Spasmodic Dysphonia Bulletin Board

Oral Medications...
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Posted by: sunymel ® 08/20/2005, 07:48:57

I would like to hear from anyone who has tried or are currently using oral medications in an attempt to achieve better voice quality. If you could include the name of the medication and how helpful it has been that will be greatly appreciated. I have pretty much ruled out trying the botox shot, I am starting voice therapy but have read some about oral meds that are available and would like to discuss them further with an ENT I was told to go see from the ENT that diagnosed me...the ENT that diagnosed me told me he didn't know enough about SD to discuss that possible option. Thanks again everyone and I look forward to your responses!

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Re: Oral Medications... Re: Oral Medications... -- sunymel Top of thread Archive Posted by: Vici ® 08/20/2005, 09:07:22 I copied and pasted the following from the NSDA website, FAQ page: "Oral medications provide little relief in the symptoms of spasmodic dysphonia, but if other forms of dystonia are present, medications may help relieve those related symptoms. There are several possible categories of medications used in the treatment of dystonia including anticholinergics, benzodiazepines, and baclofen. The treatment of spasmodic dysphonia must be tailored to the individual patient." I have ABSD with voice tremor and tried Inderal which sometimes is effective in the treatment of tremor. It didn't help me, but my cousin who has ADSD with tremor felt it helped her. | Recommend | Alert Where am I? Original message Top of thread Current page Re: Oral Medications... Re: Oral Medications... -- sunymel Top of thread Archive Posted by: Renee ® 08/20/2005, 10:00:20 Many people on this bulletin board have tried the oral medication neurontin and some have tried klonopin. Some people have had good luck with neurontin, some have had moderate luck with it, and some have had no luck at all. I used to be on it, and although there was an improvement in my voice quality, it was making me too tired. From what I understand, this is a side effect of this med. Even though I, personally, haven't tried klonopin I would be careful with this med as it can be quite addictive. You might, also, want to search the archives on this subject. This subject has been discussed before... Renee ADSD/ Austin, TEXAS | Recommend | Alert Where am I? Original message Top of thread Current page Re: Oral Medications... Re: Re: Oral Medications... -- Renee Top of thread Archive Posted by: kitten ® 08/20/2005, 18:51:59 I used to take Larazepam 1mg (generic Ativan) for IBS and because it helped with anxiety I experimented to see if it helped my voice. At the time Iowa City thought I had muscle tension dysphonia. It seemed to help at times and other times it did not work at all. After seeing a SD specialist in Springfield I was diagnosed with Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia which was a possible second diagnosis from Iowa City. The SD has been documented on videoscope 3 times and is now confirmed, but the doctor at St. John's thinks I could also have some tension dysphonia as well. I had not taken the Lorazepam for awhile but I needed to make an important phone call so I took it and within an hour I had enough voice to be understood on the phone. I have taken it occasionaly and it works for a while until my muscle tire and the spasms take over. Some days it does not work at all. | Recommend | Alert Where am I? Original message Top of thread Current page Re: Oral Medications... Re: Oral Medications... -- sunymel Top of thread Archive Posted by: Joanne Griffin ® 08/21/2005, 09:35:16 Having had SD for over 20 years I was willing to try almost anything for a better quality voice. A few years ago I read an article on Klonopin from a research team in CA. They said it helped prolong the Botox injections I was taking at the time so I tried it for one year. I really did not see any difference so I stopped taking it. It is also used for seizure disorder and I did not want to keep taking it if it did not seem to help. At present I take Xanax .05 mg TID. It seems to help somewhat as it is indicated for anxiety disorder. If anything can cause extreme anxiety it is dealing with SD. Hope this is helpful. You doctor maybe can prescribe the dosage that would be right for you. | Recommend | Alert Where am I? Original message Top of thread Current page