Quote from: jollyjoy on December 08, 2015, 02:01:53 PM
Good to hear it will resolve on it's own. You're probably used to not talking by now, so another 3-4 weeks will go by quickly for you.

I really hope so, Jolly    The only hard part is that I'm back to work where everybody wants to know what's going on and even though they know you can barely speak they keep asking you questions.   During scheduling, we have to answer "yes" to confirm an event we are scheduled on so I keep asking friends to speak for me, lol.  At this point, I'm just hoping to make noise at a decent volume again.  Higher pitched or not.

Kwala:

That looks very similar to the one that came out at 5 weeks 2 days for me. It was a tickle and I did the breath in then HHHa thing rather than cough and out it popped. I brought it with me here on this trip but Dr Haben explained that from 5 weeks on they are expected to pop out.

Being at day 1 and about 8 hours I have a long way till a month. We are relaxing in a newly remodeled hotel nearby and have laid in most of the groceries we would need.

Interestingly, Dr Haben said the juices were a problem from the sugar aspect for him and being somewhat junk food in nature but cleared me for ALL berries and fruits. I LOVE a nice bowl of frozen mangos, blueberries, bananas (try them ripe then frozen, WOW delicious), peaches and pineapple. I was a bit surprised as many would be considered citrus but Dr Haben was emphatic about any and all whole fruit. Life is good at least for my diet.

Be safe and my very best wishes for your rapid recovery
Elaine

I think Dr Haben may be diabetic because he responded pretty much the same to me when I ask about orange juice. He said the acid wasn't the problem but the sugar was. In my case, I stay away from most processed sugar and orange juice with breakfast is a must so I don't have that much of a problem with weight or excess sugar in my diet.

Interesting.  I'm a huge diet Pepsi drinker and in an effort to not drink caffeinated beverages I switched to fruit juice (mostly mango) and have been drinking a ton of it since the surgery in addition to plain old water.  Maybe it wasn't a wise decision since I still can't use my voice.
  Then again, who knows.

A low sugar diet didn't help my voice at all. The primary diet changes I made were soups and soft food that my beat up mouth could handle. I also stayed aways from dry stuff that would stick and need a cough to free. I have hit that age were it has become far easer to put weight on and the best way to control my weight is to watch the sugar and fat intake.

Just had a scope done to evaluate my vocal cords.  As Dr. Haben suspected, the ENT confirmed a large piece of granulation tissue at the center of the web.  Despite this "big bubble" that is preventing them from coming together, the web looks quite good.  The ENT who did the scope agreed that it should resolve on its own, but may take a while.  I am so relieved.  The web looks even and about 40% closed off which gives me a good chance for an improved voice once this tissue goes away.  Here is a screen cap from the video:



You can see the web, and also the big reddish bubble-like granulation in the center.  It is preventing my cords from closing together and vibrating.  They were a reaction to the sutures, which have now resolved.  Hopefully with the foreign objects out of the way my body will stop this reaction and the tissue will fade.  So, it's still a waiting game at this point but all signs point to a good outcome...it'll just take a bit longer than most.

Quote from: kwala on December 15, 2015, 01:07:58 PM
Just had a scope done to evaluate my vocal cords.  As Dr. Haben suspected, the ENT confirmed a large piece of granulation tissue at the center of the web.  Despite this "big bubble" that is preventing them from coming together, the web looks quite good.  The ENT who did the scope agreed that it should resolve on its own, but may take a while.  I am so relieved.  The web looks even and about 40% closed off which gives me a good chance for an improved voice once this tissue goes away.  Here is a screen cap from the video:



You can see the web, and also the big reddish bubble-like granulation in the center.  It is preventing my cords from closing together and vibrating.  They were a reaction to the sutures, which have now resolved.  Hopefully with the foreign objects out of the way my body will stop this reaction and the tissue will fade.  So, it's still a waiting game at this point but all signs point to a good outcome...it'll just take a bit longer than most.

Looking good! Great news too! Any idea how long the granulated tissue will take to resolve?

You must be so relieved!
I'm at two and a half weeks post and am getting anxious to talk. I can't imagine how you must feel. Congrats (:

Audree

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

That's great news, you must be extremely relieved!

Quote from: jollyjoy on December 15, 2015, 03:03:09 PM
That's great news, you must be extremely relieved!

Very relieved, Jolly!  Now I'm just anxious for this to clear up so I can truly hear my results.

Audree, Dr. Haben said as long as 3-4 months and I'm at 2 months tomorrow so hopefully there will be some improvement in the next few weeks.  I'm not looking for perfection yet, but really dying to hear even a glimpse of the new voice- especially now, knowing that the web formed correctly.

