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Another (Future) YESON Gal - Voice Feminization Surgery booked for 16th June

Started by Gigi_J, March 27, 2014, 02:45:30 PM

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Gigi_J

Quote from: MeganChristine on July 07, 2014, 11:26:51 AM
Haha, yep, me and my fellow countrymen from Ogdenville :P ;)) Frida from Abba. It's quite hilarious but I used to hate Abba, I guess it's the type of music that grows on you :p The voice quality == OMG!

You have a nåvegian fweeeend? Awesome :D Where does he/she live?

Strangely enough I didn't gag once - I think I was more focused on the fact that someone was pulling my tongue! :p Hahaha! Had to do it three times since the cam was little off skew on the second pass.

Hm, Maybe we all do have some sort of disorder on our vocal folds, since we all try to compensate in some way :D

I'll send an update tomorrow after the op :D


Big hugs!

-MegC

How's it going Meg!!? All gone OK? Thinking of u!

And my Norwegian friend lives here in Worcester...she's ace..a great drinking partner too!!
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MeganChristine

Quote from: Gigi_J on July 08, 2014, 07:49:34 AM
How's it going Meg!!? All gone OK? Thinking of u!

And my Norwegian friend lives here in Worcester...she's ace..a great drinking partner too!!

Hello hello hello :D

Everything is fine. :D 1/3 of the vocal fold tied off. The burning sensation to begin with was ANNOYING 2K14 + 12 Pro Deluxe, but the ice cream to care of that quite fast. it's no been 13 hours since the operation, and I don't feel any pain at all, just something that could remind of the end of a bad cold. Mucus production, mmmmm, seeexheeey. Scared there hell out of me when i unintentionally coughed up exactly that. Tried my best not to make any noise or anything, but the resistance was futile. I just hope nothing happened, I recon I would feel a great deal of pain if it did tear? o.O Oh great, WELCOME Anxiety!

Bought some more Ice creama to have in the freezer here, and the Aloe Vera-drink.. OMG! HEAVEN! I'm going hunting for that tomorrow :D Been sleeping throughout most of the postop recovery, so my sleep for tonight might be kind of bonked.

Hmmm... Worcester, Don't know of anyone living there, but I have a couple of friends living in London :D Sadly enough, I've just been to London. Haven't seen the other parts of England. o.O


Walking past all the coffee places here is hard now... :/ 2 months left before I can drink my poison again.

Big Hugs!

-MegC
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Gigi_J

Quote from: MeganChristine on July 08, 2014, 09:15:58 AM
Hello hello hello :D

Everything is fine. :D 1/3 of the vocal fold tied off. The burning sensation to begin with was ANNOYING 2K14 + 12 Pro Deluxe, but the ice cream to care of that quite fast. it's no been 13 hours since the operation, and I don't feel any pain at all, just something that could remind of the end of a bad cold. Mucus production, mmmmm, seeexheeey. Scared there hell out of me when i unintentionally coughed up exactly that. Tried my best not to make any noise or anything, but the resistance was futile. I just hope nothing happened, I recon I would feel a great deal of pain if it did tear? o.O Oh great, WELCOME Anxiety!

Bought some more Ice creama to have in the freezer here, and the Aloe Vera-drink.. OMG! HEAVEN! I'm going hunting for that tomorrow :D Been sleeping throughout most of the postop recovery, so my sleep for tonight might be kind of bonked.

Hmmm... Worcester, Don't know of anyone living there, but I have a couple of friends living in London :D Sadly enough, I've just been to London. Haven't seen the other parts of England. o.O


Walking past all the coffee places here is hard now... :/ 2 months left before I can drink my poison again.

Big Hugs!

-MegC

Yaaaay, great news...but omg, lazy Meg! Sleeping thru most of your bed-rest time...lucky you...I didn't get a wink...just kept scrolling the channels .. and pressing the buzzer for more ice cream of course! Glad it worked to numb your cruddy post-op pain too!!

