Posted by: mdubovick ®
05/29/2009, 12:35:40
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Botox results can vary from shot to shot. Keep a log of each shot with the date, dosage, when your temporary breathy period ends and when your good voice ends, meaning you need another shot. The accumulation of this "data" over time will guide your doctor on what dosage is best for you. Ideally you should get the smallest, most effective dose possible. Also, lowering the dose tends to lower the temporary breathy period.As to your question, will it achieve "normal" as it was prior to SD, the answer can unfortunately vary. The answer is yes for some; 80 to 90% of "normal" for others; and so on. Some people with SD can sing normally. Some say that the vocal cord muscles that are used in singing are different than those used in speaking. Also, when people sing, they tend to use their diaphram and this contributes to a richer sound.
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Posted by: wolfe ®
05/29/2009, 19:24:45
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It has been five years now since I was diagnosed and started botox. I cannot even remember what my "normal" voice was! Mostly I am satisfied with my current voice. Of course, I cannot carry on a conversation in a noisy room or be really comfortable on the phone, but other than that my "new" voice works for me. It is higher in pitch and less expressive, but at least it is a voice which before I was diagnosed I didn't have. So, I guess I am one of the ones who did not get her old voice back, but it is OK!
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Posted by: awillo ®
06/08/2009, 09:21:45
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I don't think my voice has ever gone back to the way it was before SD......but it goes through a Minnie Mouse phase and then to what I call the Marilyn Monroe Phase. I guess as long as I can speak, without sounding cracked and strangled.....I'm happy!
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Posted by: KarenF ®
06/10/2009, 10:45:24
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At what point after your injections did you do voice therapy? I am wanting to try that too, after this last set of injections - which was last Friday.
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Posted by: sarah416 ®
06/10/2009, 13:35:29
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I started therapy right away. I am a studying for my Master's in Speech-Language Pathology and was able to be seen at the clinic on campus. I have found the therapy very helpful. Particularly in dealing with "how to talk again" with the breathiness from the botox.
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Posted by: Sojourner ®
06/10/2009, 13:40:06
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I too have voice therapy at some point between BOTOX injections. For me, the point in which I begin varies. As soon as my body feels the SD spasms beginning to return, my muscular tension dysphonia kicks in and tries to compensate. Using the vocal techniques taught during my voice therapy sessions, I can help the way my voice sounds by eliminating/reducing the secondary laryngeal tension until the return of the spasms is too much. My doctor told me that it is an individual thing and helpful to some. My insurance company recognizes the help it provides for me in stretching out the time between BOTOX injections and covers the therapy.
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Posted by: NYer AdSD ®
06/10/2009, 19:20:11
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Sarah,I was diagnosed Ad SD July '08; my fourth botox treatment is June 17th. I was expecting my voice to return to form 100%, but it hasn't. A year later, and three treatments now and I still don't know what my "normal" voice sounds like; I haven't heard it since the onset of SD quite frankly. On my second course of treatment, I brought this to my Doctor's attention and was told that the voice won't necessarily return to 100%, but will be markedly improved. But, even at 85%, my voice sounds as if it's got a fog over it. I enjoy singing and could harmonize a bit, but now I struggle severly to hold a note, even after the supposed "good" voice returns. I also suffer from the strained, strangled sound, plus the "effort" you require to speak as an SD sufferer. Also I find that I cannot speak and breathe simultaneously when speaking in complete sentences. It's one or the other. Then I take massive gasp for air as if I have COPD or some bronchial / lung problem -- I don't. To breathe and speak at the same time, I have to speak in short spurts like a robot. That's without the botox. With botox, my speech is effortless, free and easy; I don't feel like I'm laboring to speak. The strain / strangled effort is gone. It's like I can breathe again. Like my chest opens up. So, I'm just content not to labor to speak, even if my voice sounds different from what I'm used to. In my case, hoarseness sets in after 48-72 hours; my hoarseness last a full 21+ days. First week hoarse and whispery; by week three, it's a sexy hoarseness; and after day 21, I can feel the difference in my throat as the "fog" begins to lift. Then, I get a week or so of breathiness; then my clear voice comes back, but it's nothing like my "orig" voice before SD. And, my breathiness may come and go throughout the supposed "good" voice period. My doc lowered my dosage the second go round and it helped significantly with the breathiness. I journalize how my vocal quality is and give info back to doc so he makes adjustments as necessary. Good luck to you. I'm considering speech therapy now, a year later that I've seen the best I'm going to get with botox and hope the therapy can help me through the breathiness periods, and the difficulty I have in forming certain words as treatment wears off. Like I said, I'm just happy to be able to speak without laboring, even if my voice isn't 100%.
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