Any Dr.COOPER Success stories out here?

does anyone have more info on this?

I have checked the archives and am aware of why NSDA does not endorse him. I think it is,Because he is basically saying SD in
not a neurological disorder.

My question is.....(If we did not worry about the philosophical differences), Are people on this BB who have taken his course and
have been able to stay SD free for at least a couple of years?

Or do you know of people with SD who have had success with his techniques? I know that Joan took the course but her
improvement lasted only one month. To me one month of relief is not long enough, but a few years of experiencing SD free
voice, may
be worth a shot..kinda like a good and expensive Botox?

I would appreciate hearing about anyone who has had direct contact with him or has had a friend who might have had success. Thanks,

I live in Florida and I went to Calif. and spent 5 days under Dr.
Cooper's care. He taught me alot of good techniques and I spoke with
alot of people who have had success with him, but I was not able to
recover my voice. He told me it would be 6 months to a year before I
would get a good consistant voice. He said I had to practice 25 hours
a day. I tried, but it was very hard to stay consistantly practicing.
I could say (and still can) the 97 sentences he gives, but I can't have
a conversation without my voice dropping and my throat tightening up.
That was in October '99 that I was there. Perhaps if I could've spent
more time out there like some of his other successes, I could've done
better, but I can't afford to do that. I, too, have been trying
alternative treatments (nutritional), but nothing has helped so far.

I hope this info is helpful.

Although I think his techniques may be able to help me with my condition, I have decided against going to his therapy sessions. I felt turned off by the super expensive fee structure. They said they would charge $4000.00 a week, of about 25 hours of group therapy, and recommended length of stay (depending of the severity of the disorder)of about 4 weeks.

I tried to buy the books and tapes on line or by phone, like I do all my purchases these days, and they said they did not accept credit cards and wanted a check or money order and said they would hold checks for four weeks until the check clears before shipping. I really didn't want to wait for one month for my books and tapes order.........so for now I have passed on getting the books and tapes. Barnes and noble ships the same day!

I asked if there were any payment plans for the therapy, they said no, they wanted the money upfront......so in general I did not feel good trying to do business with them. if they don't want my credit card, I don't want their books. If they don't want to make a payment plan, I can't use their service.

Please read my next post on my general impressions on professional fees.

Also, after doing Cooper's exercises out of the books on-my-own for months and *almost* heading South to his program, I finally was diagnosed by someone other than myself and obtained a medical treatment, fully-covered by medical insurance. This is all years before the Internet (for me, anyway). I have always felt extremely lucky and relieved that, unlike several of my friends and acquaintances, I took the medical path as nobody will ever convince me that my SD is anything other than neurological and genetic. Too much evidence to back up the idiopathic origin of my own case.

I was trying to get his video and got bummed that they didn't want take my credit card over the phone. But I must admit that I am a bit embarrassed by not having checked the library thoroughly enough. After reading you post, I looked again and noticed that our library has two of his books which I put on reserve. Thanks for the reminder! What a novel concept , check the local library! LOL

Isn't it funny how (with the advent of the Internet), we sometimes forget the most basic things??? You made me laugh.

During the years I was researching (1991-to present, with constant/daily research taking place in 1993 and 1994 because that was when my SD plateau'ed at "serious" and I really could not be understood at all and I wasn't getting any help (except weekly ineffective speech therapy and various drug-"experiments" from my ENT), I did all my research in three places: my local library; a bigger one in Sacramento as well as in bookstores (I bought several voice books). I read about seven books on the voice with no success. As I may have told you when we met in person, I got thrown off Jury Duty in 1994 when I couldn't even say my own name (it was pretty humiliating) so 1994 was a watershed year for me.

