I had VFS with Dr. Haven exactly 4 weeks ago and unfortunately I have not been able to speak ever since. Since I had a good starting voice that was passable most of the time, I opted to have the endoscopic glottoplasty hoping for just a little nudge in the right direction. Surgery went well. I returned home the next day and followed the strict no speaking rule for an entire week. When I was allowed to test my new voice a little on the 8th day, I couldn't make a sound at all. So I decided to wait another week to try again. No luck after the 2nd week neither. Same thing after the 3rd. I emailed Dr. Haben in a panic and was told that it was normal and that I be patient. It comforted me somewhat in spite of the fact that my friend who had the "Triple" on the same day as I already started talking after the 1st week and she sounded amazing!
Now exactly 4 weeks later today, my voice is still completely shut. I am unable to speak at all. When I try, it sounds exactly like whispering. I have developed such anxiety that I wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and unable to fall back to sleep. You never know how different life is until you've lost your voice. You can't do anything. Your life is on hold. Even as a not particularly social person, I can't imagine how I would go on without my voice.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1sWVxCpfix5
Update: this is Dr. Haben's response to my concerns
I listened to the audio. You have, besides concern in your voice, the expected SEVERE post op surgical laryngitis that I would expect at four weeks. If you were local, I would scope and show you. I rearranged your vocal tract extensively. Recovery takes 3-6 MONTHS, not 4 weeks, no matter how much we want it to be four weeks ... No matter how much we hope it will be only four weeks ... And no matter how much sleep we lose praying it will be only four weeks. This is the very reason some people place patients on 6-8 WEEKS of absolute voice rest. Just to prevent patients from hearing the post op laryngitis and freaking out. Please be patient. Short of coming back for a scope, there is nothing else to do.
Regards,
C. Michael Haben, M.D., M.Sc.
Thank you for sharing what you are going through, I can imagine how distressing this can be for you. Keep in mind that everyone heals differently and try to be patient. I hope you get your voice back.
There are times I have thought about forking over the money for this surgery. As the doctor stated your healing can vary. I look forward to seeing more posts and hoping you will be all good voice wise in the near future.
Hi Lunarain, thanks for sharing with us. Don't worry, at 2.5 weeks post op after Yeson I could still barely make a noise due to inflammation of the vocal folds (laryngitis).
Try to keep your head on straight and know that you will get it back!
Oh and I can't believe he did not tell you not to whisper- it is actually really bad for healing vocal chords. Turbulent air over the folds increases dryness, puts undue tension on them, and will likely delay your healing. At least, that is what Dr. Kim at Yeson told me. For me it was absolutely no whispering until 2 months. And even after that, not recommended (for any voice, VFS or not).
Anyway I am sure your voice will turn out. It only takes a little bit of swelling to make a person lose their voice. You are probably just a person who tends to swell more than average- which is fine! Just be easy (no whispering, especially loud whispering) and the edema should clear up. Trust your doctor :)
Thank you everyone for your kind wishes! I thought it was important for me to share my experience so that if anyone else encounter the same problem in the future, she wouldn't panic like I did. During my research prior to my VFS, not a single person reported her loss of voice after the surgery. So imagine the SHOCK when it happened to me!
@Jenneygirl, it wasn't whispering, it was me trying to talk so that I could send the doc my audio recording. :(
Quote from: Lunarain on June 10, 2015, 05:50:41 PM
@Jenneygirl, it wasn't whispering, it was me trying to talk so that I could send the doc my audio recording. :(
Aw okay. Well hang in there. If I were you, I would try to not talk at all (in length especially) until your voice starts coming back as Dr. Haben said (6-8 weeks post). I bet you'll start to hear something in a week or two. Basically right now anything you try to do will be equivalent of a whisper, so it's best to just let things settle.
The more swollen a vocal chord is, the more mass it has. Too much mass, and it is unable to vibrate. Swelling is different for everyone, and also depends on the level of change or trauma. Sounds like he changed a lot for you, so it would make sense you have a bit more swelling than average. I know it's hard, but keep your thoughts positive! I'm sure your voice will come back!
Oops, nvm, just saw you have a 94 page thread about Yeson. LOL
I thought I'd give everyone a quick update about my progress. Five weeks post-op and my voice seems to be starting to come back though it's really hard for me to tell. It is happening so slowly that the daily improvement is almost not noticeable. My throat doesn't feel completely shut like it did up until last week and with effort, I can push some air through to make some kind of audible sound. This affords me tremendous relief psychologically. It's a small indication that I have not become completely mute and there's still hope on the horizon!
