Yet another Yeson VFS thread

[Jennygirl]

Ah yeah I've been there. Try not to look at it as time down the drain though.. I like to think of them as learning experiences, or a chance to do it better next time!

[Allyda]

Yea, your right of course. I'm pretty much past the hurt and regret stage and look forward to being alone for a while while I complete the major parts of my transformation ie: VFS, SRS, then FFS if needed. I have a friend I can trust who's only 5 hours away who can come down and stay with me during post op recovery for VFS and my SRS. It does help having a few trusted friends. She can also take care of my 4 cats while I'm in the hospital so that takes a big worry away. I can't really be intimate with anyone like in a normal relationship anyway until I do have SRS, so it's better to just wait. I've been celibate for 25 years now so what's another one or two, lol!

Ally

[anjaq]

I guess you could try to argue that Dr Thomas technique is unique in the US and actually globally, so there is no way you could get a comparable surgery in your state?
But if you can find someone who does this webbing/glottoplasty, its a good technique and much less invcasive, although it will not totally change your resonance.

I personally believe that Dr kim has several advantages - I am not sure if the microscalpels really make a difference, or if it is the permanent threads he uses instead of the dissolvable ones that others use, or if it is his "tapering" of the sutures that Amy described, or if it simply is skill and experience. I guess as always it is all of the above - plus his rather strict rules about healing. So it should not be impossible for the others to reach good result as well. Be sure to check if that surgeon has done the procedure often enough to be confident.

[AmyBerlin]

Hi all,

I've got good news: doing vocal warmups, in an attempt to hit an F5, my voice accidentally slipped into flageolet accidentally and I ended up far higher than that. So this part of my voice is back as well, but really uncontrolled, which is good news. Learning to navigate this new territory will be exciting!

Amy

[Allyda]

Hi all,

I've got good news: doing vocal warmups, in an attempt to hit an F5, my voice accidentally slipped into flageolet accidentally and I ended up far higher than that. So this part of my voice is back as well, but really uncontrolled, which is good news. Learning to navigate this new territory will be exciting!

Amy

I'm very happy for you Amy. and am so glad to hear your voice surgery worked out well. Will I ever get mine I dunno. Maybe when I get moved back home to Cali I can find a surgeon. Hearing about your progress gives me hope that someday I'll have a feminine voice.

Allie

[AmyBerlin]

Hi all,

I'm sorry I haven't been in contact much over the last months, because I found myself having to find a new apartment and move. The first part is accomplished, the next will follow in October. But I feel like I really owe all of you an update on how my voice developed – and develop it did, in a good way. Here's the update:

https://soundcloud.com/pianogal1/recovery-4-12-mo-postoperative

Take care, best regards,

Amy

[Allyda]

Hi girls,

@Amy, I'm very happy for you hun. Your voice sounds very good. You have a soft sultry tone I wish I had. Baby steps for me tho.

For once I actually get to share some good news! I finally had a breakthrough after a lil over 5 years of trying, and I found my feminine voice!. This happened around a month ago, but I wanted to wait a little to see if I was/am able to hold it and I'm very happy to say I am! That's right, this girl is finally no longer getting sirr'ed on the phone!. I can't believe how easy it is for me too. I had a lot of phone calls today and have been using it all day with no trouble. In the beginning I could only use it for short periods, but now I can actually speak freely with people instead of always nodding for yes or no, etc. So maybe I won't need surgery?

For now tho, I'm just happy I can sound feminine, I don't have to hold my tongue so much in public anymore and most of all, no more Sirr's on the phone!

I'm very happy for all of you girls who have found your voice. I now know what a wonderful feeling it is.

Ally

[anjaq]

Thats great Ally, How did you find your voice?

[Allyda]

Thats great Ally, How did you find your voice?

Sorry I forgot to mention that, lol! I've just been a little excited over this after five years of failure to finally have success. Well, it's strange. Singing actually is what did it for me. Singing and my hrt. Because I hear myself every day I hadn't noticed my voice had raised in pitch. Though rarely, from my research it can happen in some cases. It didn't raise a whole lot, but it did raise just enough to get me past the scar tissue from my 91 accident that had been holding me back. I didn't even notice this until around a month ago I decided it was time to re-record my voice mail greeting. I can't put into words how surprised I was when I compared my old pre-hrt recording to the new one. The difference was like night and day. So, after this revelation I started singing along with a few songs, and recording myself as I did so. It was Katy Perry's " I kissed A Girl," that gave me my breakthrough.

Though I sound nothing like her mind you, I was hitting her notes. So I began just singing every time I was alone, and when I had the right pitch and resonance I started speaking within that range. Soon I was able to speak longer, and longer, and over the last two weeks I've been using my new voice exclusively while out and about, and especially while on the phone. It was again time to re-record my voicemail greeting. When I played the new greeting back to myself my jaw dropped. I actually now had a cheerful feminine sounding greeting saying: "Hello, this is Ally, You know what to do after the beep as I'm away from my phone, etc.........................", and so forth.

So there you have it. After 5 years of voice therapists and voice therapy, and voice tutorial videos none of which worked, I have Singing to thank for helping me find my feminine voice. Well, Singing and my hrt that is. I no longer get sirr'd on the phone, and I now speak in my new voice exclusively even when talking to my cats at home. The only drawback? I can no longer sound like I used to pre hrt. But hey, why would I want to?, lol!

Ally

[anjaq]

Thats really neat. Yay for that. maybe you want to copy your voice mail message to the forum to show it. But probably not in this thread, not to clog it

[Rachelicious]

Hi all,

I'm sorry I haven't been in contact much over the last months, because I found myself having to find a new apartment and move. The first part is accomplished, the next will follow in October. But I feel like I really owe all of you an update on how my voice developed – and develop it did, in a good way. Here's the update:

https://soundcloud.com/pianogal1/recovery-4-12-mo-postoperative

Take care, best regards,

Amy

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for giving us a singing sample! Your musical references to pitch were very easy to understand as well. This was the last little part of Yeson's VFS that I still was slightly in doubt over / hadn't heard enough examples. Your voice sounds natural and unstrained in pitch while singing - I finally feel totally good about scheduling an appointment

[anjaq]

Yes It really seems to be good even in singing. Most people would laugh at me if I tell them this - voice surgery and singing - it still has such a horrible reputation. Almost all the examples here are proof that it is not so though, even the ones not from Yeson seem to be good as far as this can be said after just weeks.

It seems that VFS is quite a project - it takes money, some time for the travel in the case of Yesons, a lot of time of not speaking, then lots of time with a rather weak and strained voice, and then several months of daily voice exercises and possibly -for those who are not as good in the DIY voice recovery- some voice therapy to find the abilities of the new voice and settle into it. It seems that in most cases this is totally worth it though. The effort seems to be not less than doing extensive voice therapy though, but I would say the outcome probably is different, especially in terms of being relaxed about the voice? I am not sure that this degree of being relaxed and not-thinking can reall be reached with voice therapy alone, although some claim for them its become so second nature that they dont waste a thought on it.