Finally, I did find the book that tipped me off ("Change Your Voice, Change Your Life" by Cooper) in my small, local library. It included only a minor section on SD, calling it "monster voice." I had tried MANY possibilities before (in my own mind...such as Parkinson's, aphasia, stroke, etc.) so I was reluctant to embrace a real self-diagnosis at that time since my specialists had ruled out so many things. When I told them I thought I had SD, they told me I was wrong. But, with some determination and no other possibilities to go on, I started looking for things specifically on SD and by the end of that year, I was convinced enough of my own "gut-feel" that I changed my insurance to get a doctor in a different HMO who might actually be able to diagnose me. That process took another 9 months during which I did the exercises (and my new doctor diagnosed me after 5 minutes and she wasn't even a voice-specialist!) and then I had to wait another year for my HMO to approve surgery. It's pretty bad when you are trapped in an HMO where they won't refer you to another specialist so you are stuck with the same ignorant "specialists" who keep telling you that you are crazy. And THEN they insist you don't have SD. Nasty, nasty story.

So, sometimes, we forget how lucky we are to have all the information on the Internet. Such power! Glad to know your little library (which is about the same size as mine) has those books. In my opinion, I think you'll get what you need from that source so no need to buy anything, unless you really want to!!! Hoorah! Oh BTW, reading that one Cooper book (I read a second one later) was a little confusing because, just like all of us are different, his description didn't totally match my case but it was close-enough.

I'll write you on private e-mail re other things but I think you said you were going to order "Speechless" and donate it to the library, right? I think we discussed that. I did the same thing with my library down here. Anything to keep people from having to read seven books before finding as answer. Of course, it's so much better now...with the Internet. Let me know what you think when you finish those two books. I'll betcha anything you will find that they seem pretty antiquated (in information provided) as the ones I read were old and so much new research and findings have taken place since the NSDA started up in 1989. Have fun!

Over the past year I have spoken with many people who have SD. Some have recovered their voices through the Botulinum Toxin shots, some through surgery and some as I did, through Dr. Cooper's Direct Voice Rehab program. I have also spoken with many people who have not had success with Botox, Surgery and Cooper's approach. I think individuals should have a choice between all three of these options.

I personally benefited greatly from Dr. Cooper's expertise, and found him to be a very caring, gracious and brilliant individual. I would ask respectfully that you refrain from maligning him publicly. His approach can and does help people with SD and is a very viable option.

I wish you the best with whatever approach you are pursuing.

Bryan

Welcome to the SD-Bulletin Board on your first post. I appreciate your post as I've maintained an active stance over the past years on the BB of "whatever works." I am glad that the source you sought to address your case has worked for you.

Can I ask you though (as we discuss this important issue on the BB on a daily-basis)??? Who dx'd your SD, how experienced were they in dealing with SD and how severe was your case? The reason I ask is that there are people on this BB who have every kind of dysphonia known to mankind. In other words, there are people on this BB who are self-diagnosed so are not sure what they have. There are also people on this BB who have MTD (who thought they had SD in the past). MTD is not neurological. There are also many people on this BB who have the entire range of Spasmodic Dysphonia between very mild to extremely severe. Then there are the combinations and the different varieties. AB (mild to very severe) and AD (mild to very severe) and a combo of AB-AD (mild to very severe) and the combinations of SD and MTD. It's kind of like a metaphor for the complexities of life in general. Different strokes for different folks.

What type of SD do you have and are you absolutely 100% sure that your diagnosing doctor got your case right?

I believe in high-quality speech therapy. For anyone with dysphonia, it is a very good thing. However, because I have personal experience that SD runs the gamut (which isn't always evident on this BB) having met well over 100 SD'ers in person and listened to many other voices on the phone, I believe that true SD (especially the severity that my case manifested) is neurological and is helped, but not curable, by speech therapy of any kind.

You will never catch me saying bad things about Morton Cooper on this BB. The Cooper book I read in 1994 motivated me to dx my own severe-SD case when the "specialists" (what a joke) were mystified for years. HOWEVER (and please have Morton Cooper contact me personally if he disagrees with this), Morton Cooper claims that SD is not neurological and he also charges some extremely hefty fees, claiming he can cure SD. If it doesn't work, people do not get their money back (at least that is what I have been told).

Bottom-line: Five years ago I got my voice back with a $40,000 medical solution which was covered by insurance. I had almost gone to Morton Cooper but didn't since I had already lost my life savings with severe SD....not being able to work for many years. Obviously Morton Cooper says that SD is not neurological because his credentials (PhD, not MD) do not allow him to treat a neurological condition. My case is "SO neurological" (entire family FULL of Parkinsons!) that it is not even funny.

