I'm new here and I'm so thankful I found the site. One really needs a place such as this to come to to be able to just come and vent and a relate to someone who is going through the same kind of pain. Because my motto is "If you don't have it, then you don't get it." Anyway, my question is this, has anyone who is a singer had the surgery without having to lose their voice? This is the only concern I really have about the surgery as I want to and must do something to get rid of this pain. It seems the latest med I'm on (Topamax) is not helping at all. I must do something to get my life back and singing is everything to me. I'm a disabled nurse b/c of fibromyagia and other problems. So singing is a God given gift I've always had and I'd hate to lose it as I'm already depressed over my other health problems. So, if anyone can help with this, thanks a lot. God bless
Hi Livvy, I can understand your concern. I fancied myself as somewhat of a singer not in any professional way but church choir type of singer. I had MVD of the 9th and 10th nerve on May 6 of this year. I did get the dreaded post op complication of paralysis of the right vocal cord due to compromise of the vagus nerve. I could barely say 2 words at a time no louder than a whisper. The ENT doctors injected the vocal cord with collagen to make it plump and paralyzed at the midline instead of at the periphery. I then began voice retraining exercises. To make a long story short, when I talk, I still get short of breath and don't always complete sentences without losing my voice. However, I can still sing!!!! As long as I use my diaphragm for air support, I can still sing and my intonation is as good as it was before though my range is slightly lower pitched. The good news is that there is still a possibility of recovery of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, a branch of the vagus, after 6 months to a year. If necessary they can repeat the injection of the vocal cord after 6 months or later do a more permanent procedure to achieve the same purpose. I guess I am saying that even if the worst happens, singing is still possible and that complication isn't necessarily going to occur if you have the surgery. The benefit of being pain free for me is HUGE. The amount of stress that is relieved when the pain is gone is remarkable. I now have another complication that I am dealing with, pulsatile tinnitus, but that is another story for another time. Good luck with your decision. I am also a healthcare provider and sometimes really knowing and understanding all the risks makes the decision that much harder. Getting rid of the pain helped me to get my life back. I hope whatever decision you make, your pain is relieved. God Bless.