Should VFS be considered early in transition?

[HollyKay]

Thank you for your reply. That's a very affirming story. I'm leaning now towards making VFS my first surgery. I know the risks but it just seems like a good outcome can be truly life changing and really helps one achieve a successful transitioned life.

I hope that my experience helps you with your decision. I should also mention that I did eight sessions with a registered speech pathologist before hand. That helped me with my speech patterns such as: pitch, inflection, resonance, breathing, articulation, voice quality, duration of words, and also non-verbal communication.

One thing that was mentioned in the training is that they acknowledged any person holding their speaking pitch, causes strain on the vocal cords which can lead to damage over the long term. They mentioned this even when they were teaching me how to raise my pitch by straining my voice for prolonged periods of time.

Quoting them: "Usually, trans women consider vocal surgery when they feel dissatisfied with voice therapy results, or they want a more authentic sounding female voice. However, it is important to note that vocal surgery alone may not produce a voice that sounds completely feminine, and voice therapy may still be needed."

How I interpreted this is with the guitar example that Dr. Spiegel uses. He says in his YouTube video that even though he can give you the instrument, you still need to learn how to play it.  Now, for me, I would further that analogy by saying that you were provided a bass guitar and have learned how to play it. It is different to then play an acoustic guitar, because they are meant to produce their own unique sounds. 

Whether you choose:

a. Speech therapy only
b. Speech therapy and VFS after
c. VFS and then Speech therapy
d. VFS only

Either path you take has advantages and disadvantages. Go with your intuition and you will ultimately be happy. All are options available to you.

[sarahc]

@HollyKay

I'm definitely doing voice therapy, then (probably) VFS. In fact, I have my voice therapy session in a couple of weeks. VFS would probably be sometime in the fall.

Sarah.

[HollyKay]

That sounds like a good plan.  Let me know if you have any questions about the surgery, healing, or anything  else.  Best.   

[Margarine]

I started voice therapy 2 long years ago. It has helped a lot, just not enough. I decided to delay VFS until the last surgery, I just did not want a tube down the throat anytime soon after VFS. I do on the plus side of OK in person and the 85% club of being called sir on the phone, if I could have gotten that down to 50% or even 60% of the time would be avoiding VFS. I have knife time set for March 11th 2019 in Portland OR with Dr. Thomas. I weighed the risks, rewards, costs and time. Sure going over seas might have been a bit less, however, time is money, money is time for me. I talked to a few local women who have had him preform VFS, the results were mostly good, however, you get out of it what you put into it! Practice is the key for a good outcome.
Take Care
-Margaret