voice problem

[Cecily]

Hi I got pv replacement surgery 10 days ago. I am slowly getting better but all I have is a wisper I cannot talk. Has anyone had this please let me know it is getting really frustrating and I am getting worried. Thanks Cecily

 

[Dee]

Hi Cecily,
Yes, I had the same thing. Weak voice that was kind of shaky, one of my friends asked me if my voice was ever going to be back to normal again, I just assumed it would and it did, but I can't really remember how long it took. I think this is pretty normal though. I finally got a bell to ring for when I needed something or someone, because no one could hear me even if they were just in the next room. I felt like I was yelling and nothing was coming out. The bell worked good to get my husband's attention.
Good luck with the rest of your recovery!!

 

[geebee]

Cecily,
I believe it is irritation caused by the breathing tube. Depending on "how it sat" in your throat, it can push against tissue that can get swollen. Since everyone's throat is different, some folks have this problem and others don't.
It should go away in a few weeks and you will find it improves slowly throughout that period.
If you don't start to see an improvement in another week or so, you should talk to your doctor to make sure nothing was REALLY damaged.
I hope everything else is going well for you.
Smiles,
Gina

 

[hensylee]

I believe we have had one or two members who have had a problem after surgery. It's been a year or two but I just don't recall all the circumstances - they got better, tho. Any one recall those posts?

 

[pegne]

Cecily

Cecily

I have had 4 vreplacements/repairs. After each I had a hard time getting my voice back. Slowly I got back this very harsh hoarse voice. It took anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks post of to get my entire voice back.

 

[McCln]

Cecily

Cecily

I will pray that you get your voice back soon. I did not have that problem, but there are those who have. And congrats on being back here. Keep doing what the doctors tell you and please walk everyday. Take care.

 

[Harpoon]

Oh yeah... I actually lost most of my voice BEFORE surgery from the incessant coughing I had been doing as a result of the CHF i was in (I was REALLY sick)

Having the tube down my throat for over a month (I was REALLY sick...) didn't help matters and they even did a procedure after taking me off the vent to set my vocal chords back in their proper place. It really took me almost a year to regain my full voice but it's back and fine now. I was talking without much sign of a problem a few weeks after getting home, about 10-12 weeks post-op.

Again, I was REALLY sick. =)


Don't push it. Your voice WILL come back. It's frustrating for a while I know, one word sentences were all I could muster for weeks on end and you had set your ear practically on top of my face to understand me.

Breath, lots of breathing, use that spirometer if they gave you one, usually something with a ball that you have to raise into the air by blowing into a tube. Drink light liquids, soft drinks like orange juice, water, fruit juice, tea. Avoid carbonated beverages for a while, and anything alcoholic.

Humming seemed to help sometimes, it's hard to do but if you can get even just a little, quite sound to come out and keep working on it, things seem to move quicker.

Be patient, get a notepad and a pencil.


My wife wrote out the alphabet on a sheet of notebook paper along with some common phrases that I could point to when I needed something and couldn't communicate it verbally...