Please everyone, keep your fingers crossed for me and thank you all for your sisterly support! :-*
At week 7, my voice's starting to return. With much effort, I can now speak a little :) However, I have no control of my voice whatsoever. It comes and goes as it pleases (even mid sentence)! I've never been much a talker but life without voice is impossible. I can't get anything done because I can't make phone calls. I couldn't even say "hi" or "thank you" at the store. Whispering is the only way for me to communicate in public and that's exactly what I did on several occasions where I absolutely had to go out. I pray I haven't damaged my voice because of it. There's my 7 week update:
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0Lz4poknw5Q
Keep being kind to it! As hard as it is not to communicate by voice, I really would recommend against whispering. I'm no doctor, but both of the voice doctors I have seen confirmed that whispering is not good for the vocal chords. It may delay your healing.
Hang in there and be kind to those chords. It sounds like you are already having some good progress :) The recording sounds female, and the pitch sounds great! Seems like you just have a bit of recovery to go. Lots of water, too!
Thanks for the update!
Quote from: Jennygirl on July 04, 2015, 04:15:14 PM
Keep being kind to it! As hard as it is not to communicate by voice, I really would recommend against whispering. I'm no doctor, but both of the voice doctors I have seen confirmed that whispering is not good for the vocal chords. It may delay your healing.
Hang in there and be kind to those chords. It sounds like you are already having some good progress :) The recording sounds female, and the pitch sounds great! Seems like you just have a bit of recovery to go. Lots of water, too!
Thanks for the update!
Thank you Jennygirl! You're so very kind! Happy July 4th!
Hi, Luna! I popped over here from my thread. Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm typically quite a seller myself... At least I thought so, until I heard your experience! I'm glad the swelling has gone down enough for you to talk now. Despite the hoarseness, you are sounding great! Better than myself, I think!
Quote from: Cadence Jean on July 04, 2015, 06:22:59 PM
Hi, Luna! I popped over here from my thread. Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm typically quite a seller myself... At least I thought so, until I heard your experience! I'm glad the swelling has gone down enough for you to talk now. Despite the hoarseness, you are sounding great! Better than myself, I think!
It's not easy being a trans-woman. Sharing information is the least I can do to help my sisters out there. Due to the lack of information out there regarding VFS especially here in the States, I did not have a realistic expectation going into it. All those infomercial like videos on Youtube was like "I woke up from my surgery with this magic female voice!"
I'm a stupid girl! LOL...
I leave for Dr Haben in a week and I want to thank you for the warning of what might happen. You have added a bit more fear to the trip because after SRS I couldn't pee for several days because of the swelling but on the other hand, if it happens to me I will understand it and know given time I will recover. Your voice is already sounding good and I suspect it will get even better.
Quote from: Dena on July 05, 2015, 01:29:11 PM
I leave for Dr Haben in a week and I want to thank you for the warning of what might happen. You have added a bit more fear to the trip because after SRS I couldn't pee for several days because of the swelling but on the other hand, if it happens to me I will understand it and know given time I will recover. Your voice is already sounding good and I suspect it will get even better.
Good luck with your surgery Dena!
Due to my severe swelling, my recovery was delayed by about 6 weeks. So I now sound like what I should have been on day 8 without the complications. It's just how my body works and no one is there to blame really. The worst part of it was the psychological trauma I had to endure caused by the extreme anxiety that I might have permanently lost my voice! So whatever happens to you post-op, always remember that someone else had it much worse! :laugh:
Quote from: Lunarain on July 05, 2015, 01:47:53 PM
So whatever happens to you post-op, always remember that someone else had it much worse! :laugh:
I know this isn't a very nice thought but I hope so. I picked an early surgical date so I would have about 7 weeks of voice recovery time before things get busy at work and I hope that will be enough.
Say hi to Dr. Haben for me, Dena! I'm sure he'll remember me: I was the gal who missed my Pre-op and had to have the consult the morning right before surgery!
Quote from: Cadence Jean on July 05, 2015, 02:09:52 PM
Say hi to Dr. Haben for me, Dena! I'm sure he'll remember me: I was the gal who missed my Pre-op and had to have the consult the morning right before surgery!
