Hey girls,
I made a new thread because my previous one was seven pages deep. I figured starting a new one would help girls who are going to Dr. Haben soon or considering going to him. It seems Dr. Haben has picked up a *lot* of popularity on Susan's lately, and I wish nothing but the best for all his future patients.
Anyway, on to the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPudf5G0mnA&feature=youtu.be
I am 4.5 weeks post-op. Obviously still *VERY* hoarse (as can be heard in the video), but I am very happy that my hoarse post-op voice already sounds a lot more natural than my trained pre-op voice, in my opinion. I am eliminating/controlling chest resonance for my post-op voice obviously. Remember VFS cannot fix resonance.
It has proven a lot easier to attain a feminine voice now. I don't really have to try as hard to increase my pitch. I am not altering my pitch in the video. If I want to increase my pitch further I can manually bring it past the 240hz voice in the video, to about 260hz+. Evidently my post-op voice is equivalent to my pre-op trained voice, except now I don't put in half the effort to produce voice anymore.
I cannot wait for the hoarseness to die!
That sounds great already. Also you ended up really high pitched, but that is of course to be expected, given that you already started off in the gender neutral pitch range. For reference, you should probably give what procedures you had with Dr Haben...
Quote from: anjaq on November 18, 2015, 09:52:55 AM
That sounds great already. Also you ended up really high pitched, but that is of course to be expected, given that you already started off in the gender neutral pitch range. For reference, you should probably give what procedures you had with Dr Haben...
Great idea Anjaq! I only had the glottoplasty procedure with Dr Haben. It's a good thing I didn't go with the CTA like I originally wanted to or I would have probably come out sounding unnaturally high pitched.
Sounds very good and feminine!! And even higher than some cis-gender girls.
What a great result Roni! I'm so happy for you. Your voice was already in the gender-ambiguous territory and turned out unquestionably feminine!
Your before voice sounds a lot like mine did, so hopefully I will have similar results once the swelling goes down. Fingers crossed! I still can't believe it's been a month and I can't talk at all lol! I know, patience, patience lol!
You sound pretty good, Roni! Now you don't have to be jealous of my result, because you have your own. :)
Quote from: iKate on November 18, 2015, 02:56:07 PM
You sound pretty good, Roni! Now you don't have to be jealous of my result, because you have your own. :)
Thanks everybody!! I will say my natural speaking voice doesn't sound that high until after I've been talking for a while. I assume my vocal chords are stretched when speaking and after an hour or so I am able to converse in a high pitch without much effort.
Dr. Haben did not provide me with any vocal exercises at all. I am aware Yeson gives girls a list of exercises to do post-op in order to make the best out of their voice. Does anybody happen to have a copy of said list, or a link to the list? Would be very much appreciated!
Quote from: kwala on November 18, 2015, 02:00:53 PM
What a great result Roni! I'm so happy for you. Your voice was already in the gender-ambiguous territory and turned out unquestionably feminine!
Your before voice sounds a lot like mine did, so hopefully I will have similar results once the swelling goes down. Fingers crossed! I still can't believe it's been a month and I can't talk at all lol! I know, patience, patience lol!
I am sure our results will be similar. You had a good and feminine trained voice already, and I think I heard your natural speaking voice somewhere too (unless I'm imagining it) and remember thinking to myself that you sounded a lot like me lol! Hopefully this translates as similar results for you. :)
Also yes, patience! In reality I still sound really hoarse. I had to stretch my vocal chords for a bit to produce the post-op sound in my video.
You sound great hun! Congratulations on your.new female voice!
Any reason why you opted for glottoplasty in particular? I know Dr Haben insists on vta too, which he says is strongly recommended.
Quote from: Ritana on November 19, 2015, 02:35:42 AM
You sound great hun! Congratulations on your.new female voice!
Any reason why you opted for glottoplasty in particular? I know Dr Haben insists on vta too, which he says is strongly recommended.
Dr Haben said I didn't need a CTA because my pre-op voice was in the 160-180hz range already. I think he only recommends CTAs to those in the lower speaking range.
Thanks Roni,
Mine is 170 even after trachea shave pitch loss ;however, I cannot go much higher noe after surgery. Considering Dr Kim as I don't wanna have a scar in the neck (which is a give away these days for being trans).
