The biggest problem I have had during the past few months is a bit of squeekiness, or what I call the “puberty voice.” Sometimes while speaking my voice breaks into a higher pitch for a few words. This is not the same as the spasm type of break I had pre-surgery. I have heard that this phenomenon tends to occur in some people toward the end of the recovery period. In this sense, it’s good news. During the past few months, I was both hopeful because I was getting louder and frustrated because of these slightly embarrassing falsetto moments. These high pitched breaks are happening less and less though, and that’s a good thing. I’m hoping that they go away completely in the next month or so.
The other problem I have is that my voice is not always smooth and can sound a little gravelly. I don’t mind this problem so much. I’d prefer not to have it, and it might go away, but if it doesn’t, I can live with it (assuming the puberty voice resolves).
Here’s another sample so you can listen for yourself:
I have also learned by talking with some other patients that outcomes and recovery periods vary. I was originally hoping for a quick recovery, but instead my recovery seems to be taking twice as long as what some others are experiencing. However, since my voice is already at a stage where I function well, I’m no longer in the mode of counting days as I was early in the recovery, and know that it will simply continue to improve as time goes on.
The best news is that in recent months I have become much more social than I have been in a long time. In many ways, I’ve started to become the old me again, the outgoing, gregarious person I was in my long ago pre-SD days, and that’s a really good thing.
