Voice varying greatly in frequency after VFS; lots of fear about bad outcome

[friederike]

I had VFS with Prof. Dr. Remacle on January 19th.

I'm currently full of fear that this did not work out nicely. Here is a recording of the same text three times with only hours between the recordings.

Recording 1: http://vocaroo.com/i/s0G9gMcRFnLc
Recording 2 (3 hours later): http://vocaroo.com/i/s0vVNCi6t1y3
Recording 3 (another 11 hours later): http://vocaroo.com/i/s09SF04Xb8WQ

First recording shows in Praat base frequency of about 200 to 205 Hz.
Second recording sound quite lower but still shows in Praat a base frequency of about 200 Hz.
Third recording sounds way lower and shows only a base frequency of about 165 Hz.

Especially the last recording is frightening me much because in my opinion this sounds really bad and way too low.

But how can this be? How can the voice be differing so greatly over a timespan of only hours? The same phenomenon happens when I just make a "aaaaaah"-sound without any effort just as it comes out at that moment. Often it is about 200 Hz but sometimes it is 220 Hz and more often it is only 160 Hz.

Is there any sensible explanation for this? I am so full of fear

[Dena]

It's way to early to judge the results of your surgery. The vocal cords are very sensitive and abuse can result in them swelling and will cause a loss of frequency. I found just a minute or two of use was sufficient to affect my voice for several hours.  Normally you would wait 3 months before evaluating the final results. In my case, I knew there were still issues at 6 months and it took over a year before I returned to near normal.

[friederike]

The vocal cords are very sensitive and abuse can result in them swelling and will cause a loss of frequency.

Thank you, that sounds reasonably. However it appears to be the other way around in my case, the voice appears to be actually the lowest after it had rested. The last recording was done after a few hours of sleep. Do you still think this is normal and nothing to worry too much about right now? This is really driving me crazy.

[Dena]

One of the fastest healing voice I have heard was after 6 weeks. Most take longer than that to stabilize so it's way to early to judge the voice. Dr Haven tells his patient your voice will get much worst before it gets better. I wouldn't start evaluating the voice until about 3 months have passed and if you healing is slow, it could take longer. At this point, I would say don't worry and give it more time to heal.

[kwala]

Don't worry! It may seem like a lot, but 165 to 200 is like 4 half steps on a piano, hardly a big range at all. Also, remember that just because 180-220 (give or take) is the target range, it doesn't mean that Cis women never dip above or below.

[anjaq]

Its most likely "surgical laryngitis" - basically for some weeks after surgery it is like having a really bad cold and laryngitis. Remember the last time this happened to you pre OP? I am sure if you had that, that the voice just was a couple of semitones lower. It will heal away when the hoarseness is gone.
In the mornings it is natural to have a bit lower voice, because the voice muscles are all relaxed. It takes muscle tension to go up in pitch.
Also beware of PRAAT - it is a useful tool, but one can mess it up a bit by using it when being hoarse or by choosing the wrong segment for analysis or my speaking more monotoneous versus more melodic - I posted on that issue in the PRAAT thread.