I couldn't have done it without y'all! Thank you! Wanna friend me on Facebook? I think I have a link in my profile...

Well I woke up today and it didn't seem to bulge out, so it might just be my head playing tricks on me. Thanks for the comforting words.

First less than desirable view of Haben. That's a decent track record vs the accepted rate of only 30‰ good outcomes for vfs. One out of six? One out of seven? That's pretty good odds of a good result...

Dr. Haben asked me to send a version of my new "placed" voice, as he referred to it.  I don't know if he'll be running the analysis on this version or not.  I figured I'd share it since I had it.  This is fifteen weeks post-op.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1mwDicG4nC8

I see my speech therapist next week.  I'll run this method by her for her opinion.   I asked Dr. Haben if there's anything he could do to permanently simulate the contract that I'm doing between the hyoid bone and the larynx.  As I suspected, he said that there was no way to currently alter that distance without adversely affecting my ability to swallow.  There are a crazy amount of muscle layered and wrapped around between the larynx and the hyroid!  I'm feeling good with using the placed version.  My throat muscles and voice don't get nearly as strained by the end of the day as they used to.

I get hear the hum at about 190 Hz The voice sound warm and feminine and that's about where my relaxed voice falls. I had very little trouble duplicating that pitch to measure it as I could hear the beat frequencies between my voice and your which told me I had the match pretty close. It will be interesting to see what the telephone test produces in the way of results. Mine breaks up so fast that I can't give the telephone test a good try yet.

How did Dr Haben know that you were working on the new voice?

Hi Cadence!

My natural speaking voice is somewhere near 90hz and I have a prominent apple--so the CTA is probably my best bet to take care of non-passing voice and male appearance at the same time.

I really do like the results of your voice, you do sound great
I was wondering how you felt about your singing--have you tried it? I like to do karaoke, I'm by no means a good singer anyway, but if I were to go with Dr. Haben, I wonder what "range" is still possible and what insights you might have on singing, or the sound of your voice other than normal speech, like humming for instance.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences; it's very helpful!

Audree

audreelyn: you might want to look at my thread as I had much the same starting point you have. The surgery is pretty much limited to 85 Hz but you might get a little more depending on other factors. I needed a 120-130 Hz push and to get me near this voice sample a 100 Hz push. My thread is pretty cluttered up so if you want, just skip to the last post with the voice sample and read that.
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,192393.0.html

Edit: the triple isn't recommended if you want to sing

Thanks I just took a look! Also, for you and Cadence, I hope you both continue to recover and get strong I imagine it's really difficult before it gets better. Waiting can be so tough. But you both are very inspiring, so glad to be among helpful ladies.


AAnnnddd, Cadence, the clip where you're holding your larynx is really "boss"! I think after you're fully healed, you'll definitely pass the phone test beyond a doubt! I just hope that I get a result as good as yours.

Cadence, you sound really feminine now. I just had the triple with Dr. Haben 4 days ago, and I hope I can have results similar to yours! Just wondering if you can post a pic of your scar? Is it healing nicely and fading a bit?

Thanks! I hope you have great results too! Haben has had a huge influx of patients this summer and fall! Will we get to hear your before and after?

My scar is doing great! Keep in mind that I am fair-skinned and my skin shows EVERYTHING. Including blood vessels (thank you, E lol).

Thank you Cadence for the photo! One of the reasons I decided to go with Dr. Haben was because of your experience! That scar is much shorter than I anticipated,  I thought it'd be much longer than that, what a relief!

And yes Cadence, I'll definitely post before and after sound clips. I'm just a bit anxious about the recovery because I coughed more than a few times already.

It's on a fold too, so eventually it will blend in, once the pigmentation vanishes. I've been using silicone scar treatment on it since a little bit after the stitches were removed. I've used a couple different products. A silicon scar stick and silicon gel, both from Amazon. The scar stick was most convenient, but it got weird and fell apart near the end of it. It lasted me about two months. And, of course, if it's a sunny day, I put Burts bees spf 70 sunblock on it, the the scar gel.

