Lost my voice!

Hi everyone,

I had a cough and cold about a month ago. Then a week later I got a
stomach virus and had lots of vomiting and diarreah. Anyway, I've
been fine a couple of weeks but my voice is still not 100%. I'm
worried, I sound like I still have a cold, but I don't and haven't had
one for at least 2 weeks. It just seems like my vocal cords are hurt
or something. I keep thinking it's going to go away but it doesn't.
I can talk OK for a few minutes and then I start to lose my voice. By
the end of the day, it's gone. Should I see a doctor? I feel perfect
except for that. How do I get my voice back? Should I be worried? I
have a 3 year old so not speaking is not an option!

Thanks,

Carla

On 31 Oct 2003 19:10:58 -0800, calberto wrote:
Hi everyone,

I had a cough and cold about a month ago. Then a week later I got a
stomach virus and had lots of vomiting and diarreah. Anyway, I've
been fine a couple of weeks but my voice is still not 100%. I'm
worried, I sound like I still have a cold, but I don't and haven't had
one for at least 2 weeks. It just seems like my vocal cords are hurt
or something. I keep thinking it's going to go away but it doesn't.
I can talk OK for a few minutes and then I start to lose my voice. By
the end of the day, it's gone. Should I see a doctor? I feel perfect
except for that. How do I get my voice back? Should I be worried? I
have a 3 year old so not speaking is not an option!

Ummmm.... maybe this is a silly question, but why
*wouldn't* you see a doctor?

calberto wrote:

Hi everyone,

I had a cough and cold about a month ago. Then a week later I got a
stomach virus and had lots of vomiting and diarreah. Anyway, I've
been fine a couple of weeks but my voice is still not 100%. I'm
worried, I sound like I still have a cold, but I don't and haven't had
one for at least 2 weeks. It just seems like my vocal cords are hurt
or something. I keep thinking it's going to go away but it doesn't.
I can talk OK for a few minutes and then I start to lose my voice. By
the end of the day, it's gone. Should I see a doctor? I feel perfect
except for that. How do I get my voice back? Should I be worried? I
have a 3 year old so not speaking is not an option!


This happens to me not in frequently. You could go
see a doctor. For me, it usually goes away after a while
and I've never noticed any treatment to help except for
resting my voice as much as possible and drinking hot tea
(or hot water) with lemon.

Best wishes,
Ericka

In article , Ericka Kammerer says...

calberto wrote:

Hi everyone,

I had a cough and cold about a month ago. Then a week later I got a
stomach virus and had lots of vomiting and diarreah. Anyway, I've
been fine a couple of weeks but my voice is still not 100%. I'm
worried, I sound like I still have a cold, but I don't and haven't had
one for at least 2 weeks. It just seems like my vocal cords are hurt
or something. I keep thinking it's going to go away but it doesn't.
I can talk OK for a few minutes and then I start to lose my voice. By
the end of the day, it's gone. Should I see a doctor? I feel perfect
except for that. How do I get my voice back? Should I be worried? I
have a 3 year old so not speaking is not an option!


This happens to me not in frequently. You could go
see a doctor. For me, it usually goes away after a while
and I've never noticed any treatment to help except for
resting my voice as much as possible and drinking hot tea
(or hot water) with lemon.

Ditto - I'd also hate to give the impression that you should not see a doctor if
you're worried (*I* worry about these 'should I go to a doctor' queries - USENET
really shouldn't be a medical screening forum).

But when I get a cold, I lose my voice, and that tends to happen about when I'm
getting over the cold. Which means everyone wants to pamper me only when I'm
already better and raring to go ;-)

Ditto on the treatment (or lack thereof). Time and rest fixes it,only time and
rest fixes it, hot drinks seem to be soothing, 'cept that I hate lemon in hot
drinks :-D

Banty

"calberto" wrote in message
om...
Hi everyone,

I had a cough and cold about a month ago. Then a week later I got a
stomach virus and had lots of vomiting and diarreah. Anyway, I've
been fine a couple of weeks but my voice is still not 100%. I'm
worried, I sound like I still have a cold, but I don't and haven't had
one for at least 2 weeks. It just seems like my vocal cords are hurt
or something. I keep thinking it's going to go away but it doesn't.
I can talk OK for a few minutes and then I start to lose my voice. By
the end of the day, it's gone. Should I see a doctor? I feel perfect
except for that. How do I get my voice back? Should I be worried? I
have a 3 year old so not speaking is not an option!

