Last month I was in California, so I set up a follow-up
visit at Dr. Berke’s office. The visit
took place about a year and a month after my surgery.
I was seen by Dr. Jennifer Long, who said that my voice
sounded good. She had a look at my
larynx using a laryngoscope and noted that they were showing good symmetry.
At the time I was still unintentionally hitting high notes
on a few words here and there. Noting
that there was some inflammation on my larynx, she suggested that reflux could
be playing a role and that I should try taking Prilosec. While I haven’t noticed a problem with
reflux, my throat was indeed scratchy from time to time. Dr. Long prescribed that I take double the
recommended dosage of Prilosec OTC, which can be purchased over the counter
(i.e. 2 tablets per day instead of the usual 1).
I’ve been taking the Prilosec for about four or five weeks now and
the occasional falsetto notes have stopped. My throat is also no longer scratchy. It would seem that the Prilosec is helping,
so I am planning to keep taking it for a while.
It’s also possible that I’m just further along in the recovery. At some point, I will probably ease off the
Prilosec and see if there’s any difference.
As a side note, Dr. Long remarked that my larynx is somewhat
narrow overall, and that this seems to be a characteristic not uncommon for people
with spasmodic dysphonia. Perhaps people
with narrow larynxes naturally have their vocal cords closer together, lowering
their tolerance to the hyperactive signals coming down the laryngeal
nerve. That’s my theory, not theirs.
My voice feels stronger and better than ever, and I don’t
think I’ve had a single voice spasm since before the operation. It’s not 100% and it can give out if I get
tired. It’s also not quite as loud as it
once was, and yelling in loud environments is not my strong suit.
Here’s a sample of how I sound now:
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