I saw your post about that, I am flying South West and going it's not to bad. Returning I fly to Orlando, have a 4 hour layover and then back to Phoenix. That amounts to about 11 hours from first takeoff to final landing. That is going to be one long day.
Here's the 3-month post-op "Rainbow Passage" I sent to Dr. Haben for analysis. Keep in mind that my healing process was delayed for at least 2 months due to severe surgical laryngitis. I do not have full command of my voice at this point and I feel as if I'm learning to speak all over again with someone else's voice-box. I'm also unable to objectively judge the quality of my own voice.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0fEPmkVWwDP
Here's Dr. Haben's response:
Greetings! The pitch on the recording is perfect! 246 hz, B3 on the piano, dead-centered in the female range. You are still quite breathy. This will resolve. Remember, 3-6 months in some cases. The voice will also continue to become easier to use as your body habituates to the "new instrument" and the swelling resolves. Can you send another recording at 6 months and I will do a formal voice analysis on the computer and send it back to you.
Cheers!
C. Michael Haben, M.D., M.Sc.
Center for the Care of the Professional Voice
Haben Practice for Voice & Laryngeal Laser Surgery, PLLC
980 Westfall road, building 100, suite 127
Rochester, NY 14618
tel: (585) 442-1110
fax: (585) 730-8151
www.professionalvoice.org
Luna, you sound incredible!!
The pitch and inflection sounds good and feminine. The breathiness you already know about. Before this last little go around with the sutures, my voice sounded much like that but at a lower pitch so I expect the breathiness will clear up.
Thank you Cadence & Dena! I'm not out of the woods just yet but I'm begining to hope for a silkier voice once I'm completely healed. Best of luck to us Haben girlz! ;D :laugh: :angel:
How's it going Luna?
Quote from: Cadence Jean on September 10, 2015, 02:44:23 PM
How's it going Luna?
Hi Cadence! Thanks for checking in on me! I'm doing well and being super patient with my super slow recovery. I don't think I'll have anything to show for before the 6 month mark. Realistically speaking, it may very well take me a year for me to arrive at the place where I'm comfortable with my new voice. Meanwhile, I'm getting by rather well with my current voice. My VFS certainly has released me of the mental anguish I used to have with my voice before. So life is good! :angel:
where is your accent from?
Hi Lunarain, thank you SO much for sharing your experience! My recovery has also been quite slow, your thread gives me hope of an eventual recovery! :)
Hi, Lunarain! Hope you have been well. My recovery has been similar to yours in that I'm now over 5 weeks post-op and still stuck with a whispery voice that has almost no tone. Just curious if you've seen anymore improvement since your 3 month recording. Thanks for sharing your story!
Quote from: kwala on November 28, 2015, 07:29:22 PM
Hi, Lunarain! Hope you have been well. My recovery has been similar to yours in that I'm now over 5 weeks post-op and still stuck with a whispery voice that has almost no tone. Just curious if you've seen anymore improvement since your 3 month recording. Thanks for sharing your story!
I just wanted to pop in and see if either of you had any updates for where you're at? I am officially 1 week post surgery so today was the first day I was "allowed" to use my voice. It didn't go so well! No worries, I didn't say more than 5 words, and I plan on letting things rest for at least another week or two before I try literally just a couple more words. But I definitely have the same thing Luna was describing - I can't get out more than a whisper and I don't dare do anything else in fear of straining myself. I can still consciously notice what I assume to be swelling, so I guess that's expected. I am a little bit bummed because I am so antsy to figure out where my pitch is going to end up, but at the same time I know that I shouldn't expect anything at one week. I just hope I can get out more than whispers by the time Christmas rolls around. I've basically been drowning myself in tea with honey.
Can a moderator move this post to the voice section? Thanks! :)
Lunarain, I'm interested in hearing your current voice as well! Your 3 months voice sounded good, but somewhat breathy/hoarse, did you notice any improvements afterwards?
I thought it was. whoops
Thanks Dena :)
If swelling is an issue I would ask dr. Haben about taking ibuprofen regularly to control inflammation. During my consultation he told me it was fine to take, and every day I take one at night to make sure they don't swell at night AND cause coughing I won't be able to consciously prevent.
It may also help with your recovery.