And don't worry...I coughed once, as quick as lightening and involuntarily when I got back to the hotel few hours later...scary isnt it! But no, rest assured that unless there's searing pain (and probably blood!) no damage will have been done...straight from Jessie's mouth! So relaaaaaaaax...by all accounts it takes a LOT to mess it up and tear the stitches a part...a lot more than the odd, even strong cough....a scream for instance! Obviously be very careful and try your best to be perfect but when you realise that you can start relaxing a bit more!!

If you're on facebook private message me and we'll add each other if u want...then if you ever want to see more of England other than London (and don't worry..most Londoners don't think there's an England beyond London..how wrong they are!! ;p) come over! I have an ulterior motive in being so nice...and that is that I'd love to see Norway too of course ;) My Norwegian friend hasn't been back in a few years.

Rest up then now..and relaaaaaaax...and let me know how the Aloe drink goes down...mmmm...I'm sipping one right now!

Hug,

Gigi
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Gigi_J

P.s. Were you in Room 3 in the end? You didn't say!!

And I hear you about the coffee - I was gagging for it in Seoul but after the first couple of weeks, I stopped craving it ... now I actually feel a lot more energised than I used to be, even after the caffeine boost..and having read some articles about quitting caffeine completely, i think I may well stay off it long-term now....never thought I'd say that!
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Livvykins

Quote from: Gigi_J on July 08, 2014, 10:18:40 AM
P.s. Were you in Room 3 in the end? You didn't say!!

And I hear you about the coffee - I was gagging for it in Seoul but after the first couple of weeks, I stopped craving it ... now I actually feel a lot more energised than I used to be, even after the caffeine boost..and having read some articles about quitting caffeine completely, i think I may well stay off it long-term now....never thought I'd say that!

Me too!  I'd have killed for Starbucks frappuccino with caramel squiggles! It was SO hot out there

I had my VFS 13 days ago... not sure what room it was but it was directly at the end of the corridor. Had a nice sofa for my partner to chill on :) 

I said 3 words on day 11 and recorded it into Praat and was fairly shocked to see that my average frequency had risen from 143 to 231hz! WTF? Is that even possible? But I had a tiny sneeze this morning and some sort of clot came up... I'm really worried about it. So scared I've damaged something.  My wife pointed out that because mine bled a little it could have come from my lungs and not the op site... fingers crossed!!! These post-op two months are really bloody stressful, nearly as bad as the fear of catching a cold pre-op!
You can only lie about who you are for so long without going crazy

Full time: Early 2013
HRT: 10/06/2012 Richard Curtis - London
FFS: 05/04/2013 FacialTeam - Marbella
FFS2: 03/02/2015 FacialTeam - Marbella
GCS: 08/04/2014 Dr Phil Thomas - Brighton
VFS: 25/06/2014 Yeson - Seoul Korea
BA/FFS3: 18/04/2016 Ocean Clinic - Marbella
  •  

Gigi_J

Quote from: Livvykins on July 08, 2014, 11:14:44 AM
Me too!  I'd have killed for Starbucks frappuccino with caramel squiggles! It was SO hot out there

I had my VFS 13 days ago... not sure what room it was but it was directly at the end of the corridor. Had a nice sofa for my partner to chill on :) 

I said 3 words on day 11 and recorded it into Praat and was fairly shocked to see that my average frequency had risen from 143 to 231hz! WTF? Is that even possible? But I had a tiny sneeze this morning and some sort of clot came up... I'm really worried about it. So scared I've damaged something.  My wife pointed out that because mine bled a little it could have come from my lungs and not the op site... fingers crossed!!! These post-op two months are really bloody stressful, nearly as bad as the fear of catching a cold pre-op!

Urgh I can imagine...I flew out of South Korea on 21st June and so glad I did...the weather the last 2 days was getting unbearably hot and stuffy!

Congrats on your surgery and great result on your average frequency! Defo a good start and will hopefully lead to a great recovery.

