Voice

[Svetlana Leigh]

I had surgery June 24, 2016. I can sing really well, but ever since I had surgery my singing voice is extremely hoarse and my voice keeps cracking when I sing high notes or sing in my upper register. It cracks like a boy going through puberty if that makes since. My throat was only sore for 2 days after surgery and my speaking voice has been a little raspy since surgery. I sang in my hotel room the night before surgery and the morning that I woke up on my way to the hospital and I sounded good like usual. I'm highly annoyed because I LOVE to sing and I want my voice back. I take Singulair, Zyrtec, and Protonix. I do not have any acid reflux that I'm aware of but I take it anyway. I took Nexium the first month but my doctor gave me Protonix. Neither one is helping my voice. I don't know what to do but I'm pissed over my voice...

 

[Susan in Tennessee]

I wrote a post that sounded so close to this one! SAME thing with me, except the part where you said you can "sing really well". I can't but I love to sing and sure don't need my voice being made worse. Upper register was the problem and I had to sing low to sing at all. I thought at first it was from having the tube in my throat then finally emailed Nina and she said it wasn't from that after that long a time (several weeks) and that it most likely was acid reflux and to increase my Nexium to one pill morning and one pill night. I did that, not a lot of change. I reported no change and Nina then told me to take two pills morning and night. I did this, along with trying to not eat late and also put 4"blocks under the legs of the head of our bed. Something has helped, not sure which of these things it is....or just time. My voice is getting much better and I am beginning to sing closer to what I was able to before surgery, but not THE same yet. Sometimes I do wake up with a raspy voice but those mornings are getting fewer and farther apart. I think perhaps my esophagus had been really irritated from the acid and it takes quite a while to heal. I am starting to decrease the amount of Nexium I take now. Have many of you who started out taking a PPI been able to come off it or decrease usage successfully? Svetlana, my surgery was on June 10 with Dr. Esquerra also.

 

[Settledownnow]

I am 3 weeks out and have not had problems with my voice but with coughing spasms. I even saw the doc because I was afraid I was going to harm my freshly cut insides from the unrelenting coughing fits. She had no answers unfortunately. The coughing is becoming less frequent, but sometimes I cough so hard I vomit. Really sucks. I am taking a PPI.

 

[Svetlana Leigh]

Thank you for responding. I'll continue taking the Protonix and add Nexium with it to see if that helps. I sure hope it does. Singing relaxes me and calms my nerves. I have a very stressful job and not being able to sing is adding to my already high stress levels. I actually broke down several times crying afraid I won't get my voice back. If all else fails, I'll go and see a specialists.

 

[Clematis]

See an ENT and put your mind at ease. S/he can tell you right away if it's acid reflux or something else.

Coughing is a very common symptom of "silent" (no feeling of heartburn) reflux, @Settledownnow . A friend (who did NOT have WLS) would cough her lungs out after eating until she'd vomit. My "silent" reflux (DXed shortly before DS) was the feeling of nose mucous behind my ear that I just couldn't swallow.

I take OTC Nexium -- only one 20mg pill. (Double dose did not leave me enough stomach acid to digest protein.) I sleep raised on a foam bed wedge, do not eat much for dinner and not at all after 8pm (I even take nighttime vitamins before 8) and have given up caffeine (I sleep better too!), carbonated beverages and try to restrict spicy and acidic food like tomatoes to lunchtime.

 

[Munchkin]

I was raspy for a couple months postop. In my case, it was the tube and it did eventually go away.

 

[Settledownnow]

See an ENT and put your mind at ease. S/he can tell you right away if it's acid reflux or something else.

Coughing is a very common symptom of "silent" (no feeling of heartburn) reflux, @Settledownnow . A friend (who did NOT have WLS) would cough her lungs out after eating until she'd vomit. My "silent" reflux (DXed shortly before DS) was the feeling of nose mucous behind my ear that I just couldn't swallow.

I take OTC Nexium -- only one 20mg pill. (Double dose did not leave me enough stomach acid to digest protein.) I sleep raised on a foam bed wedge, do not eat much for dinner and not at all after 8pm (I even take nighttime vitamins before 8) and have given up caffeine (I sleep better too!), carbonated beverages and try to restrict spicy and acidic food like tomatoes to lunchtime.

This is what I had begun to suspect. I am taking Omeprazole OTC and the coughing has lessened, but I may switch to Nexium to see if the coughing might completely go away.

 

[DSRIGGS]

I still have a very weak and somewhat raspy voice after the DS surgery. It was somewhat that way after an ACDF (cervical disc removal and fusion) in 2011 that ended up with me intubated and ICU for 5 days. It got worse with the DS and never improved for me.

It sucks because I always had a powerful and commanding voice and I had a good singing voice as well. Not so much anymore.

 

[Clematis]

@Settledownnow My PCP has GERD and had to try several different brands to find one that worked best for her. She found Prevacid (lamsopidal) worked best for her. (I've never tried that one.)

 

[duh_Mom]

@Svetlana Leigh I agree with seeing an ENT. I developed nodules on my vocal cords that grew after damage from the intubation and required some steroids to resolve. The symptoms you mention are classic for this type of issue.

 

[Svetlana Leigh]

@Svetlana Leigh I agree with seeing an ENT. I developed nodules on my vocal cords that grew after damage from the intubation and required some steroids to resolve. The symptoms you mention are classic for this type of issue.

I'm going to make an appointment to put my mind at ease. Nodules definitely came to mind when I first notice my voice cracking. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[Vikki C.]

Don't know if this will help at all, but I have read that Protonix can cause hoarseness and sore throat.

 

[DSRIGGS]

Don't know if this will help at all, but I have read that Protonix can cause hoarseness and sore throat.

Are you sure you didn't read that not taking your ppi will do that? Because I know that is true because acid getting into your throat causes hoarseness and esophageal erosion.

 

[Svetlana Leigh]

Don't know if this will help at all, but I have read that Protonix can cause hoarseness and sore throat.

I didn't start taking Protonix until 1 month post surgery. My inability to sing started around day 5 post surgery. I initially started out with Nexium because that is what they gave me before leaving the hospital. I had a slight sore throat when I got out of surgery but it only lasted 2-3 days. I guess Protonix could be adding to the issue but I'm not sure. Also, my speaking voice is the same. It's only when I sing that my voice keeps cracking. I also can't sing as loud when I'm singing in my upper register. That's when it sounds the worst. The only way I can describe it is that it sounds exactly like a boy going into puberty. Since the surgery, my allergies and my sinuses have been completely clear. More clearer than it's ever been in the last 10 years. Also, my eczema is gone and my skin is more clearer than it's ever been besides the acne from the vitamins but even that's clearing up. I don't have heartburn but I understand that it could still be an issue and damaging my voice even though I don't feel anything. I never had heart burn with my lap band either.

 

[Vikki C.]

Are you sure you didn't read that not taking your ppi will do that? Because I know that is true because acid getting into your throat causes hoarseness and esophageal erosion.

No, hoarseness and sore throat were listed as side effects of Protonix. Here are some links:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/pantoprazole
https://www.drugs.com/sfx/protonix-side-effects.html