So, Bryan, who diagnosed you and are you sure you have SD and how would you rate your case from mild-to-very-severe? Mine was severe-to-very-severe and I had not talked for nearly four years. I couldn't even say my own name. I couldn't talk to my cat. Was yours as obviously neurological as mine and as extremely severe as mine? Always have to take the degrees into consideration when talking about a treatment.

Beyond that...congratulations on getting your voice back. That is the most important thing. Secondly, it's equally as important to know that others' cases are not like yours so people obviously have different ways of addressing their own cases and who would blame people for not wanting to spend thousands of dollars of un-reimbursed money if it didn't work for them?

Good for you! I'm impressed! Actually...none of this is new (the MC approach). Posts on this subject (as you describe it) have been on this and previous Bulletin Boards for many years. I'll never forget the time, years back, when I stepped in my first BB "pile" when I posted something on this subject (after I had done years of research on that particular subject) on my very first BB post! Ha! Whew...learned alot on that one. LOL.

Everytime I see this subject on the BB, it's like "deja-vu all over again" (to quote Yogi Berra, BTW). I know some people get annoyed with me when I suggest doing a SEARCH on the BB and reading-up before starting to post on a topic but this is a classic example. Lotsa stuff out there in BB-land already over the years, just waiting for people to learn from all of our past mistakes, but folks want to re-invent the wheel. I guess. I'd just as soon see our knowledge "grow" rather than be repeated from scratch.

Sorry to pick on you (timing was right re your post) but I would sure love to hear any of your ideas about how folks on the BB can learn from all of this (including this new thread on this continuing subject) rather than going through the same things over and over and over. This subject can be a critical turning-point for some people.

I wrote Dr. Cooper and asked him for names and phone number of people that he had helped regain their voice and have full recover. He gave me two names . Brian foxly and rev James Johnon. I wrote an emai to Bryan and he sent me a letter that he had written about his history and his cure. I have not saved the letter to be able to quote him, but , Bryan please correct me if I am wrong..........I remember reading that.......... he was diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia and which could lead to SD or early SD?!! With kind of puzzled me Because they seem to be two separate conditions with similar symptoms!! So I am curious about where and who made the diagnosis.

In Bryan’s case, it may have been Muscle tension which usually responds well to speech therapy. I am going to call Rev. Johnson right now and I will report back what I learn form him ...................... .........................................................

I just got off the phone speaking with Rev. James Johnosn.. He sounded perfect!!!!! He said he was diagnosed with Sever SD at the Mayo clinic. He had tried everything including speech therapy, hypnosis, relaxation techniques, and so on. He could barley talk and could not be understood. He was at point where he had to quit his job, or go on disability, or choose surgery to sever the nerve in one of his vocal cords. This was in 1986. As a last ditch effort he went to Dr. Cooper. He realized that he was viewed with skepticism and his personality was pleasant and yes somewaht arrogant and pleased with himself. That he made no apologies about how much money he wanted and he wanted cash, up front. Rev. told me that his technique was pretty simple, he mostly worked on his own, about 8 hours a day. Dr. cooper found out where his pitch was supposed to be and he was to practice to keep his pitch in the right place with the use of a tool like a note finder of some sort....... . He also taught him some breathing techniques to release his breath from staying locked. He said it was mostly himself working on his own in the clinic, and Dr. Cooper would occasionally check up on him.

The Rev. told me If I decide to go, I need to be very committed and motivated to work long and hard.

He sounded perfect and this happened in 1986! So this is one case of Sd diagnosed by a reputable clinic that seems to have reversed itself. So, I don’t know what to think. May be the Mayo clinic misdiagnosed, but the man sounded great ..........What so you guys think?

Excellent research and work and thanks for sharing all of this on the BB! (I'll write you some stuff to your private e-mail as to why this "robust sharing" that you have generated on this subject does not take place regularly on this BB).