Awww really sorrry to hear about the strange clot that came up when you sneezed...that's very odd so ask jessie just to be sure and see if she has any ideas. Unless you had any pain though I guarantee you you're worrying over nothing...at this point the vocal folds will have healed very firmly over the permanent sutures so surely the pain would be all the worse if anything had happened so you'll be fine!
Tell me about it....the stress and general up and down emotions in anticipation of getting the result we want. The 20th July (my general conversation state date) can't come soon enough so I can start experimenting lots more and really starting to get a hang of it all and getting over the odd paranoid feeling that maybe I'm just not meant to have a beautiful floating angel voice! ;p

If you heard my voice clips above btw, feel free to gimme your thoughts if you like. I realise I said more than the '2 to 3 words' recommended to record them but only a few more and was super gentle.

As for the catching the cold beforehand leading to the op being cancelled, omg, remember the stress well! Luckily my obsessive daily doses of echinacea may have helped...it's miraculous that stuff...even if the affect is placebo to an extent it's always seemed to keep my immune system strong when I've needed it!
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Livvykins

Quote from: Gigi_J on July 08, 2014, 02:15:29 PM
Urgh I can imagine...I flew out of South Korea on 21st June and so glad I did...the weather the last 2 days was getting unbearably hot and stuffy!

Congrats on your surgery and great result on your average frequency! Defo a good start and will hopefully lead to a great recovery.

Awww really sorrry to hear about the strange clot that came up when you sneezed...that's very odd so ask jessie just to be sure and see if she has any ideas. Unless you had any pain though I guarantee you you're worrying over nothing...at this point the vocal folds will have healed very firmly over the permanent sutures so surely the pain would be all the worse if anything had happened so you'll be fine!
Tell me about it....the stress and general up and down emotions in anticipation of getting the result we want. The 20th July (my general conversation state date) can't come soon enough so I can start experimenting lots more and really starting to get a hang of it all and getting over the odd paranoid feeling that maybe I'm just not meant to have a beautiful floating angel voice! ;p

If you heard my voice clips above btw, feel free to gimme your thoughts if you like. I realise I said more than the '2 to 3 words' recommended to record them but only a few more and was super gentle.

As for the catching the cold beforehand leading to the op being cancelled, omg, remember the stress well! Luckily my obsessive daily doses of echinacea may have helped...it's miraculous that stuff...even if the affect is placebo to an extent it's always seemed to keep my immune system strong when I've needed it!

OMG it was SO hot and stuffy, but I absolutely loved Seoul!  I had to buy a new case to bring back all the cosmetics I bought! The palaces and stuff were nice as well... (priorities though!) Did you buy many clothes out there?  I was expecting too but didn't at all.  Although I got some nice bits in 'Doota!' such a cool store.

Gratuitous Seoul shopping photo...



I emailed Jessie and she didn't sound all that worried, but said if I pop to an ENT here and get a picture that they would have a good look. There's been no pain so I think I'll give it a week or so before thinking about an ENT and see what happens

I did another short (but slightly longer) voice recording last night and it came out at around 211hz which seems a lot more reasonable.  It could because the first one was so short that the average was higher...

I listened to your voice clips and thought you sounded amazing, for such a short space of time as well! You must be really pleased!  I might post the one I did last night on here later, although I hate the sound of my own voice and I wasn't making any resonance effort... I just wanted to hear the natural pitch it came out at.  Question... do you find that when you talk it's like your brain hasn't caught up and it try's to use a lower register that's not available any more so you have to adjust how you're using your voice?

Ok, I know it's gross but no one else is posting post-op pics, so I'm going to as I think it's proper clever! I'm sure everyone's look very similar but here is mine :)



Haha, I know what you mean... I was taking every immune boosting supplement out there, and this horrible 'First Defence' stuff that's disgusting but is meant to protect you from germs... I was a bit snuffly on the plane flying out and pretty much had a panic attack!

