sure she will do well

So incredibly kind of you to say I really appreciated your comment a lot, it made me smile big and I wanted you to know! Thank you for that

I was just reading over the Voice Surgery forum and saw you are scheduled very soon for VFS with Remacle. Major congrats to you! You seem to have a good spirit about yourself as well. As I said to Anja, I think it's especially important with these procedures. Something happens when you're in a good headspace- especially with these big life-changers which force a rewiring in many ways. There will be much adaptation to go through following it, and state of mind will help you tenfold. Best of luck to you!

[Cristal Muso]

So incredibly kind of you to say I really appreciated your comment a lot, it made me smile big and I wanted you to know! Thank you for that

I was just reading over the Voice Surgery forum and saw you are scheduled very soon for VFS with Remacle. Major congrats to you! You seem to have a good spirit about yourself as well. As I said to Anja, I think it's especially important with these procedures. Something happens when you're in a good headspace- especially with these big life-changers which force a rewiring in many ways. There will be much adaptation to go through following it, and state of mind will help you tenfold. Best of luck to you!

I'm glad you've seen that I will have the Wendler Glottoplasty (in 17 days 9 hours and 37 minutes, what give you the impression that I'm counting? ) I'm scared so much. Funny that ! I've went thru everything 13 years ago without any fears and for this surgery I completely freak out that It might not work. I wanted to have this surgery for such a long time but couldn't find the money or a decent practician in Europe. Having said that Anja is trying to cheer me up on Skype ...PS I'm on Youtube too but I'm playing music (17 million views on my stuff) PM me if you're curious ....Looking forward to talk to you

[anjaq]

Jenny!!!  You still exist

Hi anja. It's nice to come back and see that you are still updating your progress. Sounds like things are coming along well, and very happy to see that you are keeping a great attitude during your recovery. I think that was a key thing for me as well.

Yes, I think its going well and I will keep updating. It probably is not going as fast and amazing as it was with you or some of the others, but its still going good and in many moments I feel very great. I am very happy I did this! Thanks to you and Sarah and Abby and the others. Are Sarah and Abby doing good as well? I did not read much of them in the voice forum anymore.
I think it is really important to play with the voice and that needs a good and fun attitude towards it. Only by playing, one can find out how it works now. Which is hard to describe, really.

On the volume, mine has come back a lot in the second year (I am now just over 2 years p/o). Also, my voice has become a lot stronger, especially in the bar-type situation that you mentioned.

Oh that is interesting. That long post op there is still improvement? Did it come back near your pre OP levels? I hope it will come back to something near it - although I do expect some permanent loss, but thats ok.
And of course - alcohol and partying long will ruin every voice lol - I am not allowed to do that as of now and will probably not do it for a while even when I am allowed officially, but the day will come... 

How is it for you 2 years post op - do you still do something ? Some voice exercises occasionally - or is it all almost forgotten now? You are Dr Kims poster child - it was so funny seeing your video on the screen in his office as a demonstration on the development of the voice within the first year

Anyway, it's nice to see how you're coming along. I just wanted to stop by to wish you a continued happy recovery!

Thank you so much! And sorry for being a nasty bug driving you crazy before I made the decision ...

Greetings

[Jennygirl]

Jenny!!!  You still exist
Yes, I think its going well and I will keep updating. It probably is not going as fast and amazing as it was with you or some of the others, but its still going good and in many moments I feel very great. I am very happy I did this! Thanks to you and Sarah and Abby and the others. Are Sarah and Abby doing good as well? I did not read much of them in the voice forum anymore.

I think disappearances here are frequently due in part to successful transition. Sometimes folks will inadvertently distance themselves from the trans community once they assume their natural position in society. Jessie even mentioned this to me, that it is super hard for them to connect with people after a certain amount of time. I am convinced sometimes people just forget they are even trans- lol

Oh that is interesting. That long post op there is still improvement? Did it come back near your pre OP levels? I hope it will come back to something near it - although I do expect some permanent loss, but thats ok.
And of course - alcohol and partying long will ruin every voice lol - I am not allowed to do that as of now and will probably not do it for a while even when I am allowed officially, but the day will come... 

Yes, lots of improvement when comparing 1 year to 2 years. Volume is the big one.

How is it for you 2 years post op - do you still do something ? Some voice exercises occasionally - or is it all almost forgotten now? You are Dr Kims poster child - it was so funny seeing your video on the screen in his office as a demonstration on the development of the voice within the first year

Haha, I have heard from quite a few people that he uses my videos. I should do another one now that I am at 2 years. It's pretty awesome to see so many people going for it with all the successful stories. It really means a lot to me.

Voice exercises are forgotten to me in a sense. I think the last time I ran through them must have been about a year ago

Thank you so much! And sorry for being a nasty bug driving you crazy before I made the decision ...

Greetings

Don't worry about it, it wasn't because of you that I left. I just moved to a different warehouse space and have been building like a crazy woman to get things up and running. No apology necessary!

And it's good to be back

[anjaq]

Hi Jenny

Yes I think it totally makes sense to dissappear into normal life. Its the goal of the whole thing in a way. I dissappeared for years after i thought all is done. And if it was not for some remarks and my voice and some other things, I might almost have forgotten it as well LOL.

Jessie does probably not contact me because I told them I dont want to be on TV when they had the TV team in the house, so I guess she assumes I dont want anything of my recordings to be public. Plus I guess my progress is not as great as that of you and Sarah, so it makes less of a great convincing promotional video - but lets see - maybe she wants to do a clip like that of the greek woman who had progress in the long run and is visible only in pixels in the videos.

Its interesting to hear thet the improvement goes on for 2 years - so the whole thing takes a lot longer than I assumed it would take. Ah well, at least it means one can have hope of improvement for 2 years if something is still not feeling right

Its fascinating to see how your reports and videos have spurred this whole avalanche of people doing VFS now. I was at a reception of a  FFS surgery team last week with 10 people and potential or post op patients present - 3 of them including me have been at Dr Kim. Isnt that crazy? thats almost a third and I assumed there are yet not so many people in Germany who have gone there.

[Jennygirl]

Wow, that is crazy!

Yeah it kinda scares me, I feel like so many people probably get this surgery thinking it's some sort of miracle. Whenever I get the chance I try to lay down the law: it's not a miracle. It takes a great deal of practice and determination to get the voice you want. Pitch is only one slice of the pie!