Audree
Quote from: Andromeda on December 09, 2015, 12:44:57 PM
I just wanted to pop in and see if either of you had any updates for where you're at? I am officially 1 week post surgery so today was the first day I was "allowed" to use my voice. It didn't go so well! No worries, I didn't say more than 5 words, and I plan on letting things rest for at least another week or two before I try literally just a couple more words. But I definitely have the same thing Luna was describing - I can't get out more than a whisper and I don't dare do anything else in fear of straining myself. I can still consciously notice what I assume to be swelling, so I guess that's expected. I am a little bit bummed because I am so antsy to figure out where my pitch is going to end up, but at the same time I know that I shouldn't expect anything at one week. I just hope I can get out more than whispers by the time Christmas rolls around. I've basically been drowning myself in tea with honey.
Hi, Andromeda. Sorry I didn't see this sooner. I'm 7 and a half weeks post op and my improvement has been really, really slow. At this point I find that during a few random moments during the day I will have a somewhat audible, but still breathy, voice. It still isn't enough to really project in a social setting, and even my weak voice seems to disappear after a sentence or two. I've been taking ibuprofen and went back on generic prilosec (just in case) last week. I'll be at the 2 month mark this coming Wednesday and being voiceless is turning into a nightmare. I did zero talking the first week, only a few words a day for weeks 2-3. At week 4 I returned to work where I unfortunately have to whisper a little bit, but always try to minimize as much as possible. I'm going home for the holidays in 2 weeks and am desperate to have a voice with which to communicate with my family. Anyway, I wish I had better news for you and I sincerely hope your recovery is much better and faster than mine. Until Lunarain's thread I had never heard of anyone losing their voice for this long. I thought the worst that could happen was not seeing a gain in pitch. Now all I want is ANY pitch.
PS I sent lunarain a private message a while ago but haven't heard back. Seems she doesn't check the forum very often but she must be about 6 months by now and if her voice is normal it would be a tremendous relief to hear about it :)
Your recovery isn't that much different from mine. At 6 and 5 weeks my voice was just above a whisper and I could only get a few words out before my voice crashed. At 3 months I could get normal volume and pitch for a few words and then I would lose pitch and if I used the voice long enough, the volume would fade as well. I am approaching the 5 month mark and still haven't received my 3 month review but the voice is holding up better now. It still fades but I can have a short conversation before fade sets in. Lunarain had it worst than I did but I was lucky that she posted her status before I went for surgery so I was prepared for it. I knew it was very possible I wouldn't be lucky and my voice would remain messed up more than normal. I am lucky that my voice wasn't as bad as lunarain's but it was far worst that the others I had heard up to that point.
If you can, one thing that helps if you can do it is avoid normal volume. Your voice will hold up longer if you push it as little as possible. I also used head nods and carried paper and pen for a long time incase I needed to make my self clear and I didn't want to use my voice. My problem is I need normal or louder than normal volume because of background noise and the failing hearing of others so I find myself moving closer whenever possible to get the message across.
Your voice will return but slow recovery happens. The last communication I had with Dr Haben when I submitted my three month voice received the following exchange
Me
Quote
I extended my voice rest a couple of days just in case and because the voice wasn't needed. I decided to check it out on friday should I need it over the weekend and it didn't work. The swelling was so bad the cords refused to vibrate. I didn't force it and only checked it no more than once a day and about the two week period it became usable but only at a very low volume. I stayed silent as much as possible using the voice lightly for the next couple of weeks and then at week 5 after a weekend of not using my voice, I went to use it on monday and found I had lost all the gains I made in my voice. I think my body was rejecting the suture causing a return of the swelling. I don't know exactly when the sutures came out because there is nothing special about that time period. I still can feel a slight pain in the cords from time to time and the voice starts out pretty good and in less that a minute it starts going down hill. I lose the highs and it gets rough. This happened while I was recording the voice sample and the Eeeee after the sample measured with my software 235Hz but from a resting state it would mesure 205 to 210 Hz. I think the difference is noise from the over stressed vocal cords.
Dr Haben
Quote
205 hz would be a great result! Let me see what I get. Also, the web does not fully mature for 6-12 months, so any instability in the voice should go away by that time. Still far to early to call it a "final result."
Quote from: Dena on December 13, 2015, 08:53:20 AM
If you can, one thing that helps if you can do it is avoid normal volume. Your voice will hold up longer if you push it as little as possible. I also used head nods and carried paper and pen for a long time incase I needed to make my self clear and I didn't want to use my voice. My problem is I need normal or louder than normal volume because of background noise and the failing hearing of others so I find myself moving closer whenever possible to get the message across.