Thanks,

Carla

See your doctor. Even if we were doctors here, we can't see your throat,
hear your voice or know your medical history (except as above).

Jeff

Banty wrote:


Ditto on the treatment (or lack thereof). Time and rest fixes it,only time and
rest fixes it, hot drinks seem to be soothing, 'cept that I hate lemon in hot
drinks :-D


Me too, but I think the lemon helps so I drink it that
way anyway when my throat is bad! I've never seen the appeal
of lemon in tea. Actually, I've never seen the appeal of
adding anything to tea, for the most part ;-)

Best wishes,
Ericka

"Banty" wrote in message
...
In article , Ericka Kammerer says...

calberto wrote:

Hi everyone,

I had a cough and cold about a month ago. Then a week later I got a
stomach virus and had lots of vomiting and diarreah. Anyway, I've
been fine a couple of weeks but my voice is still not 100%. I'm
worried, I sound like I still have a cold, but I don't and haven't had
one for at least 2 weeks. It just seems like my vocal cords are hurt
or something. I keep thinking it's going to go away but it doesn't.
I can talk OK for a few minutes and then I start to lose my voice. By
the end of the day, it's gone. Should I see a doctor? I feel perfect
except for that. How do I get my voice back? Should I be worried? I
have a 3 year old so not speaking is not an option!


This happens to me not in frequently. You could go
see a doctor. For me, it usually goes away after a while
and I've never noticed any treatment to help except for
resting my voice as much as possible and drinking hot tea
(or hot water) with lemon.

Ditto - I'd also hate to give the impression that you should not see a
doctor if
you're worried (*I* worry about these 'should I go to a doctor' queries -
USENET
really shouldn't be a medical screening forum).

But when I get a cold, I lose my voice, and that tends to happen about
when I'm
getting over the cold. Which means everyone wants to pamper me only when
I'm
already better and raring to go ;-)

Ditto on the treatment (or lack thereof). Time and rest fixes it,only
time and
rest fixes it, hot drinks seem to be soothing, 'cept that I hate lemon in
hot
drinks :-D

Mulled apple cider works well for me-or any hot fruit juice (lthough it
definitely takes some getting used to). Since I teach music, and need to
have my voice in shape, I drink a lot of hot fruit drinks. I also like
seltzer water or club soda with lemon. One of the best voice teachers in the
area swears by a blend of Carrot and Orange juice, heated.

DON'T WHISPER-this is actually harder on the vocal chords than talking in
full volume.



Banty

In article , Ericka Kammerer says...

Banty wrote:


Ditto on the treatment (or lack thereof). Time and rest fixes it,only time and
rest fixes it, hot drinks seem to be soothing, 'cept that I hate lemon in hot
drinks :-D


Me too, but I think the lemon helps so I drink it that
way anyway when my throat is bad! I've never seen the appeal
of lemon in tea. Actually, I've never seen the appeal of
adding anything to tea, for the most part ;-)

Best wishes,
Ericka


Ah - another plain tea drinker! A girl after my own heart!

It's amazing how many people can't *imagine* not having sugar or something in
the tea.

Banty

Donna Metler wrote:
DON'T WHISPER-this is actually harder on the vocal chords than talking in
full volume.

That's my advice, too. I lose my voice for a week or two nearly every
year - it's after I have a virus that triggers asthma and lots of
coughing. Something get irritated that just needs to heal.

I find that the best method is total voice silence. It's amazing how
effective my few words are if they're spoken in a quiet tone. In fact,
after losing my voice for two weeks once I started talking QUIETER when I
used to yell. People quiet down to hear what I said!

I drink lots of (plain) tea and sometimes gargle with warm salt water.

Wendy

Ericka Kammerer wrote in message ...
Banty wrote:


Ditto on the treatment (or lack thereof). Time and rest fixes it,only time and
rest fixes it, hot drinks seem to be soothing, 'cept that I hate lemon in hot
drinks :-D


Me too, but I think the lemon helps so I drink it that
way anyway when my throat is bad! I've never seen the appeal
of lemon in tea. Actually, I've never seen the appeal of
adding anything to tea, for the most part ;-)

I was always told to add both lemon and honey for sore throats - that
might help counteract the lemony taste. In an interesting link to the
music thread, I got that tip from friends in Concert Choir in high
school.

Irene