View Full Version : Can voice hoarseness take this long? 5 weeks
Hi all
I caought a bad viral infection after my hemorrhoidectomy surgery. For the first 3 weeks I lost my voice completely along with cough, sore throat, phlegm, runny noise.
Now is 5th week. The cough is still a little bit there especially when I lay down. Phlegm is minimal. No more runny nose but my voice is still only 80% recovered. My ENT said give it 6-7 weeks before she scope my throat and today is 5th week already. I’m getting anxious and afraid if something more serious. I’ve never have such a bad cold/viral infection before and my body still recovering from the hemorrhoid surgery.
I don’t smoke drink. Anyone here ever experience such a long time with voice hoarseness and turn out ok?
Thanks
Rod Stewart's made a career out of it. :yesyes:
Yes you certainly can nhelen. I’m assuming you had a general anaesthetic . Many moons ago i had a semi thyroidectomy, had been in a real bad place for months before hand as it presented as a nodule at the front of throat & i basically wrapped my sons christmas presents thinking this would be the last one i’d see. However 1/2 thyroid later final results in all was well nothing sinister.
After all this my throat was obviously hoarse could barely speak for a month but my throat & mouth where still red raw & i got on the treadmill again ‘oh my god they’ve made a mistake’ i shouldn’t be like this months later. Also had ulcers in mouth. Anyway went to see a homeopath who had his own health care shop, explained the whole sorry tale & he said well yes you’ve had a tube down your throat for an operation & everyone reacts differently to an anaesthetic, its a big trauma for the body, you’re run down & the immune system becomes low. Gave me some tablets to boost my immune system, (sorry can’t remember name) told me to stop worrying its all quite normal. Few weeks later i was back to normal again.
In your case you’ve had the double wammy of an op & viral infection. Be kind to yourself & look after yourself, i’m sure it will all get better.
he said well yes you’ve had a tube down your throat for an operation & everyone reacts differently to an anaesthetic, its a big trauma for the body, you’re run down & the immune system becomes low. Gave me some tablets to boost my immune system, (sorry can’t remember name) told me to stop worrying its all quite normal. Few weeks later i was back to normal again.
In your case you’ve had the double wammy of an op & viral infection. Be kind to yourself & look after yourself, i’m sure it will all get better.
I only had medicine for general anesthesia and not a tube, but I did get a double whammy with a surgery recovery and a viral infection all at the same time. It’s just that I healed so fast with the viral infection In the first 3 weeks and suddenly only these last 2 weeks I feel like I’m not.
Thank you for your reassurance. I’ll try to give it another 2 weeks. The anxiety is lurking up again. My GP suggested a throat scope to make sure but the ENT after physically check me out last week said my throat was still red so she wanted me to take more time to heal. It’s hard not to talk with 2 young kids.
Rod Stewart's made a career out of it. :yesyes:
I don’t know about him. Need to look into.
I think you can be reassured with what they’ve said because if your throat is still red the infection is obviously still there & does need more time to heal. Have you tried gargling at all with tcp or just plain salt water.
I think you can be reassured with what they’ve said because if your throat is still red the infection is obviously still there & does need more time to heal. Have you tried gargling at all with tcp or just plain salt water.
You know what? I did try before with salt water but I didn’t keep it up. Will do twice a day for the next 2 weeks and hopefully I can recover. Sometime I wish she would just scope and assure me nothing else bad going on. However her approach is waiting
I know, sometimes we just have to bow to their superior knowledge !
Worrywart84
22-12-20, 17:59
I had bronchitis last fall and my throat was hoarse, along with an annoying cough, for seven straight weeks. I literally thought I would never sing again and briefly thought I may have lung cancer. Then it went away.
I had bronchitis last fall and my throat was hoarse, along with an annoying cough, for seven straight weeks. I literally thought I would never sing again and briefly thought I may have lung cancer. Then it went away.
Thank you so much.
I don’t know about him. Need to look into.
The 79 of your username suggests it's your year of birth which would make you 41? The odds of you having lived on this planet for 41 years and not know who Rod Stewart is - well, very low indeed.