There is such a thing as "complete remission for SD." To me it sounds like a complete miracle and, with my analytical researcher-style brain and all the years researching SD, it is difficult for me to make sense of it but it does seem to happen once in a blue-moon. This is why, for years and years, I have always encouraged people to do the active-level of research that you are doing and to meet as many people with SD in person that you can find. Sometimes, literally, it takes YEARS to figure all of this out.

I agree with Gavin re "benefits." Also, I need to be honest...I did dx my own case with Morton Cooper's book (as I wrote above) but I also would have sought his treatment if not for two things (remember...this is in the days before Internet access).

Those two things were: 1) I had lost my life savings due to severe SD so I couldn't pay the fees I had been told Cooper charged (I don't want to post on the BB how much I lost over the years I was un-dx'd but ~ let's just put it this way ~ I was a corporate manager and had put money into savings and 401K's and real estate investments for my entire career; I would be a very secure millionaire-plus by now, without SD yet, these days, I live well below the poverty-level); and, 2) I could not talk on the phone to make the contact with Cooper's office...even though the phone number sat in front of me for months. If I couldn't say my own name in a jury box, just picking up a phone totally terrified me. The fact that you still talk on the phone and answer it is a "key" to the differences in many people's cases.

Goly...as you well know because you and I discussed this face-to-face last October: I will NEVER dx someone else's case. You asked me what I thought you had. Couldn't and wouldn't say. I can tell folks what I hear in their vocal patterns though as my *ear* has become very-well-attuned and I can tell you what you sound like compared to many other folks (no names ever mentioned). With the symptoms I heard and observed in your case, I do not know what you have (SD, MTD or a combo?); but, at this point (you described this also)...it was "mild" last October.

Unless you have gotten alot worse in the past few months, my observation of your voice is that you sounded perfect during our long discussions at the restaurant and on the phone previously and you did not sound strained at all until we started discussing your voice and you did not catch at all until you raised your volume for that one demonstration. Then, I heard the strains and the catches for the first time. I thought that was very different from other SD'ers I'd met. I totally understand though that your voice varies greatly at different times, like all of ours do, and at school (work) it can cause problems.

My advice? (I hate giving advice but I will in this circumstance): Keep doing the research and putting out the posts because many are benefitting. But...several other things: 1) "Watch out" re spending those kind of bucks for this type of program...2) Your case is NOT anywhere severe enough to consider surgery at this point, and I hope it never gets there...3) Get at least two more valid professional (medical) opinions on your own case...4) Money you might spend on Cooper would be "BEST SPENT" on going to an SD symposium to meet many SD'ers in person and learn a ton more re various options (sitting home on the Internet and only meeting one SD'er in person...*me*...does not do the whole trick...5) I know you are against Botox but (in my experience) your case seems like a really good one to respond to Botox so you might want to work with a medical professional you can trust to explore that idea...AND, 6) The alternative methods of relaxation and nutrition are very valuable for any case before it becomes severe. You can still talk...that is an important thing and I truly hope your case "plateau's" (in other words...doesn't get any worse) prior to severe...prior to "not talking at all." The Internet is the key. No one these days needs to feel desperate, like we with severe-SD did in the old days with no support and no information and no Internet.

Keep up the good work. You are obviously putting in alot of effort into finding answers for your own case and I really admire that. As I've always said...it's so important that people figure out their own case and none of it is a contest as to who is better or worse. You are doing the right thing for yourself. Take care and hope to see you within the next couple of months.

Anyway, I was going to do a PS after we talked briefly. I do hear a discernable difference in your voice since last October so keep up the excellent research, as I said before, and we'll talk soon about progressing and "plateau-ing" a little later. You know I'm in your corner and best of luck.

Thanks for calling.....Sorry I couldn't talk at the time. I was busy with that stressful situation that I beieve has contributed to my voice disorder. I believe that's why the discernable difference you noticed in my voice. When I am dealing with that particular situation my voice definaltley goes into spasm. My goal is to finish the problem gracefully, by being helpful, without hurting the feelings of someone who is dear to me, and still be able to maintain my calm and composure.
I internalize other people's pain and I am so trasparent now, my voice gives it away.