Thanks for the tips and info. Unfortunately, I can't get anywhere near normal volume even at my best moments so avoiding that isn't a problem lol. I was FINALLY able to get in with an ENT and have an appointment tomorrow so hopefully the scope will calm my fears or reveal an unseen issue. On the plus side, even in my barely audible whisper voice the receptionist referred to me as ma'am on the phone. Looking forward to finally getting some answers.
I totally empathize with your fears. I was really concerned about my whispery voice at one point too. Hopefully the issue you're having will resolve with more time healing.
Quote from: kwala on December 14, 2015, 12:34:06 PM
Thanks for the tips and info. Unfortunately, I can't get anywhere near normal volume even at my best moments so avoiding that isn't a problem lol. I was FINALLY able to get in with an ENT and have an appointment tomorrow so hopefully the scope will calm my fears or reveal an unseen issue. On the plus side, even in my barely audible whisper voice the receptionist referred to me as ma'am on the phone. Looking forward to finally getting some answers.
I hope the exam doesn't turn up anything obviously detrimental, and that your recovery beings to speed up! I would recommend pineapple juice, or Bolt house Farms Green Goodness, or Naked Machine. Also, Traditional Medicinal's Throat Coat tea. I used all.of these on and off for the first couple months.
Thanks Jolly and Cadence. I know recovery can take longer than expected but being just a few days shy of 2 months, I really can't shake the feeling that something is not right given the current state of my voice. I sincerely hope I'm wrong and that things will begin to pick up with more time. Here's to hoping! I'll definitely update after the exam tomorrow.
Quote from: kwala on December 14, 2015, 02:23:44 PM
Thanks Jolly and Cadence. I know recovery can take longer than expected but being just a few days shy of 2 months, I really can't shake the feeling that something is not right given the current state of my voice. I sincerely hope I'm wrong and that things will begin to pick up with more time. Here's to hoping! I'll definitely update after the exam tomorrow.
Kwala!! I hope everything turned out well. Please let us know what the good news is :)
<3
Audree
Quote from: audreelyn on December 15, 2015, 12:24:06 AM
Kwala!! I hope everything turned out well. Please let us know what the good news is :)
<3
Audree
Thanks, Audree! Mostly good news! I posted a more in depth update in my surgery thread. :)
Quote from: kwala on December 13, 2015, 02:32:34 AM
Hi, Andromeda. Sorry I didn't see this sooner. I'm 7 and a half weeks post op and my improvement has been really, really slow. At this point I find that during a few random moments during the day I will have a somewhat audible, but still breathy, voice. It still isn't enough to really project in a social setting, and even my weak voice seems to disappear after a sentence or two. I've been taking ibuprofen and went back on generic prilosec (just in case) last week. I'll be at the 2 month mark this coming Wednesday and being voiceless is turning into a nightmare. I did zero talking the first week, only a few words a day for weeks 2-3. At week 4 I returned to work where I unfortunately have to whisper a little bit, but always try to minimize as much as possible. I'm going home for the holidays in 2 weeks and am desperate to have a voice with which to communicate with my family. Anyway, I wish I had better news for you and I sincerely hope your recovery is much better and faster than mine. Until Lunarain's thread I had never heard of anyone losing their voice for this long. I thought the worst that could happen was not seeing a gain in pitch. Now all I want is ANY pitch.
PS I sent lunarain a private message a while ago but haven't heard back. Seems she doesn't check the forum very often but she must be about 6 months by now and if her voice is normal it would be a tremendous relief to hear about it :)
Whoops, I just saw this minutes after posting my own thread with concerns. Oh well, that's fine I guess, because I don't want to sidetrack these ones! I am not "glad" to hear about your healing, lol, but I am comforted by the fact that I'm not alone in this. I guess 2 weeks is still nothing and I *shouldn't* be discouraged, but I'm still incapable of forming a single word. I totally agree with your sentiment - all I want is *any* pitch. I am so, so thankful that I don't hold a service job that requires constant voice use, or I'd literally be screwed.
