Roni's VFS Results with Dr Haben (video)

[anjaq]

I lost about 2 notes on the lower end - pre OP I could go down to 85 Hz, now anything below 120 is hard to do, but I can sometimes reach 100 Hz. It definitely is only low volume in that range and it cracks. Below 130 Hz is not a really useable range now anymore for me. I also lost something on top - which bugs me. I was able to go to 880 Hz and sometimes even to 900-something. Now the very most I can get is 760, but usually I am stuck below 700 Hz. Thats quite a significant loss - So far I did not get anything back really. I guess I would have to do some sort of high pitch singing training to try and get it back? Voice exercises mostly concentrate on the speaking pitch and a bit above...

For me, hoarseness came and went up until now. It got worse when the Botox stopped being active and then another time when the Clonazepam ran out - and during all the time I had more hoarse days and less hoarse days. Now it seems to be mostly on the good side though, so I think it is going to go away mostly, as long as I use the right phonation pattern and not too low pitch.

(This is 10 months post OP with Yeson)

[kwala]

I got my surgery October 13th or 14th, one of those days. I'm basically 8 weeks post op I guess.

Oh, okay.  Yeah  I was on the 21st of October so we're about a week apart.  I'm sure the hoarseness will subside 

Anja, a tip I learned to open up the high range is to do some gentle "whoop" sounds in high head voice.  It closes the soft palate and rids tension.  Might be helpful 

[Sharon Anne McC]

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WOW!!!  Fabulous results.  You must be shouting with joy.  Oh, better wait till you heal.

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[iKate]

I'm only 7 weeks post op so still have another 5 weeks til this hoarseness hopefully goes away.

One thing I have noticed with the surgery: Although my natural pitch is a bit higher and my voice is consistently more female sounding now, I seemed to have lost my lower and upper speaking range. If I try to speak in a low voice like the one I had pre-op, my voice cracks. Same thing happens when I try and speak in a very high pitch. I guess this fact forces me to stay in the natural female speaking range and not go down to my old voice. I still don't know how I feel about losing these ranges though...

I have the same experience. I lost a bit of range on both ends. Actually I lost a lot of range on the lower end. The upper end I lost some too but I slowly regain it.

[jollyjoy]

I find it quite interesting that some people experience hoarseness for a long period of time after surgery, but others don't seem to have any hoarseness after only a month. I'm happy I can talk freely now without getting clocked, but the hoarseness has been bugging me a bit since it limits my volume, I'm really hoping this will be gone with more time healing, even if it takes 6 months.

[Andromeda]

I find it quite interesting that some people experience hoarseness for a long period of time after surgery, but others don't seem to have any hoarseness after only a month. I'm happy I can talk freely now without getting clocked, but the hoarseness has been bugging me a bit since it limits my volume, I'm really hoping this will be gone with more time healing, even if it takes 6 months.

I think it's really just dependent on an individual's naturally ability to heal. Have you been taking anti-inflammatories every day? "Surgical laryngitis" is just that - inflammation. And even minor inflammation can hang around longer than expected if the body is not quite up to taking care of it in a timely manner. I bet you would see some reduction in hoarsness if you take several ibuprofen throughout the day. My apologies if you are already doing so!

[kwala]

I think it's really just dependent on an individual's naturally ability to heal. Have you been taking anti-inflammatories every day? "Surgical laryngitis" is just that - inflammation. And even minor inflammation can hang around longer than expected if the body is not quite up to taking care of it in a timely manner. I bet you would see some reduction in hoarsness if you take several ibuprofen throughout the day. My apologies if you are already doing so!

I have been taking ibuprofen every day, multiple times per day for about three weeks and I'm still super swollen so I'm not totally convinced that ibuprofen is enough to bring the swelling down.  It can't hurt to try, though

[jollyjoy]

I never took ibuprofen since Dr. Haben never mentioned to me that I need to take this after the surgery. If I still sound hoarse at the 3 months post-op checkup, I'll ask him whether taking this would help.

[Elaine S]

Dr Haben specifically suggested using Ibuprofen at my pre-op consult both from as an agent for helping minimize swelling and also for pain... Being able to eat mixed frozen fruit is a very nice for me, as it is a staple in my daily diet.

So far so good, though my sleep periods are kind of goofy, like being up now at 2am.

Be safe
Elaine