I'm stunned that you're not au fait with our 'do ya think I'm sexy' Rod? :ohmy: Pretty sure he lives in your country - albeit on a tax dodge. :roflmao:
Not sure if this will be reassuring or not due to the timescale... but I thought I’d share my experience.
I had a nasty cold virus last year (February 2019). After it past, my cough carried on and on and on. It led to constant throat clearing and a scratchy feeling and I lost the ability to sing. My voice would ‘cut out’ if I tried to shout. And constantly this irritating (sometimes almost ‘hacking’) cough.
I had a scope in the June - after 4 months of this. It showed nothing but redness/irritation near my vocal chords. So I was referred to a speech therapist. I thought this was odd, but have to admit that the exercises and advice I was given really helped - took time and perseverance, but I noticed gradual improvement and by October 2019 my cough had finally gone.
So 8 months total for me! I should add that I also took gaviscon at nights during this time as acid reflux was also irritating my throat, exacerbating the problem.
Not sure if this will be reassuring or not due to the timescale... but I thought I’d share my experience.
I had a nasty cold virus last year (February 2019). After it past, my cough carried on and on and on. It led to constant throat clearing and a scratchy feeling and I lost the ability to sing. My voice would ‘cut out’ if I tried to shout. And constantly this irritating (sometimes almost ‘hacking’) cough.
I had a scope in the June - after 4 months of this. It showed nothing but redness/irritation near my vocal chords. So I was referred to a speech therapist. I thought this was odd, but have to admit that the exercises and advice I was given really helped - took time and perseverance, but I noticed gradual improvement and by October 2019 my cough had finally gone.
So 8 months total for me! I should add that I also took gaviscon at nights during this time as acid reflux was also irritating my throat, exacerbating the problem.
Thanks. Your situation sounded like mine. I had a nasty viral infection too. My throat scope is next Wednesday and my anxiety is through the roof even though I know if our body is stressed out, it would be slower to heal. I’m praying that my throat is ok
update: I went back to the ENT last Wednesday. she did a throat scope with a camera going down from my nostril to my throat. also looked into my ears and nose with the camera. She said everything look normal, no grow or lesion. She suggested me to give it more time or go to speech therapy.
I'm not sure what other medical procedure I shall ask for when she cleared me on the throat/nose scope? tomorrow is end of week 7th.
thanks
Hanh
NotDeadYet
05-01-21, 00:25
Great news! It sounds like you were given the all clear and nothing is wrong. I'd take her advice and wait it out and then go to a speech therapist if your voice bothers you.
Best Wishes
Great news! It sounds like you were given the all clear and nothing is wrong. I'd take her advice and wait it out and then go to a speech therapist if your voice bothers you.
Best Wishes
It’s week 9 and I’m still not back 100% with my voice. The anxiety is creeping in again :(.
I’m contemplating to go for 2nd ENT or speech therapy . I already had Flexible Fiberoptic Laryngoscopy with the first ENT. Is it redundant to go for 2nd ENT and demand the same procedure again with a different doctor? God I hate my anxiety.
Been drinking lot of ginger lemon honey water and not back 100%. I’m afraid the first ENT missed seeing something in her scope.
Worrywart84
16-01-21, 05:17
Is it redundant to go for 2nd ENT and demand the same procedure again with a different doctor?
Yes :)
Yes :)
Ha any sane person would agree with you but My mind is not at the right place right now. I mean I shall trust a specialist in throat/ear/nose with years of experience that she didn’t see anything wrong after she looked inside my throat with a camera right?
NotDeadYet
16-01-21, 06:07
Right!! How can you get any more precise? You can't! You need to trust it and work on your anxiety.
Right!! How can you get any more precise? You can't! You need to trust it and work on your anxiety.
I’m just afraid she missed seeing something with the camera so having a second doctor reassurance would be good but I think this is my anxiety talking and I need to work on it. It would cost me more if I go for 2nd opinion because my deductible started over with the new year
NotDeadYet
16-01-21, 14:00
It's absolutely your anxiety talking. Challenging the thought, "what if she missed something" with, "she's a medically trained professional who knows exactly what to look for so the odds of her missing something are infinitely small" would be a really great place to start on working on your anxiety.