Everyone, I apologize that I've been absent lately. I know some of you were in need to share your own voice concerns with me and from what I can tell in my own experience, the recovery is a bumpy road to trek on to say the least. If you listen to my latest recording here, you'll know what I mean.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s180TQX4g4As
I don't know if I'll ever speak with ease in a normal voice at this point but I could hope. I wish you all the best of luck! And I promise I'll check back on this tread more often than I did. :)
Your voice sounds much better in the recording and is clearly feminine with the proper feminine speech patterns. I am not sure how much sound you are attempting to speak over in public but a feminine voice isn't as powerful as a masculine voice so I don't expect the same power I once had. In public, if I don't have the option, I don't play the volume game. If I have the option, I will wait till I can be heard or I will move closer. I suspect for some of us including me, the healing time could range between a year or two. My recovery was very slow and it took the better part of 6 month before regular conversation was possible so I expect it will take longer for the finishing touches.
Happy you got your voice back, after the longer recovery. Nice voice.
Quote from: Dena on March 31, 2016, 06:13:23 PM
Your voice sounds much better in the recording and is clearly feminine with the proper feminine speech patterns. I am not sure how much sound you are attempting to speak over in public but a feminine voice isn't as powerful as a masculine voice so I don't expect the same power I once had. In public, if I don't have the option, I don't play the volume game. If I have the option, I will wait till I can be heard or I will move closer. I suspect for some of us including me, the healing time could range between a year or two. My recovery was very slow and it took the better part of 6 month before regular conversation was possible so I expect it will take longer for the finishing touches.
It sounds like she has the same problems I've been experiencing and the idea that "women aren't as powerful sounding as men" is frankly a ridiculous excuse. Women aren't typically drowned out by ambient noises and can be heard in public. I asked Dr. Haben point blank in an email (prior to surgery) if there would be a loss of volume and he said any loss was "negligible." The idea that the voice could take up to 2 years to heal and sound normal is also not supported by any of the precautions laid out by Dr. Haben. What I was told in my emails is that by 6 months your voice should be absolutely normal and usable and that any extra effects after that are just from you getting used to your new voice.
Lunarain, have you contacted Dr. Haben recently? I am curious as to what he thinks. Sorry things haven't been better for you. At six months, I'm pretty much in the same boat except even more hoarse sounding. I know exactly what you mean about sounding decent on a recording in a quiet home setting but not being able to project in a public setting.
Thanks so much for coming back and sharing your story, lunarain. It has pretty much convinced me that I need to have another surgery to fix the mess that is my current voice.
Quote from: kwala on March 31, 2016, 11:30:36 PM
Lunarain, have you contacted Dr. Haben recently? I am curious as to what he thinks. Sorry things haven't been better for you. At six months, I'm pretty much in the same boat except even more hoarse sounding. I know exactly what you mean about sounding decent on a recording in a quiet home setting but not being able to project in a public setting.
Thanks so much for coming back and sharing your story, lunarain. It has pretty much convinced me that I need to have another surgery to fix the mess that is my current voice.
Hi Kwala,
No, I have not contacted Dr. Haben about this recently because, realistically, there really isn't anything he could do for me at this point. I'm banking on the fact that I'm an extremely slow healer, it took my breasts 3 years to drop after breast augmentation surgery! Another fact is that I have never had problem passing even before any surgeries. Even now, I'm just a girl with a raspy voice. There's no perfection in life. I'll just have to make do with what I have. ;D I will have Dr Haben analyze my voice on my 1 year mark to see where I'm with the pitch and all and I will share his findings with y'all.
P.S. If I were you, I would not even consider having a corrective surgery until I had reached the 2 year mark.
Thanks for the reply. I am considering the surgery because I sent videos of my vocal cords to Dr. Haben and he feels that the web over-developed and for whatever reason came out larger than he intended. He is proposing to cut a small portion of it out and claims that this will fix my issues. I can't say I'm thrilled about it (and definitely not thrilled about paying full price for a second operation) but I need to have a usable voice and I really don't think it's going to normalize on its own :(
Quote from: kwala on April 01, 2016, 12:15:06 PM
Thanks for the reply. I am considering the surgery because I sent videos of my vocal cords to Dr. Haben and he feels that the web over-developed and for whatever reason came out larger than he intended. He is proposing to cut a small portion of it out and claims that this will fix my issues. I can't say I'm thrilled about it (and definitely not thrilled about paying full price for a second operation) but I need to have a usable voice and I really don't think it's going to normalize on its own :(
I am so sorry for you if this is your only option! Sorry I haven't tracked everyone's recovery progress on here. Just how long has it been since your VFS? It seems that some will have a harder time to recover (like you and I) than others. The girl who had the surgery right before me bounced right back and started chirping in a week while I was completely mute and dumbstruck for months! Imagine my despair and panic! In all fairness, I feel that my voice is slowly getting stronger, so slowly that it's virtually imperceptible. I hope I'm not dilution about this because I really really don't want to shell out another $5K for this. :-\ I'll give myself 2 years for the recovery. Maybe by then I wouldn't even care anymore...