Happy to hear you will be okay soon

 just listened to your recordings again and I'm like, omg, you're going to sound amazing when it's all done. Really. stoked. to hear your final result!

Audree

Quote from: audreelyn on December 16, 2015, 12:59:58 AM
just listened to your recordings again and I'm like, omg, you're going to sound amazing when it's all done. Really. stoked. to hear your final result!

Audree

I really hope so!

I sent a video of the scope to Dr. Haben and now he's saying it could take up to 6 months.  I really hope he's being conservative and that that's the worst case scenario.  I also wasn't sure if he meant six months from now, or 6 months from the surgery date.  I was planning on the voice to be somewhat weak and hoarse for a while, but being essentially voiceless for half a year or more is not something I signed on for.  Now, I'm not down on Dr. Haben, he's a wonderful surgeon and a good person and I am still grateful for his work.  I will, however, mention to him that he should perhaps warn clients about granulation in the future and the impact it can have on recovery.  Anyway, today was 90% good news so I'll just keep resting my voice as much as possible and hope the issue will resolve sooner.

Quote from: kwala on December 16, 2015, 01:38:04 AM
I really hope so!

I sent a video of the scope to Dr. Haben and now he's saying it could take up to 6 months.  I really hope he's being conservative and that that's the worst case scenario.  I also wasn't sure if he meant six months from now, or 6 months from the surgery date.  I was planning on the voice to be somewhat weak and hoarse for a while, but being essentially voiceless for half a year or more is not something I signed on for.  Now, I'm not down on Dr. Haben, he's a wonderful surgeon and a good person and I am still grateful for his work.  I will, however, mention to him that he should perhaps warn clients about granulation in the future and the impact it can have on recovery.  Anyway, today was 90% good news so I'll just keep resting my voice as much as possible and hope the issue will resolve sooner.

Six months and a great sounding voice I think is definitely worth it. I'm almost certain that he meant six months total, not an additional six bc that seems to be the magic number for the maximum recovery time.

I was at group therapy the other night and i use my phone app to talk, of course, and dr. Haben came up. One of the girls there mentioned that he and dr. Kim were just about the only doctors in the world that she would trust if she were going to get vfs.

It was nice hearing that, maybe it'll help your resolve. I wonder how often granulation occurs and if any of dr. Kim's had to deal with it. Either way, you're right, I would be losing my mind too if i had to do six months, heck, even a year without speaking.

Audree

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

A long time ago I developed the habit of listing more than talking. I found I learned more if I wasn't constantly asserting my viewpoint. That habit made it pretty easy for me to refrain from talking. The real problem as I saw it was nobody at the hospital has learned how to ask yes/no questions and they always want you to explain something so questions couldn't be answered with a simple head nod.

The worst one was one of the cleaning girls that started a conversation with me not knowing why I was in there and what my surgery was for. I got writers cramps on that one 

 I  printed out my most needed sentences on small cards and I show them when needed. Is a lot faster and I do not get a cramp in the arm.

Quote from: Lara1969 on December 17, 2015, 08:22:42 PM
I  printed out my most needed sentences on small cards and I show them when needed. Is a lot faster and I do not get a cramp in the arm.

That's a good idea.  The most annoying thing is when I find myself in a group situation and everyone wants a voice update.  Does it hurt? How long will it be?  What caused it? So on and so forth.  It's like, what part of "I should be resting my voice and what little I have is barely audible anyhow" don't you understand?  Lol.

My neighbor before the voice surgery said I sounding like a man and I should get it fixed. After the surgery SHE was tired of reading my written responses. My thought " what did you expect?".

Finally a little bit more progress!  Happened very suddenly this morning when I awoke.  It's so hoarse and pinched right now that I'm trying not to judge it too harshly, but the volume- while still not up to normal levels- is much, much, much improved.  Hopefully this bit of improvement will continue and it will sound more feminine as the hoarseness fades away and the granulation tissue continues to diminish.  Thanks again for everyone who has been following my surgery story and lifting my spirits when I've been a bit down.  Things can only get better from here on out!  Sounds very rough at the moment, but I'll take it!
Sample of my slightly improved voice at 8 weeks 2 days:
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0y8p0NnVwEN

It will get better and I sounded that bad for a while. I am glad you are seeing progress but I suspect you will find your voice fades if you use it very much. You should still take it easy and avoid excess talking at this point, not so much to avoid damage but to help healing.

Oh, for sure.  I have been keeping my lips zipped for 90% of the day.  I basically only talk when I absolutely need to and if I'm not at work I just stay silent except for a few check ins.  I need all the help I can get to mend this thing and blabbing all day would only make matters worse