Vocal Chord Paralysis

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Ralph414

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Hi everyone, I had an accident and Trauma in the neck and I had Neck Surgery, THEY PUT A TRACHE IN MY THROAT! 2 weeks later on October 18 I was Diagnose wit Vocal Cord Paralysis at first I Couldnt say a word, then I could Whisper then I could talk a little more above a whisper! :/ I also have the G-Tube to feed myself! on Noveraber 15 i had an appointment with the ENT doctor DR.McAlpin as she was looking at the notes she said ' I DONT THINK WE ARE GUNNA GET U TO TALK AGAIN; and i was like but ' I could talk a little bit' In my hoarse voice, and she said maybe things have changed she look down in my throat with the little thing they used and the vocal chorRAB were paralyze, she said it was too soon to determine anything! to give it 6 MONTHS also she said i wont be able to eat until a little longer. :( OK a few days later the RT put the Trache Cap on me to see if I COULD TOLORATE IT, is been 5 weeks that i been tolorating the trache cap! so they talked to the ENT doctor and she didnt wanna remove the trache :( so i went with another ENT DR,Owens she looked down my throat and said my left vocal chord was paralize and my right vocal chord WAS MOVING BUT IT WAS WEAK ;( SHE SAID I COULD EAT, AND I BEEN EATING SINCE YESTURDAY I DONT KNOW WHAT TO EAT THOUGH Because i kinda choke on liquiRAB sometimes but not on food???


SHE SAID SHE WAS GOING TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND REFERRED ME TO HER PROFESSOR I THINK DR.CRUMLEY THAT HE WAS A BIG DOCTOR, I HEARD ABOUT INJECTIONS N SURGERYS THAT COULD HELP ME,

WHAT DO U GUYS THINK, AM I HOPELESS? is like an everyday struggle I JUST PRAY TO GOD TO GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE TO TALK GOOD AGAIN. :(
 
You may not necessarily be hopeless and I do not have "THE" answer, but I would suggest that you exercise extreme care when eating. Aspiration is an ugly enemy when your swallowing is impaired. I suggest you eat in very small bites. I also suggest you get some thickener either honey or nectar from your local pharmacy to add to your liquiRAB so that you can effectively tolerate liquiRAB. The thickener may not always taste great but it keeps you from potentially having aspiration pneumonia leading to potentially being back on a ventilator and potentially going back to eating nothing. So please take care.
As far as the paralyzed vocal chorRAB, I've seen most people talk but it's never loud. Typically just above a whisper, but the fact that you can eat is a blessing in itself!
 
if i swallow the liquiRAB slow i do not choke, as long as i dont choke i should be ok right?im going to add honey to my drinks lol, why the thicker the liquid the less u choke?
 
Happy New Year Ralph
I have not ck'd on this board for a long time and I am a success story so here is
my story......

I had a spinal ACDF surgery done at Cleveland Clinic Fl. They cut your throat in the front to work on your spine. During the surgery My right vocal cord was paralyzed. I could barely speak, had chest pain, and was aspirating.

Was told like everyone else is told it can take up to 6 months for the nerve to heal blah, blah blah.

My one question was "if I go ahead with the vocal cord injection now, will it reduce the chance of permanent natural healing?" The answer was no. So I scheduled the injection surgery exactly 2 months after my cord was paralyzed. Miracle! I could eat and speak again. It lasted 3 months. So I had another injection. Again miracle! I did the "real" speech therapy designed by a speech therapist at Yale university hospital who helped me over the phone!!!!! Anyway I went back to Cleveland Clinic almost 1 yr later and they told me I had nice movement in my cord, did not see paralysis so I assumed my healing had gone well. Fast forward 1 yr I broke my nose and told a local ENT I used to have a paralyzed vocal cord, he said mind if I look? So he said to me look at the video..... your cord is STILL PARALYZED!!!!! So my body has adjusted to the filler injection, along with the speech therapy, my speaking voice is almost normal. Yes I have a paralyzed vocal cord confirmed by 2 other ENT's, and I cannot sing but I can speak well enough. I only choke occasionally and lead a fairly normal life. I was my advocate, I searched for help everywhere and reached out to all the university hospitals to see if they could help me speak again. Thank God for Yale.

