Looking forward to it, Sarah 🙂

Wow - soon it is time 🙂

154 Hz at the lowest, thats neat. You can still do some voices then but are not stuck at that anymore that sounds great. I guess that 154 was your F0 when you did a "male voice" e.g. totally not doing the regular thing to raise pitch?
I am feeling a bit weird because my present voice that I can hardly slip out of is about 150 Hz too, but I still can to the lower register if I really try to and that is at 100 Hz (averaged in praat). Which frequency would be choosen as a base? If it is the 100 Hz, I guess i would have to go 1/2 as well, which I guess translates to a bigger loss in pitch range and volume?

The thing about increasing volumen because using less force makes sense. I will ask about that in the voice clinic in 3 weeks at the checkup. I guess that training may be able to correct this as well to some degree. Gawd this is going to be weird,  I am sure they will make me talk in my old voice again... :\

When will you be able to see Seoul? - You probably will have a day rest or so after the surgery and then you can be up again?

Sarah, I really hope everything turns out wonderfully for you. I am taking every tip I can from yourself and Jenny so I will be ready to go in Jan/Feb. You make Seoul sound terrific. It will definitely be a great vacation.

On a side note I just saw my cardiologist today for clearance for a different surgery and ran this by him. He replied that it is certainly low risk and would not be a problem. Even said; "It makes a lot of sense..I should have thought of it"

Thanks so much for your running diary. I will keep you in my prayers.

And tons of thanks to Jenny for all her posts. If they weren't out there in Googleland I never would have found out about this miraculous procedure.

Aww that makes me smile Rachel!

It's pretty neat being able to share the experience with others going through it.

This is also a wonderful example of what makes online forums like susans so great. What I had to do was for the most part very easy (making a new thread), and immediately people were benefitting from the information all over the world. The only thing that was hard for me was not having much information on it myself, but my judgment of the procedure lead me to believe it was safe and effective. Honestly without Maja's video I probably wouldn't have done it. Y'all should be thanking her, too, for being the first English speaking patient to record her accounts with Yeson

Knowing exactly what my nerves felt like about 10 minutes pre op (as Sarah is now) is trippy and exciting in a really cool way

Thinking so many good thoughts for you right now Sarah! I'm tootally there with you in spirit!

Thanks Jenny!

Another quick question....how exactly is everyone finding out or measuring their voice frequency?

I hope I don't have to scour Craigslist for an oscilloscope.

Sarah, if my time math is correct you are about to have your surgery! Good luck and see you on the other side!

As for your appointment yesterday, your starting pitch is so favorable I can't imagine you having anything but the most amazing sounding voice when all is said and done. So enjoy Seoul but get back and get better so we can hear your new voice!!

Done!!!

My throat hurts. An hour or so until I can drink water.

Jenny/Abby, how long does the sore throat last? Or at least how long until it dulls down a bit? I feel like every time I swallow I'm going to mess up the suture, lol.

Yay it's over with!!

The sore throat for me lasted less than 24 hours. I think the next morning I woke up and felt maybe a super slight sore throat.

It was definitely the worst the first few hours after surgery - especially for me because my stupid self started coughing and tried to talk when I first woke up for the surgery. I tried to ask if they did the surgery yet because I was so out of it lol.

Hi Sarah! SO HAPPY to hear everything went well! Luckily the throat pain goes away fast. You'll feel a lot better by the time you are allowed to leave, but it will be somewhat sore for a couple of days. Almost like the feeling of when you have a lump in your throat about to cry.

My thoughts are with you

Let me know if you have any questions. Watching this thread like a hawk in case you need anything

So apparently I only coughed a few times, mostly with just air, but once or twice with some sound. Jessie said it was normal (to my sister, since I was still out of it).

It's a strange feeling. It mostly feels like a normal sore throat, but there's an extra bit of foreign-body sensation when I swallow.

That is probably the swelling you are feeling. It should go down fast. I had some trouble swallowing during the first 24

Oh my god, I just have to say WOOT that it's finally done. I seriously flew to Seoul with my thoughts mainly on the fact that I was still feeling a little sickness and expecting fully not to be able to have the surgery. I was already trying to plan when I would be able to come back in January or something.

But the day I flew in I totally got fully better and the next day (consultation) I was 100%. Now it's DONE and no more worries about that. Now I can start worrying about not messing it up, haha!

I want to THANK YOU all for the well-wishes and Abby and Jenny for all of the info and help. It's been an amazing journey so far. Start the countdown clock...1 month until I can have general conversation.

That's right, you made it! Now the easy part.. Just have to wait out the recovery!

So other than the sore throat, after that's gone is there any kind of weird sensation there, or is it just normal? Am I going to have this foreign sensation for the week or anything?

By the time you go home it'll be back to normal, but by day 3 it shouldn't be noticeable.

It's possible too that the endoscopic tube bruised your throat a little bit. I doubt it though- most likely just the raw feeling from that super small surgical area.

The wound heals in the first 2-3 days (be VERY kind to yourself about what you eat/drink as not to irritate it) and then you'll have a full strength heal at 7 days. After that, the permanent sutures don't really matter anymore and you are very well off on the road to a great recovery

I'm kind of nervous about sleeping tonight. It's so fresh and I'm nervous that I'll cough or something while I'm sleeping. Abby/Jenny, do you have any tips you may have learned to keep yourself from doing anything, especially in these first three days?

My tip is be weary of A/C. For me it dried out the air to the point where it gave me a tickle in the throat. Keep a huge jug of water next to your bed to make sure you never run out

You're going to be fine. If you cough in your sleep it's no big deal. It's the big whooping cough while conscious you have to look out for.

Congrats Sarah!
Wow - you made it and it went all well and you will soon be able to get your voice back. This is so amazing. I feel your excitement I think 😉 - sounds like things went really well. I gues snow its listening to Abby and Jenny for the tips and wait - and enjoy Seoul 🙂 - I am so happy for you. 🙂

Quote from: SarahR on November 12, 2013, 01:11:09 AM
I'm kind of nervous about sleeping tonight. It's so fresh and I'm nervous that I'll cough or something while I'm sleeping. Abby/Jenny, do you have any tips you may have learned to keep yourself from doing anything, especially in these first three days?

Yeah I agree with Jenny about the A/C - especially if your room was like mine where the AC unit is in the ceiling right near the bed! Water is a good idea - keep some by your bed and keep some with you at all times because it really helps when you feel like you have some phlegm in your throat.

Other than that I think the biggest key is to just relax and not worry about it too much. 🙂 I know that is way easier said than done but this first week is going to fly by and then you won't have to think about it so much.