I just realised that we'd have been in Seoul at the same time! I arrive on the 21st June, had my pre-op on the 23rd, op on the 25th, post-op consult on the 1st.

-Livvy x
You can only lie about who you are for so long without going crazy

Full time: Early 2013
HRT: 10/06/2012 Richard Curtis - London
FFS: 05/04/2013 FacialTeam - Marbella
FFS2: 03/02/2015 FacialTeam - Marbella
GCS: 08/04/2014 Dr Phil Thomas - Brighton
VFS: 25/06/2014 Yeson - Seoul Korea
BA/FFS3: 18/04/2016 Ocean Clinic - Marbella
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anjaq

Livvy - 211 Hz sounds good :P - I guess I would be fine even with less LOL - I am almost as scared as going too high in pitch as going too low ;) - Weird, isn't it. Most girls here would rather have it higher than not but I know one woman who had a VFS some years ago and I found it off beack then as she was big and then had this tiny voice to go with it ;)
I sure hope you will not hate your voice anymore though :o - should that not get all better now?

I totally would like to know the answer to
QuoteQuestion... do you find that when you talk it's like your brain hasn't caught up and it try's to use a lower register that's not available any more so you have to adjust how you're using your voice?
as well! :)

Congrats Meghan for getting past the hospital day :)

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Livvykins

Quote from: anjaq on July 09, 2014, 10:26:06 AM
Livvy - 211 Hz sounds good :P - I guess I would be fine even with less LOL - I am almost as scared as going too high in pitch as going too low ;) - Weird, isn't it. Most girls here would rather have it higher than not but I know one woman who had a VFS some years ago and I found it off beack then as she was big and then had this tiny voice to go with it ;)
I sure hope you will not hate your voice anymore though :o - should that not get all better now?

Hey! Yeah I'd certainly be happy with that.  My starting was 143, so with an average increase of 75hz (which would put me at 218) it's certainly not bad at all for such a short space of time... I'm trying to be relaxed about it all though, it's so early days that although it's a good indicator it might not end up like that at all... I have no idea

I'm quite small around 5'6 so a higher voice suits I think... I'd be very happy for my voice just to pass, anything else would be a bonus!  Also... I really want to still be able to sing properly!  I think the problem with me is that if I can hear my old self in my voice, I won't be convinced I sound fem... Just the same that I've never been convinced I look female because I can still elements of how I was in the mirror.  It's probably crazy... I've started having NLP to help myself deal with the dysmorphia.
You can only lie about who you are for so long without going crazy

Full time: Early 2013
HRT: 10/06/2012 Richard Curtis - London
FFS: 05/04/2013 FacialTeam - Marbella
FFS2: 03/02/2015 FacialTeam - Marbella
GCS: 08/04/2014 Dr Phil Thomas - Brighton
VFS: 25/06/2014 Yeson - Seoul Korea
BA/FFS3: 18/04/2016 Ocean Clinic - Marbella
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anjaq

I envy everyone starting at 140. I originally have 110 although I rarely slip that deep anymore. . I am 5'8, so not that tiny and especially I am big. I really owuld love to sing, but nowadays I do not really dare to. I totally get the issue about hearing the old elements and seeing them. I was hoping VFS would be good in getting that better. FFS supposedly helps with the visual issues as well. But I think some elements will stay. Maybe some psychological help would really be beneficial. My voice really is a problem, so I knwo that, but everyone tells me my face is good and I dont see it. But NLP sounds scary

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Livvykins

Quote from: anjaq on July 09, 2014, 02:01:25 PM
I envy everyone starting at 140. I originally have 110 although I rarely slip that deep anymore. . I am 5'8, so not that tiny and especially I am big. I really owuld love to sing, but nowadays I do not really dare to. I totally get the issue about hearing the old elements and seeing them. I was hoping VFS would be good in getting that better. FFS supposedly helps with the visual issues as well. But I think some elements will stay. Maybe some psychological help would really be beneficial. My voice really is a problem, so I knwo that, but everyone tells me my face is good and I dont see it. But NLP sounds scary

Honestly NLP is amazing and not scary at all (considering all the other things we go through), and so so much more powerful than standard psychological help... I had some along with a bit of CBT in my early 20's for anxiety, was very effective!