Don't worry about little coughs. Big one's, like, dry heaving, would probably be an issue. Lol Only worry about what you can control. Same advice Haben gave me. FYI : I actually talked a little on the second day. It was weird. I left my cords relaxedm and simply breathed out kind hard from my stomach and formed words with my mouth. I said very little... It was when my bff missed our exit. Lol But still, it's an example of a slight bending of the rules and I turned out fine.

Hi Cadence Jean:

I got your PM and do not have the posts to return so I sent to your youtube thing. Check your mail and it should show up from ach....

Anyway, the last voice clip you did was very  nice. I am very happy for you an d the others that go with Dr habit. It s really nice to have a very good option here in the states.

Be safe and enjoy all life has to offer. (also check your mail...(;->)
Elaine

Cadence Jean:

Hello again. There is a link to a youtube channel beneath your pix here that dates back at least 2 years. I tried, unsuccessfully apparently, to send you a private note there responding to your questions in your PM that you sent me on 6,Sept,15. The response was rather lengthy and I didn't save a copy of it. Drat PM being linked to post count!!!

Your Facebook link doesn't connect to your page and I tried entering your name given here and didn't find a good match.

I didn't want to post some of my thoughts and experiences here for trying to be somewhat discreet and they don't pertain directly to your post. I hate clogging up a thread with, stuff...

Anyway, hope you are well. Be safe and enjoy all life has to offer.
Elaine

Oh, I did get your email, Elaine! Thank you got the info and sharing your experiences.

Cadence Jean:

You are welcome. I had to go back and make sure it got sent...

Be safe and email if you want
Elaine

Hi all!  Just a quick update: Dr. Haben ran a voice analysis on my "placed" voice (as he refers to my trained voice).  Here is his conclusion:

"I finally had the chance to do the voice analysis.  Interestingly, it only went up one semi-tone!  From about 175 hertz to 185 hertz (see the graph).  Either way, you are on the lower end of the female range and that is why you are not misgendered.  Great results!  Let me know if you have any questions."

Yaaaaaay!  Lower end of the female range, right where I wanted it!!! ^_^  If anyone wants to see the graph he mentions, I would be happy to post.  Just let me know.

Cadence Jean:

I was wondering if you have a recent recordings of your voice and also pix of the CTA incision. A CTA is a definite possibility for me this time when I go back to Dr Haben in December, so much so that it is what I expect when I see him again. I am hoping to get more long term input on the satisfaction with the result, both voice wise and appearance wise with the neck incision healing.

Your voice clips sound very good and a sense of being much "more at home" and relaxed with your new instrument.

BTW, thank you so much for your comprehensive write up of your VFS experience. It's posts like these that add a very valuable reference point for others considering VFS.

Thanks again in advance and my best wishes to you.
Elaine

Yes, I certainly like this voice better than my old one(s)!  It feels more me.  I've always found it strange to hear myself over electronic methods, so I still think my voice sounds "odd" - but at least now it doesn't sound decidedly "dude".  I wouldn't say, for myself, it sounds decidedly "lady" either.  It's kinda andro to myself, which is fine by me.  Others tell me it's decidedly female and I keep getting ma'am'ed on the phone and drive thru, so I've certainly achieved my goals!!!  It's also much easier to "maintain"...really - there isn't any maintenance. lol  I still place my voice to a degree, but it's become second nature and super easy.  I have anxiety over my voice as like...an after thought now, and only once in a while.  Before, it was pretty dang close to constant when I was speaking to people.  So nice to have that burden lifted.  I can't express it!!  What a confidence booster.

Here are the most recent pics.  I showed one up close, but the up close made it look more ghastly than it really is.  So I included a couple from arms length so you can see the scar compared to the rest of my face/chest.  I'm still putting ScarAway on it, and it seems to be reducing slowly...







And here's the latest for my voice:

http://vocaroo.com/i/s14HMfqqtzKg