Sorry to hear that your outcomes are not as you wanted them.
Lunarain - I think your voice sounds clear and not that hoarse in the recording and it sounds clearly female. But what strikes me is that you have a bit of an artificial intonation pattern. I am not sure if this is because you have trained it to be like this or if this is because you have to control the issues you have from surgery so much. My impression is that you use a LOT of air to speak , so you have to take breaths afer just a couple of words. This would of course change your intonation patterns and add frequent breaks to it. This would go along with your hoarseness as you describe it , as this basically means that the vocal folds are not coming together properly and too much air rushes through them.
Usually speech therapy has some ways to correct this, but if the reason is a physiological one resulting from surgery it may be harder. Also volume/loudness is directly correlated to that - if you loose too much air, your voice cannot really be loud at all. You need to find a way to have your vocal folds come in closer contact while speaking. I found a video that has english subtitles and shows a voice rehab method that is a bit spreading in Germany now. Basically all you need is a piece of tube with about 1cm diameter and a 1/3 filled bottle of water. Of course they also sell silicone tubes for that method at a higher price ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td8LDsx-q-o
You could try that method, maybe it improves your voice health.
Quote from: anjaq on April 01, 2016, 04:10:16 PM
Sorry to hear that your outcomes are not as you wanted them.
Lunarain - I think your voice sounds clear and not that hoarse in the recording and it sounds clearly female. But what strikes me is that you have a bit of an artificial intonation pattern. I am not sure if this is because you have trained it to be like this or if this is because you have to control the issues you have from surgery so much. My impression is that you use a LOT of air to speak , so you have to take breaths afer just a couple of words. This would of course change your intonation patterns and add frequent breaks to it. This would go along with your hoarseness as you describe it , as this basically means that the vocal folds are not coming together properly and too much air rushes through them.
anjaq, my speech pattern you pointed out here may be a combination of my accent, small lungs, and the inability to control my voice after the surgery. One thing I notice now is that I can hear this "screeching" sound produced by my vocal chords as I speak and the nervousness that my voice will break in any given moment! And it affects me psychologically which prevents me from pronounce words clearly. A vicious circle?
Thanks for the video! I'm excited about practicing the technique as soon as I can find that silicone tube! :)
You should be able to find a tube like that at home depot. I have another thought. You said small lungs. Have you ever been taught how to breath through you diaphragm. That is something that is taught in speech therapy and singing that allows you to take in far more air. If you are only using your lungs, your air supply will be very limited.
Quote from: Lunarain on April 01, 2016, 01:42:18 PM
I am so sorry for you if this is your only option! Sorry I haven't tracked everyone's recovery progress on here. Just how long has it been since your VFS? It seems that some will have a harder time to recover (like you and I) than others. The girl who had the surgery right before me bounced right back and started chirping in a week while I was completely mute and dumbstruck for months! Imagine my despair and panic! In all fairness, I feel that my voice is slowly getting stronger, so slowly that it's virtually imperceptible. I hope I'm not dilution about this because I really really don't want to shell out another $5K for this. :-\ I'll give myself 2 years for the recovery. Maybe by then I wouldn't even care anymore...
It's been 6 months and I'm pretty sure that I've hit a plateau. I've sent Dr. Haben several voice clips along the way and something is wrong. I'm scared to have another surgery and I certainly didn't budget an extra 3k to have a revision but I don't really see any other way out. I'm even more scared that downsizing the web could cause more damage. This isn't exactly the kind of surgery one can do research on. According to Dr. Haben, I am the only patient he's ever had who developed a web over the 50% mark. :(
Quote from: kwala on April 03, 2016, 04:21:40 AM
It's been 6 months and I'm pretty sure that I've hit a plateau. I've sent Dr. Haben several voice clips along the way and something is wrong. I'm scared to have another surgery and I certainly didn't budget an extra 3k to have a revision but I don't really see any other way out. I'm even more scared that downsizing the web could cause more damage. This isn't exactly the kind of surgery one can do research on. According to Dr. Haben, I am the only patient he's ever had who developed a web over the 50% mark. :(
You are in good company then, because I am basically the only patient of Dr. Haben's in which the surgery flat out failed. My web didn't develop at all. The good that came out of it was the trachea shave. Hopefully, the results will be better on my next surgery in July.