FFS can help SO much, but like VFS the results aren't instant... We're told they're not instant, we except pre-op that they're not instant, we tell the surgeon we totally understand that it won't be instant... but the second we've had the surgery we're like AGHH OMG there's no difference!!! And when the changes do come, they're so slow that we just don't notice them and your brain doesn't see or hear (in the case of VFS) the changes. We're a bit of a nightmare aren't we... ;)  I'd hate to be a surgeon (although the salary would be nice!) FFS made a huge difference to me but it took a year before the swelling had gone down. I'm so hopeful that VFS will make as big a difference, it certainly has the potential to. My confidence and self-esteem suffer so much because of my voice, so fingers crossed!!

You can only lie about who you are for so long without going crazy

Full time: Early 2013
HRT: 10/06/2012 Richard Curtis - London
FFS: 05/04/2013 FacialTeam - Marbella
FFS2: 03/02/2015 FacialTeam - Marbella
GCS: 08/04/2014 Dr Phil Thomas - Brighton
VFS: 25/06/2014 Yeson - Seoul Korea
BA/FFS3: 18/04/2016 Ocean Clinic - Marbella
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AmyBerlin

Hi Anja,

Quote from: anjaq on July 09, 2014, 10:26:06 AM
I totally would like to know the answer to
Question... do you find that when you talk it's like your brain hasn't caught up and it try's to use a lower register that's not available any more so you have to adjust how you're using your voice?
as well! :)

The answer is a shocking YES. Especially with singing, which I've started again. The treble range is now almost back to pre-op levels, and the lower end cuts off at a very soft C3.

It's so ingrained in me to take it easy on the volume if I venture below G3, and not to sing below D3 at all, that I sometimes still sing deliberately soft down there, and all that comes out is barely above a whisper, when indeed I should have sung at medium volume in order to make the phrase come out right.

Another one of the tricks my mind is playing on me is that I still unconsciously raise my voice when talking and the words are at a silly high pitch then. Of course, I hear it and relax. But it's still happening, 3 months post.

Greetings,

Amy
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Gigi_J

Sorry for the delay Livvy!

Ewww groooooss! ;p just kidding....your vocal chords look veeeery neat in those pics. Because my schedule was a little different to the norm and I had my post-op checkup on day 5 post op, all 4 of my photos were all the same...relaxed open position, tut..because it was too early for me to make any sounds during the examination but hey ho.

Yes I know....you arrived on the day I left...shame! U look so pleased with yourself in that pic with the bags, cute! I did a little shopping here and there but no clothes....just the odd piece of jewellery and...Soju! ;p For when I'm allowed to drink again of course. Spent most of my time (with my mother!) exploring and, like you, was so impressed by the various palaces and absolutely loved the sereneness of Hanok Village...and the cable car up to the Namsan tower and the amazing views over Seoul (that's when you really appreciate how enormous the city is), among many other things.

One thing I was very happy about was my choice of Hotel...the Fraser Place Central Seoul...we had a 1-bedroom deluxe suite and it was enormous with 2 (!) bathrooms, separate lounge and kitchen and I requested a high-floor and the view from the floor to ceiling windows (one in the bedroom..one in the lounge/kitchen) was incredible...it was the perfect self-catered place in its own right and yet still felt like a hotel with a restaurant, games room, roof-top terrace, swimming pool, full room service etc etc...loved the area being so close to City Hall Metro and best of all, the price was great so I'd recommend it to anyone.

