jang Posted May 14, 2005 Share Posted May 14, 2005 I have read a lot of posts about people becoming hoarse because of tumors resting on vocal cords, etc. My voice became hoarse right after my bronchoscopy. The doctor said it may get better in a few days, a few months, or it may never get better. I had my lobectomy 2 weeks after the bronchoscopy. My voice is still hoarse, after 5 weeks. Has anyone else experienced this? It seems that the pollen outside makes it worse. I don't know if anything can be done to help this, or if it is something that I will just have to live with. I go back to my surgeon on Friday, and I'll ask him again. Just wanted to know if anyone else experienced this after surgery. Thanks, Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wfshaw Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 Hi Jan, It's your partner in surgery..Bill..April 20th. I was hoarse after but only for a few days. Now I am fine. My follow up with the surgeon was this week and everything is fine. Ask him about it when you see him. My pulmonologist put me on two different inhalers. I don't know if they releived the hoarseness or not. I will ask him when I see him in two weeks. Other than that how are you doing?? My pain is a real b**ch but the pain pills help. I just don't like taking them all the time. Make me really tired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jang Posted May 15, 2005 Author Share Posted May 15, 2005 Hi Bill, I'm feeling really good, considering it's only been 3 1/2 weeks since surgery. I see my surgeon on Friday. I'm not in much pain anymore. Just having a hard time going up stairs and hills. I am back at the gym, walking on the treadmill only. I used to do spinning classes everyday. Hopefully, I will get back to that in a couple of months. I'm just worried about my voice. It's been over 5 weeks, and not much improvement. I need my voice for work, so it's been very frustrating. Hopefully someone else has been through what I am going through and can give me some hope. I didn't like when the dr. said that it may never get better. I hope your pain gets better. I know what you mean about the pain pills. I hated taking them. I haven't taken any for a couple of weeks now. I hated being on the morphine in the hospital. I don't do well with morphine. I can't remember who came to see me, or what I said to them. I was so glad when they took me off that. But it did work! Take care.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connie B Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 Dear Jan, Wendy from Minnesota had some voice problems, you might wnat to check with her. I also had some problems do to the pipes or tubes down my throat. It can take some time for these things to heal. BUT, do check with your doc, and check with the EXPERTS HERE! Go and Ask the Experts and see what they think. Good luck, and I'm very happy to hear your doing so well. Keep up the walking and good work. It's the best thing you can do. You'll be back in shape in no time. Hugs, Connie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay A. Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 Sometimes the nerve that controls the vocal chord can be damaged during surgery to the left side of the chest, resulting in permanent hoarseness and/or loss of voice. There is a procedure that can be done that is sometimes successful in restoring ability to speak above a whisper. I'll try to find the information for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 Jan, Great to hear you are managing ok after surgery! Keep up the activity, I believe it helps in the recovery. I cannot say is your problem is just a side effect of the surgery and being exhausted, winded etc. but.... I had nerve damage from my surgery that affected my left vocal cord. Basically the cord no longer moved, was paralyzed. I did have the extremely weak voice and horseness. In addition and a bigger problem was that I was choking on liquids constantly and couldn't talk for long periods without getting exhausted. My understanding is that it can affect about 5% of the LC surgery patients. Most of the time the nerve damage repairs itself within 6 months time. In my case it didn't and I had a Montgomery Thyroplasty implant implanted in my cord after a year. Definetly talk to your surgeon. Hopefully it isn't a vocal cord problem, but rest assured that if there is a problem there is HOPE to get things straightened around again!! Hang in there and pm me if you want any further info. Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carole Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 My husband was hoarse after the broncoscopy for several months. it was really strange. his voice is ok now but it did seem odd to us that it took so long. but it very slowly got better. carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jang Posted May 17, 2005 Author Share Posted May 17, 2005 Thank you all for the encouragement. I will definitely discuss it with my surgeon on Friday. I wouldn't be so impatient if it weren't for my job. I'm in sales, and I need my voice to make that commission. Carole - I really appreciate the post. It's good to know that this happened to someone else during the broncoscopy, and they recovered fully. Wendy - I will PM you after my dr. appt. on Friday. Fay - If you find anything, please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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