Quote from: GeekGirl on April 03, 2016, 07:44:55 PM
You are in good company then, because I am basically the only patient of Dr. Haben's in which the surgery flat out failed. My web didn't develop at all. The good that came out of it was the trachea shave. Hopefully, the results will be better on my next surgery in July.
I remember your post well and I'm so happy for you thay he agreed to try again with only hospital costs. He certainly didn't give me that option :/ But then again we have completely opposite issues. Your web never developed and mine OVER developed. Wishing you much success this time around!
Hello all,
It's my one year anniversary on May 14th and I'm excited to share my final results with you! With all my post-op trials and tribulations, not only have I slowly regained the strength in my voice (not 100% yet) but also an almost a full 100 hertz of pitch elevation (don't really know what it means;)! Here's what Dr. Haben said:
You sound amazing! You got almost a full 100 hertz of pitch elevation, which is far above average for an endoscopic only approach. Its sounds very natural and I am certain that you are not being misgendered.
If you read my previous posts you'll know that I couldn't talk at all post-op for about 3 months. As soon as I could get some sound out of my mouth, I started talking as much as I could even though it was extremely difficult and it strained my vocal chords and hurt my throat! It was because everytime I pushed it, the quality of my voice would improve after a little rest. It gave me a glimmer of hope even though the improvement was fleeting.
My voice started to really improve after my last post. I don't fully understand why or how but I suspect that it helped me leaping over a psychological hurdle by talking about it. I know I still have some ways to go before achieving the final results but I'm much more confident now and it has changed the way I pronounce words because there's no more stress from having to control and maintain the pitch. Of course, I only came to this realization after listening to my pre and post-op voice comparison.
So if I may offer a word of advice to those of you who have difficulty speaking post-op due to lack of volume, PUSH IT as if you were giving birth! It has work for me! ;D
https://flic.kr/p/GQyyiX
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1i4IyQ5fewp
Glad you seem to be recovering at least, Luna. :) Very happy for you! Unfortunately the dropbox files are locked down, so I think you need to adjust your permissions. However, if it sounds even better than your March posting it must be amazing. I hope I have as good a result as you.
wow so much improvement from your last recording, your voice sounds great! There's so much more clarity now and the hoarseness you had seems to be gone now. Do you find that your voice is hoarse initially in the morning and gets better through out the day? And are you able to talk loudly without getting hoarse? These are two things that I'm currently experiencing and I'm hoping by the 1 year mark it will be resolved.
Quote from: jollyjoy on May 07, 2016, 10:57:03 PM
Do you find that your voice is hoarse initially in the morning and gets better through out the day? And are you able to talk loudly without getting hoarse? These are two things that I'm currently experiencing and I'm hoping by the 1 year mark it will be resolved.
It varies. The "good voice" sometimes comes in the morning and other times in the evening. :D Yes, my voice is getting louder! But knowing my body, I don't foresee a full range before the 2 year mark. It's better late than never, right? ;)
I find this interesting... It sounds like this technique might be a relatively reliable voice sugary.
I have not looked into voce surgeries for many years... Back in my day late 90's - early 2000s) AFAIK there were no reliable voice surgeries... those that I met in person that had some form had what I thought were bad results ( obviously damaged voice, very low volume etc)
But I was desperate, not because my voice was that terrible (i was told the I had a voice that could be taken either way naturally), but to make up for other deficiencies (underwhelming HRT results with a big male bone structure) I felt I had to do anything I could to help blending.
So after listening to the before and after on this web page:
http://members.tripod.com/anony_mous_ts/
I gambled on an experimental technique called LAVA - Laser Assisted Voice Adjustment.
I wound up with a but very measurable slight frequency increase - but it was no really noticeable. Ok so it sounds like no harm at least ... but it also lowered the top of my range and I could no longer sing nearly was well as I could before... my voice was less flexible... an I got frequent sore throats
Over time (and unrelated) I developed chronic GERD which seems to have has lowered my voice a bit (or maybe my vocal cords healed some?)
I wish I had not dome it and had the money back I spent on it... Oh well, just as with everything else in life, you do the best you know how and then need to deal with the results, be they good bad or indifferent.
If there is a now a relatively safe and reliable voice sugary for those that need it, that is great!
- Karen