Spasmodic Dysphonia Cures (Video with Connie Pike)

I've seen some videos of Connie Pike with 2 of her patients. They emphasize the need to relax and not put "so much effort" in talking. That is also one of the things that help me, so I've noticed. The more I try to project my voice, the more it gets strangled and breathy and it actually totally gives out. These are encouraging videos:

The above video was with Shona. She sounded really breathy at the start, but now her voice is clear and lovely.

The one below is Ron's video. He outlines the pattern of recovery he took:

Spasmodic Dysphonia Voice Therapy with Connie Pike

As mentioned in my earlier posts, I have contacted Connie Pike regarding her Free to Speak Voice Therapy. She’s a Florida-based speech pathologist, who had Spasmodic Dysphonia Adductor Type herself. But she was able to overcome it. And now when I heard her speak, it was very clear, no tremors at all, no effort in speaking. It’s as if she never had a voice problem!

She has been an inspiration. The mere fact that someone got through SD successfully is already an inspiration in itself.

Connie Pike, ex-SD sufferer

She conducts a 5-day Voice Rehab in the US. I’ve seen some very good testimonials of patients who attended. Since I’m from the Philippines and couldn’t fly to the US for the clinic, I asked Connie if we can do a Skype consultation.  She agreed – even though she doesn’t have a Skype account yet that time and she didn’t even know how to use it! I appreciate her being open to a different kind of set-up. I was quite impressed as well because it showed her openness and flexibility. I knew then that she’s not the usual rigid doctor/therapist.

Her hourly price is 6 times more expensive than my voice therapy here. But I needed to talk to someone whose expertise is SD. I figured after my 7^th session of regular voice therapy that conventional treatment wouldn’t be of much help for SD.

Connie asked me to fill-up a diagnostic voice assessment sheet prior to our Skype meeting. She listened to my voice and told me it wasn’t that bad. Actually, it wasn’t that bad yet when I first spoke with her. But I was already feeling the pressure, the unusual effort I needed to do to force my voice out. She taught me how to speak properly. She said that Breathing and Voice/Humming Exercises are key. Her recommendations included Mike White’s breathing exercises and Roger Love’s Voice CD. I got both kits. Both were very helpful.

These were my notes from our Skype consultation, dated January 09, 2010:

1. Say Err... going up and down: Not try harder but let go of the effort

2. Hmm... (no air in nose)

3. Ing.. (no air in nose)

4. Lip drills, say Brrmm, relax the face

5. Tongue drills, say Trrrll

6. 2x a month – have massage, neck muscles

7. Sing a phrase, then speak the phrase

8. We DONT speak from the diaphragm

9.  Put hands above my head, hold elbows, do side to side bend while counting

She also gav e me a list of R Words to practise on. And she shipped me a kazoo to blow into, for practice. I have SD ABductor Type, so I’m thinking she will advise a diff set of exercises for ADductor Type or any other type of vocal problems.

Out of the suggestions she gave, the most helpful (the ones that improved my voice) were the Hmm, the Lip Drill, Sing a phrase – speak the phrase. Also the Side to Side while Counting. I’ve been doing the R words but I get pretty tired easily, my voice gives out and my breath goes a bit unsynchronized..? For the kazoo, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Perhaps I'm not doing it correctly? So I’ve been doing the ones that work best for me. That’s also what Connie said, find out which ones work for you then apply.

Kazoo

I started the exercises. They’re time consuming, though, and I was busy at work. And so after about a month, I wanted the quick way out and had my 1^st botox injection – which unfortunately didn’t work for me. Connie mentioned in our Skype meet that in her experience, ABSds have a lower chance of getting better with botox. But I still wanted to try since I so wanted my voice back. I wanted my life, my career, my social life to just be normal again. So I had to have the botox shot. I don’t regret having it. If I didn’t, I will always be thinking What If. I really wish that botox worked for me. It’s so much easier. I know it’s poison and all, but sometimes you have to live with possible future side effects if you want something fixed immediately. I do know 1 ABSd patient who responded well to botox. Lucky her..

After that, I learned that I have to find out what treatment will work for me. I bought a copy of Connie’s book Free to Speak: Overcoming Spasmodic Dysphonia. It’s an easy to read book. It contains breathing exercises, vocal exercises, a little of everything you need to know about SD.

Free to Speak: Overcoming Spasmodic Dysphonia

Overall, Connie opened my eyes that there is hope for me. And her gentle and encouraging spirit gives me emotional strength. People with vocal disorders need to guard themselves (I’m talking to myself here..) from depression and feelings of hopelessness. And Connie is a good person to look up to and go to when feeling hopeless.

Breathing Exercise Video (Squeeze & Breathe) for Spasmodic Dysphonia

This video was shared by voicematters.net head administrator and moderator Andrea Hardaway. Thanks, Andrea!

I do it whenever I feel my stomach area tighten. It’s a physical reminder for my stomach muscles to relax while breathing. SD patients tend to hold their breath (I’m so guilty of this!) while talking. It’s a bad habit common to us, based on books and posts I’ve read and my personal experience plus the experiences of other SD people I’ve communicated with.

Break!! I have to break that habit!!

Breathe.. Every 2 (two) words in my practice sentence, I breathe.. That’s just for now. Just to train myself to remember to breathe. And anyway, no sound comes out when I don’t breathe every two words..

Good luck to me! 

Breathing Exercises for Spasmodic Dysphonia

According to the doctors I’ve consulted, breathing is a major part in managing spasmodic dysphonia (SD). I have also noticed that I easily get out of breath when talking. This is quite surprising for me since I’ve been with the varsity swim team during college, and I still do laps every now and then.

It was pointed out to me that I tend to stop breathing while talking. And when I’m stressed, I don’t notice it, but my breathing becomes shallow. It’s like I have this different pattern of breathing in the pool from my pattern of breathing while speaking and under stress.

It wouldn’t hurt to improve my breathing anyway. And I truly believe it is foundational to good speaking. Breath is the gas that fuels speech.

So after doing a free online breathing test to see how my breathing is (it was targeted and scientific), I ordered Mike White’s breathing kit. I got the one specifically for stress management. I received 1 CD called 176 Video which shows basic breathing exercises. Plus another CD for combating stress with breathing. The stress release CD is very relaxing. It’s guided breathing with Tibetan (?) music in the background. I follow Mike’s breathing for 20mins. It regulates my breath intake and I oftentimes fall asleep being too relaxed!

Breathing Exercises CDs

Booklet

Brown Strap and Blue Strap

Then there’s a brown strap for the strapping exercises, to give more room in your body for the air. Also I got the Blue Velcro Strap for use on the chest area. Same benefit as the brown strap but this one you can wear at night. Lately, I haven’t been using the blue strap since it’s so (and I mean so) hot here in Tuguegarao City. We even reached 39.5 Celsius.

I also have the Diaphragm Strengthener which is a big purple tube with a ping pong ball inside. You blow into it and try to keep the ball afloat. The exercise helps to strengthen the diaphragm muscles. When I first used it, my tummy area felt a bit sore.

Diaphragm Strengthener 

Me using the DS (sorry, hard to keep a still hand)

I’ve noticed that with the improvement in my breathing, there is a proportionate improvement on my voice as well. Not phenomenal, but it’s a start.