I was talking with super cool Norwegian gal Meg (who has been posting in this thread just a couple of days ago and has just had her op) about how happy I was to be in Jung-gu...loved spending some time exploring Gangnam but I found it very full-on and at times a bit claustrophobic so Jung-gu and north of the river in general definitely turned out to be more my kind of place and that's where we spent most of our time.

Quote from: Livvykins on July 09, 2014, 03:19:37 AM
I listened to your voice clips and thought you sounded amazing, for such a short space of time as well! You must be really pleased!  I might post the one I did last night on here later, although I hate the sound of my own voice and I wasn't making any resonance effort... I just wanted to hear the natural pitch it came out at.  Question... do you find that when you talk it's like your brain hasn't caught up and it try's to use a lower register that's not available any more so you have to adjust how you're using your voice?

Thanks for the comments on my clips so far - still anxiously awaiting my general convo start date so I can really get a feel for things. Like you, I'll probably worry lots expecting miracles immediately but like everything, patience will no doubt be key in the coming months. I met one girl, Joanna (who has also posted in this thread if you look back) in Seoul who had had her operation about a week before me...amazing girl and we stay in contact via email at the moment. (In case you're reading this, I hope you don't mind me saying Joanna!) She has started her general conversation and if she speaks in her relaxed voice she says the pitch is still the same as her pre-op but she sounds very confident and hopeful that results will start to happen soon and I'm sure she's right...Dr. Kim reiterates after all that many people don't experience any pitch increase until a couple of months post-op.

As for when I talk...if I say a few words and try to not talk in a lighter head or mixed voice, I am actually able to sink quite low to almost pre-op levels. I can feel in my throat that this is lower than it ideally wants to be but those lower pitches are definitely still available to me. Are you saying you've tried to say a few words at a lower pitch and they're just not available to you at all? I'd say that's likely great news and that you're recovery will be a quick one but I find this issue a bit confusing. Some girls on here have stated like you that these lower pitches aren't available very early in recovery and then this lower range (along with their higher range) extends as time goes on. And yet a couple of other girls have confirmed they had almost pre-op ability when it came to lower pitches and that this raised (i.e. the lower range progressively went up) as recovery went on. So this difference in recovery isn't something I fully understand but oh well...fingers crossed both mean an equally good recovery!

Gigi

Here's a shot I got of me and gorgeous Jessie on the day of my post-op checkup!


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Gigi_J

Quote from: AmyBerlin on July 09, 2014, 02:46:11 PM
Hi Anja,

The answer is a shocking YES. Especially with singing, which I've started again. The treble range is now almost back to pre-op levels, and the lower end cuts off at a very soft C3.

It's so ingrained in me to take it easy on the volume if I venture below G3, and not to sing below D3 at all, that I sometimes still sing deliberately soft down there, and all that comes out is barely above a whisper, when indeed I should have sung at medium volume in order to make the phrase come out right.

Another one of the tricks my mind is playing on me is that I still unconsciously raise my voice when talking and the words are at a silly high pitch then. Of course, I hear it and relax. But it's still happening, 3 months post.

Greetings,

Amy

Hi Amy,

Amazed time has flown and you're 3 months post-op already...I've heard your voice clips and your 2 month review and you're sounding great.

Just spotted your post actually - can I ask: I notice you said in one of your previous posts on another thread that immediately post-op you could still get considerably low on the scale, to almost pre-op levels, I seem to remember. Yet you say above that that you're now almost back to preop levels and can reach down to a C3 (which is around 130hz). Could you please tell me about this when you have a minute? It might really help to put my mind at ease as to what is normal in terms of our lower range and how this progresses with recovery.
With the limited test I've done to not strain anything, I was still able to get as low as 100hz (although that was more than a week ago) and haven't tested my lower range with a few words since as I want to await my general convo date.

