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**PUBLIC** My ENT Adventure
Friday, 26 September 2003 10:45(x-posted to diaryland)
Many moons ago, probably a year, I started having voice problems. All the family, professional, and personal issues in my life were stressing me out to the point where I developed reflux disease. I thought it was temporary because I had experienced it before, but when I started losing my voice and going through a big box of over-the-counter Tagamet a week I went to see a doctor. The doctor told me to drink more water and stop stressing out. I asked for a referral to a specialist. He reluctantly gave me one.
Long story short: My reflux disease was damaging my vocal chords.
I was given a prescription and a laundry list of things to change in my life. It was also recommended that if stress was a major concern that I get help. I filled the 'scrip, changed eight out of the ten things on the list, and saw a doctor about stress management. Things have been under control for a while.
Yesterday I went back to the ENT for a follow-up. I was seen by two ENT's and a Speech Therapist in a room with the coolest Macintosh setup I've EVER seen. They sprayed this blue window-cleaner tasting shit (yuck!) up my right nostril and talked to me about the changes I have been making over the last few months while it took effect. I don't think it worked very well, because when I breathed through my nose it tickled the back of my sinuses and made me want to sneeze. "Oh it's fine," Dr. M said as they set up the camera. See, they stick this tube camera through your nose to the back of your throat to look at your chords. It's not very comfortable. Halfway in we realized that one dose of window-cleaner tasting shit was not enough (damn) and had to do it again. *groan*
As we waited a few more minutes, I was told they would be recording a five-minute .avi of my vocal chords in action. Afterwards they would play it back for me (because I would not be in a position to watch during the process) and explain what they observed. Yay.
Then the cramming-the-camera-up-my-nose part of the session began. The numbing effect of the second dose of window-cleaner hadn't completely kicked in, so insertion was a bit uncomfortable. I could feel cold pressure behind my right eyeball, and my head was pinned in this wierd action movie/alien autopsy victim position in the exam chair. They had me sustain a couple of notes, say a few sentences, cough, sing Happy Birthday, and sing a few lines of one of the songs I perform with the band. Then it was over.
Whew! The speech therapist handed me two boxes of tissue and told me that my nose would probably run for the rest of the day. That only really sucked for about an hour while the numbing spray wore off, because until then I only knew my nose was running if the snot made it out of my nose. After that it was manageable.
So I got to watch this video... and it was THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN. You know, I've seen X-Rays of my bones, seen my blood under a microscope, and checked myself out with a mirror, but I have never seen anything else about my body, so I'm pretty easy to impress. Did you know that when you sustain a note your vocal chords come together and do a little wavy gypsy dance? I got a lot of compliments about my chords, especially from my diagnosing doctor who saw them damaged back in April. They were the right color, they were relaxed, and they moved the way they were supposed to.
The only thing they didn't like was that it was taking me so long to get a voice coach. It would help me out with the discomfort I feel after a rehearsal or a long day of talking. I have to call the speech therapist this afternoon and ask for a referral--she said she had several people in mind--so I can get on with that.
So until my next vocal injury I can consider myself cured. Yay!
Many moons ago, probably a year, I started having voice problems. All the family, professional, and personal issues in my life were stressing me out to the point where I developed reflux disease. I thought it was temporary because I had experienced it before, but when I started losing my voice and going through a big box of over-the-counter Tagamet a week I went to see a doctor. The doctor told me to drink more water and stop stressing out. I asked for a referral to a specialist. He reluctantly gave me one.
Long story short: My reflux disease was damaging my vocal chords.
I was given a prescription and a laundry list of things to change in my life. It was also recommended that if stress was a major concern that I get help. I filled the 'scrip, changed eight out of the ten things on the list, and saw a doctor about stress management. Things have been under control for a while.
Yesterday I went back to the ENT for a follow-up. I was seen by two ENT's and a Speech Therapist in a room with the coolest Macintosh setup I've EVER seen. They sprayed this blue window-cleaner tasting shit (yuck!) up my right nostril and talked to me about the changes I have been making over the last few months while it took effect. I don't think it worked very well, because when I breathed through my nose it tickled the back of my sinuses and made me want to sneeze. "Oh it's fine," Dr. M said as they set up the camera. See, they stick this tube camera through your nose to the back of your throat to look at your chords. It's not very comfortable. Halfway in we realized that one dose of window-cleaner tasting shit was not enough (damn) and had to do it again. *groan*
As we waited a few more minutes, I was told they would be recording a five-minute .avi of my vocal chords in action. Afterwards they would play it back for me (because I would not be in a position to watch during the process) and explain what they observed. Yay.
Then the cramming-the-camera-up-my-nose part of the session began. The numbing effect of the second dose of window-cleaner hadn't completely kicked in, so insertion was a bit uncomfortable. I could feel cold pressure behind my right eyeball, and my head was pinned in this wierd action movie/alien autopsy victim position in the exam chair. They had me sustain a couple of notes, say a few sentences, cough, sing Happy Birthday, and sing a few lines of one of the songs I perform with the band. Then it was over.
Whew! The speech therapist handed me two boxes of tissue and told me that my nose would probably run for the rest of the day. That only really sucked for about an hour while the numbing spray wore off, because until then I only knew my nose was running if the snot made it out of my nose. After that it was manageable.
So I got to watch this video... and it was THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN. You know, I've seen X-Rays of my bones, seen my blood under a microscope, and checked myself out with a mirror, but I have never seen anything else about my body, so I'm pretty easy to impress. Did you know that when you sustain a note your vocal chords come together and do a little wavy gypsy dance? I got a lot of compliments about my chords, especially from my diagnosing doctor who saw them damaged back in April. They were the right color, they were relaxed, and they moved the way they were supposed to.
The only thing they didn't like was that it was taking me so long to get a voice coach. It would help me out with the discomfort I feel after a rehearsal or a long day of talking. I have to call the speech therapist this afternoon and ask for a referral--she said she had several people in mind--so I can get on with that.
So until my next vocal injury I can consider myself cured. Yay!