Best Wishes
It's absolutely your anxiety talking. Challenging the thought, "what if she missed something" with, "she's a medically trained professional who knows exactly what to look for so the odds of her missing something are infinitely small" would be a really great place to start on working on your anxiety.
Best Wishes
My GP doesn’t help. This is her response.why does she agree for me to seek 2nd opinion?
“I reviewed Dr Janas' note and it does not look like she saw any abnormality on the throat scope that she did.
You are welcome to get a 2nd opinion, or you can try speech therapy and see if it helps? Either option is ok - whatever you feel comfortable with”
She agrees because she is aware of your anxiety and recognizes her reassurance may not satisfy you (which it hasn't). If you want to spend your money and pursue a diagnosis that will never come, she's allowing you the choice :shrug:
Positive thoughts
What a cop out from the GP. I wish you had a GP who would help you manage your HA and be decisive in her advice
She agrees because she is aware of your anxiety and recognizes her reassurance may not satisfy you (which it hasn't). If you want to spend your money and pursue a diagnosis that will never come, she's allowing you the choice :shrug:
Positive thoughts
she knows me very well, Fishmanpa. I was hoping she would just said go to speech therapy and don't need 2nd opinion. However, I didn't think of her angle like you've explained.
What a cop out from the GP. I wish you had a GP who would help you manage your HA and be decisive in her advice
she knows me very well and used to be decisive. last time when I saw her for something else, she told me if a throat scope found nothing, only option left is to go speech therapy. just surprised that she agreed with my anxiety this time for 2nd opinion :( that fueled it more. When I wake up in the morning, my voice is almost clear. then as the day goes on, feel some phlegm at the throat then the voice get hoarse. if I drink water, it clears up.
So I asked her again why she think 2nd opinion is ok. This is her response (like what fishmanpa explained).
“give it a further week and see how you feel. The 2nd opinion is more for your reassurance, as Dr Janas did not seem concerned”
So I asked her again why she think 2nd opinion is ok. This is her response (like what fishmanpa explained).
“give it a further week and see how you feel. The 2nd opinion is more for your reassurance, as Dr Janas did not seem concerned”
If you can be brave I would opt for the speech therapy. Reassurance allows your HA to win. Take control of your HA and reject "reassurance"?
If you can be brave I would opt for the speech therapy. Reassurance allows your HA to win. Take control of your HA and reject "reassurance"?
I really really want to go this way and be brave. The what if is scary at the same time too.
So I’ve been talking to my GP via email. The issue is that when I wake up in the morning, my throat is dried and my voice is good (99% good).
Then as the day goes by, I started feeling there is mucus or a puddle of water at the base of my throat that makes me wants to clear my throat before I speak. That is when my voice sounds hoarse again.
She thinks I might having post nasal drip and wanted me to try Flonase. I will take her advice. I always thought that post nasal drip happens only at night when one lay down. In my case, the symtoms happen during the day.
I told her that I would give it another week and will make decision by then. I’m hoping by that time I would have the courage to opt for speech therapy instead of seeking reassurance. I’m working on it
Thanks for reading my post.
That's a very good plan. Try the Flonase and see what happens. My son has post nasal drip all day if that helps at all?. The first time you turn down tests is hard but it is a very good way to challenge HA and has worked for me on many occasions now. I'm glad I was "brave" and have no hesitation now in saying that I only want tests based on clinical need not for reassurance.
That's a very good plan. Try the Flonase and see what happens. My son has post nasal drip all day if that helps at all?. The first time you turn down tests is hard but it is a very good way to challenge HA and has worked for me on many occasions now. I'm glad I was "brave" and have no hesitation now in saying that I only want tests based on clinical need not for reassurance.
Today anxiety is creeping up again since my voice seems hoarse yesterday and today although I’ve been doing allergy pill, Flonase and nose rinse religiously. I have the referral for speech therapy but I want to run to 2nd opinion from another ENT :(
Anxiety suck or maybe because I don’t have an answer why my voice is behaving weird.
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