Many thanks!
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anjaq

Did you compare your lowest voice pre op with the lowest sounds post op?
IIRC Amy was about as low pre op in the lower possible range (not normal speaking range, but really trying to go as low as possible) at around 80 Hz - 130 Hz means a 50 Hz increase in the lower limit, which is good I think (she had only a 2 suture surgery). So you have to compare these absolut elowest notes with each other. I think it is perfectly normal to reach your previous old speaking range if you really try to go as low as you can, as the lower limit usually is still way below that

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Gigi_J

Hey Anjaq,

I'll test properly when I get to my general convo date but, like I said, the last time I gently swept down at super low volume (a week ago), I could go down to around 100hz. Pre-op the absolute bottom I could get to was around 80hz approx (I forget the exact note).

I forget Amy's post where she describes the lowest note she could get to very early in her recovery but seem to remeember her saying it was very close to her pre-op bottom end. I'd love to hear Amy, if you're reading, I can't find that post of yours now :/

I also remember reading in someone's thread that Jenny was able to bottom out at around the 130hz range after some post-op recovery time but think in her case her bottom end was a lot higher earlier on in recovery. This is why I'm unsure about this issue - for some the bottom ends starts higher and extends lower with more recovery. For others, it starts super low similar to pre-op and goes higher with more recovery.

Now if I were to end up being able to bottom out at around 130hz, I'll be very happy. I just didn't like that I could still reach as low as 100hz at all. To me that still means I can reach very low masculine levels...maybe a psychological thing but it scares me! I hope I'm being a paranoid stress-head and with any luck when my general convo date starts, perhaps my bottom range won't be as low...who knows....totally guessing as this is an issue I know very little about so would love to hear other people's experiences if poss.

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AmyBerlin

Dear Gigi,

I just saw this, so I'd like to answer your questions:

Quote from: Gigi_J on July 12, 2014, 08:58:50 AM
I notice you said in one of your previous posts on another thread that immediately post-op you could still get considerably low on the scale, to almost pre-op levels, I seem to remember. Yet you say above that that you're now almost back to preop levels and can reach down to a C3 (which is around 130hz).

Post-surgery, I never was able to reach down to pre-op levels on the low end: pre-op, my bottom note on a normal day was E2 (82.4 Hz). Post-op, my lowest note on the worst of days was a Bb2 (116.5 Hz, a diminished fifth higher), and on a normal day, it is a C3 (130.8 Hz). So in terms of lowest possible note, I've had about a 50 Hz increase.

In terms of speaking pitch, or F0, I went from around 150 Hz (old male voice)/180 Hz (trained voice) to 209 Hz, which constitutes a 60/30 Hz increase. Mind you, I've only had a 2-suture surgery, so more is to be expected if you received 3 sutures.

What I said was "almost back to preop levels" was my high register. Preop, the transition point to falsetto was around E4 (330 Hz). I used to be able to reach up to B4 (494 Hz) in falsetto and extend this to G#5 (831 Hz) with flageolet aka whistle register. Nowadays, there is no real break in the voice and modal voice extends from the C3 up to E5 (660 Hz), but this range is nowhere near final, it still keeps extending at the top. I haven't been able to reach into flageolet post-operatively. It just doesn't speak yet or maybe it works differently now and I'm doing it wrong. My voice teacher tells me not to worry about it and concentrate on working on the part of my voice that does speak easily.

A bit of vocal advice: Gigi, please don't strain testing your low end. Extremely loud low notes are more stressful for the voice than trying loud high notes.

Regards,

Amy

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Gigi_J

Quote from: AmyBerlin on July 15, 2014, 01:54:03 AM
Dear Gigi,

I just saw this, so I'd like to answer your questions:

Post-surgery, I never was able to reach down to pre-op levels on the low end: pre-op, my bottom note on a normal day was E2 (82.4 Hz). Post-op, my lowest note on the worst of days was a Bb2 (116.5 Hz, a diminished fifth higher), and on a normal day, it is a C3 (130.8 Hz). So in terms of lowest possible note, I've had about a 50 Hz increase.