Quote from: Ritana on November 19, 2015, 05:37:05 AM
Thanks Roni,
Mine is 170 even after trachea shave pitch loss ;however, I cannot go much higher noe after surgery. Considering Dr Kim as I don't wanna have a scar in the neck (which is a give away these days for being trans).
I am not sure in what way the surgery can improve the upper range. It makes it easier to use higher speaking pitch, but at least for me it made it harder to use my very upper vocal range. I lost a few notes and the ones close to that are harder to use. But in the range of speaking pitch, it is easier to use female pitch. Using male pitch still is possible for me (for many others it is not), but if I go too low or use it too much it makes me hoarse and breathy.
Definitely not getting a scar at the neck is preferrable. I have seen magazine articles describing "how to tell if the woman you are dating was once a man" (puke - I hate such things, but they do exist) and they regularly point to the size of hands, pitch of the voice, adams apple and scar on the neck (from trach shave or voice surgery) as "markers". So sadly I think this is becoming widespread knowledge and if one can avoid this - at least trach shave is nowadays possible to do with a scar at the upper neck near the jaw, which is less suspicious, but most doctors will still just put the scar right at the larynx...
I have seen magazine articles describing "how to tell if the woman you are dating was once a man" (puke - I hate such things, but they do exist) and they regularly point to the size of hands, pitch of the voice, adams apple and scar on the neck (from trach shave or voice surgery) as "markers". So sadly I think this is becoming widespread knowledge
Omg, Anjaq, that is disgusting! I hate it when the press/ websites publish such things.
As for the scar, I would say the whole point of having vfs is to achieve passability. If vfs creates another (bigger) passability issue then I don't see the point, quite frankly.
My elevated voice is already passable on the phone (I have been working in a call centre for the last 6 years, and i only got a couple of comments from two women as to whether I was a man or a woman, bear in mind I take thousands of calls a year).
Quote from: Ritana on November 19, 2015, 05:37:05 AM
Thanks Roni,
Mine is 170 even after trachea shave pitch loss ;however, I cannot go much higher noe after surgery. Considering Dr Kim as I don't wanna have a scar in the neck (which is a give away these days for being trans).
If you do the glottoplasty with Haben he does it endoscopically so no scar either.
That is true ikate, but i think yeson do something slightly different to glottoplasty achieving better results.
Anjaq, I hate it when the press/ some websites publish those kind of articles "how to spot a woman who used to be a man".
Liking your results thus far. your sounding good
Quote from: Ritana on November 19, 2015, 09:52:01 AM
That is true ikate, but i think yeson do something slightly different to glottoplasty achieving better results.
Anjaq, I hate it when the press/ some websites publish those kind of articles "how to spot a woman who used to be a man".
Dr Kim definitely does something different. He uses a micro scalpel that he invented and he uses permanent sutures. With that said I think Dr Haben and prof Remacle's results are comparable. At least to my ears.
Roni, I am a huge fan of yours! Do you have a Facebook or Instagram account? Thanks!
Welcome to Susan's Place Roni_Fan. I am glad you could join us and I thing you will find there is a good deal of other useful information on the site. We are getting a pretty good collection of post surgical voices so feel free to brows the site.
We issue to all new members the following links so you will best be able to use the web site.
Things that you should read
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Roni, the voice sounds pretty good but I think you will find the pitch will go up a bit more as it continues to heal. It's not a huge improvement but it will make your initial/relaxed voice move to a more comfortable range. As for healing time. i still haven't got my three months results back but Dr Haben responded to the message attached to the samples reminding me that there is a 6 to 12 month for the voice to stabilize. If my pitch continues to rise I might get around the 220 Hz range would would be great for me.
Quote from: Roni_Fan on November 25, 2015, 05:12:22 PM
Roni, I am a huge fan of yours! Do you have a Facebook or Instagram account? Thanks!
Haha wow! I can definitely say I never expected anything like this happening. I found your username quite flattering and mildly funny haha. Had to show my bf.
I do have both but they are for private use and so I am not quite comfortable posting them on a public forum. Hope you understand! :)
Quote from: Dena on November 25, 2015, 07:03:40 PM
Roni, the voice sounds pretty good but I think you will find the pitch will go up a bit more as it continues to heal. It's not a huge improvement but it will make your initial/relaxed voice move to a more comfortable range. As for healing time. i still haven't got my three months results back but Dr Haben responded to the message attached to the samples reminding me that there is a 6 to 12 month for the voice to stabilize. If my pitch continues to rise I might get around the 220 Hz range would would be great for me.
