Post-Apnea Surgery --> Can't Sing. Depressed.

[Overpaid Slacker]

2 weeks ago, I had what amounts to a very aggressive tonsillectomy -- removed my tonsils, part of the soft palate, trimmed the uvula and a lot of the extraneous tissue from the rear of my throat. Tonsils and UPPP for the anatomists/surgeons out there.

This was all to alleviate moderate-to-severe sleep apnea, and I've got to say that even though I'm not 100% healed at this point, I'm sleeping SO much better.

By-the-bye, "curing" sleep apnea in men has more than a 50% chance of "curing" hypertension, which is really why I did it. I can't stand the fact that I had high blood pressure and there's nothing I could "do" to "fix" it, so I had the surgery (which is supposed to be a very long, hard healing process for someone of my advanced years to endure) in order to alleviate the HBP.

Long story short, the doc is thrilled with the results, I feel and sleep great and the healing is going fabulous. Still tender, but no bleeds, no complications, and everything is great.

Except.

I can no longer sing. Not that I paid my bills with my voice, or ever had delusions of a musical career. And my "speaking voice" is pretty much the same basso/baritone it's been.

However. I've sung for 25 years, and competed singing for 10 of those, and, truthishly, the only thing that carried me was my humble skill in the baritone register.

I have a fairly limited range, but what I could sing, I could KILL. My best/favorite stuff was Johnny Cash, and most especially Folsom Prison Blues... which, in all humility, I could NAIL, and I have been invited to sing, on stage, with ... well, often, and all over the world.

I'm at my favorite local ginmill tonight, at which FPB is now a jukebox anthem (due, humility aside, to my enthusiasm for the song) and I hadn't attempted to sing it since the surgery. So, it came on, and ... I whiffed. I have no baritone left.

I can no longer "hang my head and cry" with the Master.

OK, I won't suffocate in my sleep, and my blood pressure should be better, but I've lost something that I really, truly enjoyed for a long time. It wasn't part of my "identity", per se, but it was something I could do well. Even on solo hikes through the woods, I would sing certain songs to myself where I could exercise the low register. Now, I can't.

There are a lot of "JP singing stories" but, I remember, as vividly as I remember anything, being with a now ex of mine, at a several hundred person "house party" at a friend's estate. He had a great, world-class, one-man guitarist on for 4 hours. This guitarist suffered no fools, b/c he didn't have to. Drunk (surprise!) I went up and asked him to play Folsom Prison Blues, figuring I'd be belting it out in, and along with, the crowd. However, he didn't know FPB and offered to play Ring of Fire (not my favorite song) so I said, "thanks anyway", and started to walk away. He called me back, and asked me to give him the gist.

So, I sang to him (away from the mic) the first two verses of FPB so he could get the key/timing. At which point, he pulled me up on stage, and still not knowing the guitar part exactly, had me sing FPB in front of the most critical crowd I could imagine (my buddies... and my girl) and the place went absolutely nuts!

I spent the next 30 mins on stage with him, singing to this crowd of, literally, scores of friends (and other ballbusters). I'm by no means a musician, or even a really gifted singer, but for those few minutes, I understood the rapture of mesmerizing a crowd-- and, more importantly, the girl I was in love with; who had those cliche adoring eyes for me while I was, frankly, just rocking the place (in all fairness, in front of an exceptionally gifted and generous musician!).

Now, it's gone (as is the girl, which, as it turns out, is no big loss). I don't even "feel" the potential for those low notes in my throat any more ... I'm not going to "heal" into being able to sing that way again... though the "upper", bland, register is fine and as strong as ever... so maybe I should switch to Bob Seger. No. Can't hit his crazy high notes.

Well, at least I won't wake up dead tomorrow from asphyxiation.

I know this is an odd topic, but it's on my mind as I go to sleep tonight.

JP

[slodave]

2 weeks is not enough time to heal. Give it time. It may start to come back in a few weeks.

[Tyson Schmidt]

Weird. My sister got the exact same surgery, and her singing got better.

I would be willing to bet mine would too, as the problem with my singing voice is trying to avoid the nasally nature brought on by the back of the nose being so closed off. Not to mention my deviated septum.


BTW, I have sleeping issues and hypertension as well. I think it's time to see the doc.

[Dueller]

Small world. My stepkids father married one of JC's dtr.

[The Gaijin]

Originally Posted by slodave

2 weeks is not enough time to heal. Give it time. It may start to come back in a few weeks.

+1

[Gogar]

+1 you need to wait longer. Your body will retrain itself a little bit. Your baritone will likely get even bigger with all that stuff out of the way.

[Tobra]

When my brother had that done, he had trouble clearing his throat after

[legion]

Some of us could never sing...

[craigster59]

Did your register go up or down? Maybe your new "party standard" will have to be "I Will Survive"

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by legion

Some of us could never sing...

Too true. I expected this to be a "doc, will I be able to play the violin?" jokes.

Sorry to hear this, and I hope future healing gets you your voice back.

[Overpaid Slacker]

Originally Posted by craigster59

Did your register go up or down? Maybe your new "party standard" will have to be "I Will Survive"

Most of the register stayed the same, I just lost the deepest part of it (which seems weird to me... further to Gogar's point).

Maybe I'll brush up on "It's Raining Men!" Another perennial favorite of mine.

Naah, no surgery could give me the pipes that those big women have!

Thanks for the kind wishes and support. It seems like a trivial thing, I know, but it's got me a bit bummed.

Tobra -- my surgeon said that, although he could remove the whole uvula, he doesn't b/c it acts like a "windshield wiper" for the back of the throat. Maybe that's the cause of your brother's issue.

Tyson -- a year ago this time, I had a surgery to open up all of my sinuses, at which point the doc (same doc) straightened a "ridiculously deviated" septum. I was AMAZED at the improvement in breathing through my nose! I wished I'd had it done 20 years ago... maybe I would've played more sports involving aerobic fitness!

JP

[stevepaa]

JP, just wait until you have prostate surgery , you will be missing something more than singing


hope you get better.


i had that nasal surgery maybe 15 years ago amazing difference.

[tabs]

What a terrible loss for the world!

[legion]

He was a thief, and a terrorist. On the other hand he had a tremendous singing voice. He's dead now, and he's left me in charge. Now, I can be theatrical, and maybe even a little rough - but one thing I am not, is a *killer*. I am an artist. I *love* a good party. So, truce. Commence au festival!

[island_dude]

I had a UPPP about a year ago. If you are even eating solid food after 2 weeks you are making a wonderful recovery. It took months before I was able to eat certain foods, and way longer before taking on anything spicy. The healing will take time. You may experience a problem with a dry itchy feeling for a while also. It will fad with time.

I am glad to hear that you are sleeping better. Take this bit of advice: After about 3 months or so (not less than anyway), go back and get a sleep study. The hard numbers should be interesting. In my case, my sleep was great for a few months and then I started getting symptoms again. You mileage will vary. Generally, they don't recommend that surgery for anything but the most mild cases, and for folks who have really large tonsils. I was a mild and ended up a moderate. At least my CPAP pressure was lowered as a result.

The best of luck to you. Don't push too hard. It really does take a while to heal.