In terms of speaking pitch, or F0, I went from around 150 Hz (old male voice)/180 Hz (trained voice) to 209 Hz, which constitutes a 60/30 Hz increase. Mind you, I've only had a 2-suture surgery, so more is to be expected if you received 3 sutures.

What I said was "almost back to preop levels" was my high register. Preop, the transition point to falsetto was around E4 (330 Hz). I used to be able to reach up to B4 (494 Hz) in falsetto and extend this to G#5 (831 Hz) with flageolet aka whistle register. Nowadays, there is no real break in the voice and modal voice extends from the C3 up to E5 (660 Hz), but this range is nowhere near final, it still keeps extending at the top. I haven't been able to reach into flageolet post-operatively. It just doesn't speak yet or maybe it works differently now and I'm doing it wrong. My voice teacher tells me not to worry about it and concentrate on working on the part of my voice that does speak easily.

A bit of vocal advice: Gigi, please don't strain testing your low end. Extremely loud low notes are more stressful for the voice than trying loud high notes.

Regards,

Amy

Hi Amy!

Thank you so much for clarifying that...invaluable information about where you say you noted your breaks and how you modal voice extends so much further up now you're post op too. It'll be very useful information for when I start experimenting from next Monday, my general convo date. Glad we have a musical genius in here that can help us get to grips with more technical aspects!

And don't worry. I did my lower range test extremely gently - at a whisper practically because that's the only volume i could get out at that low pitch - and that was on about day 16 post-op. I probably shouldn't have done that anyway as it's still very early (and I'm an impatient worrier) and the vocal folds are obviously likely to still be at their most swollen, which I suppose, may allow them to make lower frequency notes more easily (due to being thicker).
Interestingly I did a very quick and gentle tone down to my lower range today and it's now 116hz the lowest I can go so hopefully that's a positive sign!

I really am so impressed with how my voice is starting to take shape day by day - and will update on Monday, hopefully with a recording, when I start general conversation.

Thanks again...really appreciate the help!! Tschuuuuus ;p (ich hab Deutsch in der Schule gelernt...es ist schon eine lange Zeit seit ich sprach...manchmal muss ich mein Wörterbuch!! Aber ich liebe Deutschland und Deutsch zu reden!)

G
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Livvykins

Hey Gigi!

Hope you are well and your voice is recovering?

I'm finally allowed to talk and have certainly been taking advantage of it!

I recorded a quick one month video for Jessie yesterday... I was very hoarse and had no vocal stamina as I'd been talking on and off all day, which is probably why it starts off well and gets worse by the end.  I really should have recorded it first thing when my voice was rested... I thought I'd share it here anyway though :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ4UE27Xsj4&index=1&list=UUoVY86enVDAqxSscn5ro8Rw

Hopefully my month two recording will be less hoarse!

Liv x
You can only lie about who you are for so long without going crazy

Full time: Early 2013
HRT: 10/06/2012 Richard Curtis - London
FFS: 05/04/2013 FacialTeam - Marbella
FFS2: 03/02/2015 FacialTeam - Marbella
GCS: 08/04/2014 Dr Phil Thomas - Brighton
VFS: 25/06/2014 Yeson - Seoul Korea
BA/FFS3: 18/04/2016 Ocean Clinic - Marbella
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barbie

Quote from: Livvykins on July 28, 2014, 09:01:02 AM
Hey Gigi!

Hope you are well and your voice is recovering?

I'm finally allowed to talk and have certainly been taking advantage of it!

I recorded a quick one month video for Jessie yesterday... I was very hoarse and had no vocal stamina as I'd been talking on and off all day, which is probably why it starts off well and gets worse by the end.  I really should have recorded it first thing when my voice was rested... I thought I'd share it here anyway though :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ4UE27Xsj4&index=1&list=UUoVY86enVDAqxSscn5ro8Rw

Hopefully my month two recording will be less hoarse!

Liv x

Yes. A little bit hoarse, but definitely feminine voice. In 2-3 months, it certainly will be more natural and feminine.

barbie~~
Just do it.
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