There is a lot of hope for you so please look for help and don't listen to negative doctors. Work hard for your voice and find a great speech therapist.
 
THANKS A LOT YOU MADE MY DAY JULYG, YOURE RIGHT THERE ARE A LOT OF NEGATIVE DOCTORS! BUT THE ENT DOCTORS I BEEN TO SEEM LIKE THEY DONT KNOW ABOUT THIS INJECTIONS YOURE TALKING ABOUT, THE 2ND ENT DOCTOR I WENT TO SAID SHE WAS GUNNA SEND A REFERRAL TO HER PROESSOR DOCTOR AT A UNIVERSITY, HOPEFULY HE KNOWS ABOUT THIS, HOW COME THE ENTS HAVENT MENTION NOTHING ABOUT THE INECTIONS?? WHY DO YOU THINK? MAYBE THEY DONT KNOW ABOUT THEM, BUT THEY SHOULD KNOW SINCE THEY ENTS RIGHT?






I WAS DIAGNOSE WITH VFP SINCE OCTOBER, THE FIRST ENT SAID BOTH VOCAL FOLRAB WERE PARALYZE AND DIDNT WANT ME TO GET SPEECH THERAPY, DUrab NEGATIVE DOCTOR

THE SECOND SAID THE LEFT VOCAL FOLD WAS PARALIZE AND IT WAS GONE, AND THE RIGHT ONE WAS MOVING BUT IT WAS WEAK BUT IT WAS MOVING ;)

HOW CAN I PRACTICE SPEECH THERAPY? CAN U POST WHAT WORRAB AND SOME INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE
 
It's simple. A thicker consistency allows you enough control to swallow effectively. And sometimes, you may not know you are choking. This is termed silent aspiration. Before you left the hospital the speech therapist should have tested to see what consistencies work for you. You should go with the recommendations that they gave to you and follow it. All in all...just take your time and be careful.
 
Sorry Ralph I did not ck back on you.

Yes I can however you shoud insist on getting speech therapy. First off you need to drink tons of water with a bendy straw cause you are going to work your vocal cord and you MUST be hydrated.
Next I know i cannot refer you to another website but I can say there is a video resource that rhymes with u doob and search for a vocal cord speech therapy for techniques. Next M and n worRAB!!!. Design your own Try musical scales with mum mum mon mon mon nun nun mum nun. I would do 1/2 an hr 3x daily I would make up silly stuff like "mad men mine money" and say it 5x then Nuns mind mints, 5x minny monty and moomy5x etc. For some reason mworRAB and n worRAB force the vocal corRAB to work harder than other sounRAB.

I typed out a list in large font andtaped them in bathroom, car, desk and practiced. I followed the GERD diet to protect my vocal cord No caffeine, no pepermints, no throat losengers tons of water and chamolile tea and I know it sucks but what have you got to gain? Your VOICE!

Good luck and work hard

July
 
thanks for your help diva. I done a lot of research for VOCAL CORD PARALYSIS, and i heard there are some inections that could help my voice sound good, I just hope the doctor gives me some kind of treatment cause i cant leave with this hoarse voice, its only been 2 months since this happend. The first ENT said we need to wait 6 months to see if it heals, and the second ent says its gone so sometimes i dont know what or who to believe.
 
I should have addresed this above....
Every Dr I went to was aware of the injections, just protocal was to wait 6 months. I insisted on having the injections done earlier. Can you get a 2nd and or 3rd opinion? Remeraber its your life not the drs and they really have no idea what hell you are going through. If your ENT is not familiar with the benefits of the injections, well what kind of ENT are you seeing? You need a specialist in vocal corRAB, not ears.


My job consists of 30 % phone work and 70% face to face with clients selling and training so I have to speak. Noone today knows I have a problem unless I tell them. I really sound normal now.
July
 
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