Hello,
My name is Sheila Im not a singer I have always dreamed of being one but I'm not...anyways , I know this is a singer's place but Im looking for anyone that may have a alternative way for me to cure my problem. I was diagnosed with Spasmodic Dysphonia three years ago It is a nuerological disorder that affects your vocal chords It sounds like someone is choking me my voice is very strained and raspy. It took a year to get the diagnose. I have to get injections into my vocal chords of Botox to paralize one side of the chords. It is not a pleasant thing to have done every three months but if I dont I cant talk or swallow and breathing can be difficult too. Has anyone had this did you find a cure?. The doctors tell me it can and could go away just as quick as it came on....or not..... I don't want to have surgery because one slip of the knife and I would be permanatly raspy or worse. I hate to have to get the injections I have tried all the tonics, humidify, you name it I have tried it. I have done relaxation, some yoga...they say it can be brought on or made worse by stress.......I'm just looking for someone that may have heard or had and is now free from this.
My name is Sheila Im not a singer I have always dreamed of being one but I'm not...anyways , I know this is a singer's place but Im looking for anyone that may have a alternative way for me to cure my problem. I was diagnosed with Spasmodic Dysphonia three years ago It is a nuerological disorder that affects your vocal chords It sounds like someone is choking me my voice is very strained and raspy. It took a year to get the diagnose. I have to get injections into my vocal chords of Botox to paralize one side of the chords. It is not a pleasant thing to have done every three months but if I dont I cant talk or swallow and breathing can be difficult too. Has anyone had this did you find a cure?. The doctors tell me it can and could go away just as quick as it came on....or not..... I don't want to have surgery because one slip of the knife and I would be permanatly raspy or worse. I hate to have to get the injections I have tried all the tonics, humidify, you name it I have tried it. I have done relaxation, some yoga...they say it can be brought on or made worse by stress.......I'm just looking for someone that may have heard or had and is now free from this.
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Re: Vocal repair/ Spasmodic Dysphonia/Botox in vocal chords
Thu, September 20, 2007 - 11:00 PMa speech therapist can help you. I don't know specifically how your illness affects you, but a speech therapist can teach you how to be easier on your chords and allow you better more expressive use with less damage. -
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Re: Vocal repair/ Spasmodic Dysphonia/Botox in vocal chords
Tue, September 25, 2007 - 3:52 PMThanks, I have done that before, during and after the injections....no help :( Im going the 4th of October for my every three month injection and right now when I talk it sounds like some one has a rope around my neck. I have not used a speech theropist outside my network of doctors (hmo) maybe I should look into one to see if they do any thing diffrent then what I had tried before. I appreciate your input and anyone else out there who might have the same thing that I have. THANKS!! ;-)
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Re: Vocal repair/ Spasmodic Dysphonia/Botox in vocal chords
Sun, December 30, 2007 - 3:17 AMI have SD, and everyone I've talked to or read within the SD community says that speech therapy doesn't help SD. It may teach you to take better care of your voice, but it doesn't relieve the symptoms of SD.
Botox shots should not be uncomfortable. I had mine done by Dr. Mark Courey in SF (orig. from TX), and he is an expert. No tubes down the throat, no pain or discomfort, he numbs the area first, then injects the botox so quickly and smoothly you are surprised to be done so quickly.
Unfortunately, the shots didn't work for me, as I have abductor type SD. For AD/SD, the goal is to close the vocal cords more, and it makes breathing more difficult. As I had only a few days of voice improvement, it wasn't worth it for the breathing difficulty it caused me. I already have difficulty breathing due to the physiological configuration of my airway passages.
I live w/o treatment, and w/great difficulty. I treat it as a disability (albeit one that is not recognized as such), and have become a near-recluse because socializing is so painful. I can barely do my job, and I really don’t know what the future holds for me. I am trying to find work that doesn’t require a lot of speaking, esp. in noisy areas.
Good luck to you. Feel free to write. I would love to connect with other voice-disabled people.