I don't have have your phone number!! I may still be out when you call. So please leave your phone # on the answering machine so I can return your call. I do want to talk with you in more detail. Thanks, Goly

After months of losing my voice, I went to Dr. Cooper out of desperation in Jan. '99. I cashed in some mutual funds to meet his fee, which I also thought was exorbinate. But like I said, my life was in a downward spiral without a voice. By the third day of the five-day working session, my voice returned strong. I thought it was a miracle. I cried, I was dumbfounded. I couldn't stop talking. Everywhere I went I told people what had just happened to me, even waitresses where I ate. Like others have mentioned, the exercises were simple and monotonous. After hours of doing the same sounds over and over again, I thought I would go crazy. My ears filled with air and my head felt like it would explode. But it worked -- for awhile.

When I returned home I wrote an article about losing my voice to SD and regaining it in LA. As a former journalist, I'd hoped to get the piece published in an alternative medicine magazine. (This article details what actually goes on in Dr. Cooper's clinic, if anyone wants to read it.) Ten days after getting my normal voice back, it started to slip away. I religiously did Copper's rigorous exercises before and after work, but the regained voice wasn't holding. I even purchased an electric piano to help me find the right pitch for my voice. I received several calls from Bryan Foxley encouraging me to keep up with the exercises. Bryan's voice was holding and mine wasn't. I think the fact that he stayed with Dr. Cooper for 3 weeks really helped. I simply could not afford another $8,000. I still don't understand why he needs to charge so much.

Two months later I was asked to appear on a radio show by a dear friend who hosts "An Ounce of Prevention" in San Francisco. He wanted me to talk about my miracle, and to deter people from having surgery and botox. He invited Morton Cooper to be on the show. I was very worried about being on the show since my voice was breaking all the time, and I had long shelved the article touting my miracle. During the broadcast, Dr. Cooper raised my pitch, and by projecting my voice very loudly, I could speak a few sentences clearly. But I couldn't sustain it for long. Dr. Cooper maintains that he cleared my voice again and that if I just keep the pitch up real high, I would be okay. The problem with that is that I never spoke in that range in my old voice, and it was very uncomfortable to keep the pitch up high. Certainly, this would be difficult in conversation.

I think that Dr. Cooper truly believes that he is right, and that he helps people. Bryan Foxley is a good example of what he can do. But I think Goly has hit the nail on the head when she describes different types of voice disorders which may be more susceptible to Dr. Cooper's methods, then those with severe SD, as I have. I have a tape of that radio show, but the months following, my voice descended into the "monster voice" that Cooper describes in his books. Maybe, if I could have afforded more time with Dr. Cooper, I could have reversed the synapses/messages in my brain and stopped the spasming speech pattern forever. But now I'll never know. I also couldn't afford the additional time from my job.

After many months I stopped doing the exercises and started searching for other ways to regain my voice. On the Internet I found you, BB, and Dr. Berke's surgery. The surgery has removed all spasms, but unfortunately my singing voice too. It will be five months Mar. 3rd and my voice slowly gains volume every month. To sing again would be a miracle, but I will happy just to be able to return to my sales career when my voice has more volume and range. I don't want to be too greedy, since I've had such a great ride along my 60-year life's journey so far.

I am interested in reading your article that you wrote after you returned from Dr.Cooper's. You said ".......... I wrote an article about losing my voice to SD and regaining it in LA. As a former journalist, I'd hoped to get the piece published in an alternative medicine magazine. (This article details what actually goes on in Dr. Cooper's clinic, if anyone wants to read it......."
Would you be willing to post it?

I know that your voice slipped away, but you gave it all you had and there are very few people who have had success with his method. I have only talked with one person who has had complete recovery, or some call it a remission!

I also want to tell you that no one can feel the pain one goes thru from losing their voice. You have done the best thing for yourself. Every decision has it's consequences and I am happy you can speak and you have your voice back.

I wrote you a long post while your were on your ski trip.(I am going skiing tomorrow! it is a great sport and makes me feel alive and well!)

The post is back there on the vitamin B6...and inosine thread.

I am motivated and think I may have a good chance of getting my voice back because I know a lot about why and how it happened.