I'll take all the pitch increase I can get! I know I sound pretty high in the recording already, but I don't sound like that out of bed. As I mentioned before, vocal exercises and talking for an extended period of time helps stretch and raise my natural pitch. If my pitch increases a bit further that could benefit me as I won't have to worry about doing vocal exercise if my voice is already high enough.
I'm glad for you Dena that your pitch has continued to rise! I think Dr Haben is right that you still have a few months to see your voice grow and see improvements.
No worries Roni! I totally understand and agree! Can you please though post some recent pics of you? Would love to see them! :)
Quote from: Roni_Fan on November 30, 2015, 03:07:01 PM
No worries Roni! I totally understand and agree! Can you please though post some recent pics of you? Would love to see them! :)
As far as recent pics go I've held off on posting pictures online. I think I posted a timeline on ->-bleeped-<- recently but other than that no recent pictures, sorry. Far too many people (especially trans people) were recognizing me in public.
Makes sense! You are a celebrity status now! ;)
Eh not really haha. Its not that many people, but definitely more than I'd like.
Quote from: Roni on December 01, 2015, 09:55:44 AM
As far as recent pics go I've held off on posting pictures online. I think I posted a timeline on ->-bleeped-<- recently but other than that no recent pictures, sorry. Far too many people (especially trans people) were recognizing me in public.
One big reason I limit my pics... It can get dangerous if too many people know.
I've also not done a "before and after" on purpose because old pics of me I want to be hard to find...
But again this is purely MY preference and not advice to anyone.
Right!
Why dangerous? You can be set and feel free right?
Quote from: Roni_Fan on December 01, 2015, 03:45:32 PM
Why dangerous? You can be set and feel free right?
Where I am from I can be killed for being trans. and yes I have to go back there now and again. So when I go there I'll keep a low profile.
I also try to keep pictures of me off the internet when it comes to trans stuff. Roni, I am not sure I understand, in what way are you famous?
Quote from: anjaq on December 03, 2015, 03:11:41 AM
I also try to keep pictures of me off the internet when it comes to trans stuff. Roni, I am not sure I understand, in what way are you famous?
I am not lol.
Congrats on your official and legal name change Roni! :)
Quote from: Roni_Fan on December 04, 2015, 03:37:40 PM
Congrats on your official and legal name change Roni! :)
Eh what? Did you find my Facebook?? Either way, thank you very much.
Hey Roni, is your hoarseness improving? Mine is getting a bit better but still sounds somewhat hoarse...I'm at 11 weeks now.
Quote from: jollyjoy on December 09, 2015, 01:55:25 PM
Hey Roni, is your hoarseness improving? Mine is getting a bit better but still sounds somewhat hoarse...I'm at 11 weeks now.
It's improved but I am definitely still very hoarse lol.. :(
Dr. Haben did tell me the hoarseness can take upto to 3 months to recover....but I think it probably will take even longer for me, and hopefully it will go away and not forever!
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...
Quote from: Roni on December 09, 2015, 10:43:50 PM
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...
That's interesting. I think the loss of the super low notes happens to a lot of people. I have read reports of people initially losing their uppermost range and most, if not all, of it coming back over time. I think that this will be the case with you and that your range will continue to expand with time. Are you only at 7 weeks? I thought we were further apart in our recovery.
Quote from: kwala on December 09, 2015, 11:37:12 PM
That's interesting. I think the loss of the super low notes happens to a lot of people. I have read reports of people initially losing their uppermost range and most, if not all, of it coming back over time. I think that this will be the case with you and that your range will continue to expand with time. Are you only at 7 weeks? I thought we were further apart in our recovery.
I got my surgery October 13th or 14th, one of those days. I'm basically 8 weeks post op I guess. :)
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)
Quote from: Roni on December 10, 2015, 04:28:29 AM
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 :)
*
WOW!!! Fabulous results. You must be shouting with joy. Oh, better wait till you heal.
*
Quote from: Roni on December 09, 2015, 10:43:50 PM
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.
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.
Quote from: jollyjoy on December 10, 2015, 03:27:15 PM
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!
Quote from: Andromeda on December 11, 2015, 11:56:27 PM
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 :)
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.
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