Hi all,

I'm so excited! I've booked a surgery date with Dr. Haben. I'm going to have the glottoplasty and tracheal shave for sure, but if the doc thinks I need it, I'll have the CTA as well. My endo claims I already sound feminine, but I think he's just being nice. My family is understandably worried about any surgery, but this is something I've been waiting for since before I started my transition.

I'd like to thank everyone here for posting their results and experiences with Dr. Haben. Big hugs. It helped so much to know more about what it's like. Before seeing the posts here I was scared that any place other than Yesson was a mistake and my voice would be ruined. Now I know better. I remember some website for a doctor here in the states that had samples and they sounded so alien and strange, or hadn't changed much at all, that I was convinced that it wasn't going to be worth it. I think most of the samples were patients that had complications with a prior procedure, but it still worried me.

I think I've got most of the prosody down. I never really trained my voice, but I do speak with my "head" voice now, I think, and it's pretty comfortable to do without much effort. I just know that it's still too low to be feminine and that is my problem with it. I will try to post a before recording at some point in the next week or so. I will also keep this thread updated with any news and of course my after recording. I plan on resting my voice for two weeks after surgery instead of the eight days required. Just to give myself a bit more healing time before first use.

Wish me luck!

P.S. My name is Evelyn now. I chose Kristen hastily and after a lot of thought settled on Evelyn.


~Evelyn

Evelyn is a very pretty name, great choice. Good luck with your surgery.  I will very interested to hear about your progress post surgery.  I know I will need to explore the same path.
Jess

Jessi

Good luck with your surgery!

Even thought I am %#^#^ healing at three months, I am very happy with Dr Haben's work. The healing problem is just my body and most people recover far faster. As of the family being nervous. My mother was. Both the danger of surgery and the fear I would sound like mini mouse. I knew the mini mouse thing couldn't happen but I was a bit nervous about the danger. The only issue I had after surgery was I had a little trouble peeing but that quickly cleared up and shortly after surgery I could outpace the nurses when I was earning my blue gown.

As for the doctor with the strange voices, I found that site first and if that was the best I could do for voice surgery, I wouldn't have had it. I found Susan's looking for another option and then I discovered Dr Haben's work.

You'll be in good hands! I have no regrets.

I will have one day to spend in Rochester. Anyone know of anything fun to occupy my time?


~Evelyn

Niagara Falls? I would have liked to visit them but I didn't have the time.

I went to the Marketplace Mall & Eastview Mall. I really wanted to go to George Eastman Museum, but didn't get the chance to.

Quote from: Dena on October 17, 2015, 05:57:35 PM
Niagara Falls? I would have liked to visit them but I didn't have the time.

This! About the only thing worth seeing in the Rochester area according to a taxi driver I met. It's about 1.5 hours away from Rochester, though.

We will have about 7 days post-op in early to mid December to spend doing??? Perhaps a visit to Niagara Falls for a couple nights, likely visit Pa for a day or so, then??? I know can't do it due to the surgery but I'd be all over going skiing in Vermont or even a few of my old haunts in western and northern NY state. Exercise will have to be curtailed for a month or so and only then rebooted at a slower pace to ensure the best possible outcome.

I would love to hear of other ideas and suggestions from others. 

Next year I will be looking for a ski camp to get tuned up again for some gate running again. I do miss skiing so. Florida is nice, my wife would never leave, but we are seriously considering on doing the reverse snowbird thing so I can get my winter fix. The fall/winter and a bit of spring can be really bad with an influx of a certain type of boorish tourists.

Congrats, Evelyn! I'm still loving my results. I have not been misgendered once, even while healing, after my surgery. Also, my scar is becoming less and less noticeable. I have had to point it out to some people because they didn't notice it at first. One person thought it was simply irritation from my necklace. Lol I'm fair skinned too. Haben has insanely smart hands. Lol

If you like avant garde art, there is a very cool warehouse that houses all manner of local art. I really wish I could remember the name of it, lol I'm sure searching it on Google (art warehouse rochester) will get you the name. Best wishes!

Thanks! I'm actually getting really nervous/excited about it. I leave Monday the 16th! I really need to make a before recording. Anyone know what free software there is to analyze pitch? I see videos and stuff all the time with a graph thing in it.


~Evelyn

Praat documented in the post at the top of the voice thread will more than do the job. I haven't felt the need to use it yet as I only need the tools that run on my iPhone but Praat is far better to analyze a voice with.

Here is my before recording! Pratt shows it to be between 130Hz and 200Hz (if I'm reading it right anyway).

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1NxcyOOKVoA

Hopefully I can get the pitch increase I want with just the glottoplasty. I really want to have as much singing range after as I can get. I don't really sing much, but that's mostly been due to the fact that I dislike my voice. I will admit that it's gotten better after the 6 month HRT mark.

Your voice in the recording sounds pretty good and I am not sure where the 130 hz number is coming from because by ear it sounds like your voice is in the 180 to 190 hz range if not more. Your inflection sounds good and I would gender the voice as female. I have heard female news casters who have similar voices to that. My advice to you is make sure you understand exactly what Dr Haben plans to do with your voice because he may have different ideas about how much pitch you need. Also if you are using a trained voice, make sure you remember how to drop out of it if you want the adjustment to be made on your non trained voice.

It's possible the filters aren't adjusted right in the Praat software and somebody who knows more about it may be able to help you with that.

 Thanks! I guess I am using a trained voice. Basically I'm using my head to speak instead of my chest. I do attempt to raise my pitch a bit, but otherwise I just do what feels natural.


~Evelyn

I'm two hours away from heading to the hospital for surgery! Nervous, excited, worried, and anxious, but I'm confident everything will come out fine. Can't wait until I can start using my new voice! I'm giving myself 2-3 weeks voice rest just to be safe, but Dr. Haben wants me talking before the 1 month mark. For now pen and paper are my voice. Also, my tapatalk is messed up and doesn't send notifications anymore so if anyone happens to respond, I'll be checking in on this thread from time to time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wish you all the best on your surgery! What procedure are you doing? Glottoplasty only or the triple?

Glottoplasty and tracheal shave only. The doctor didn't think I needed the CTA.


~Evelyn

Quote from: Greeneyes on November 18, 2015, 09:58:27 AM
Glottoplasty and tracheal shave only. The doctor didn't think I needed the CTA.

Best of luck! Based on your recording I agree you probably don't need the CTA.  Your preoperative example is already good!


~Evelyn