# Do you play a wind instrument? Post-surgery questions...



## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

I had two thyroidectomy surgeries earlier this year. Afterwards, my voice didn't really work great for a couple of months--I could talk, but not with much volume, and I had absolutely no variation in pitch...very monotone.

Fast-forward to the past 4 to 6 weeks. I've been leading some corporate classroom training for 6ish hours a day, about two days a week. I know that's really putting my voice to the test, as there are 50-60 people in the class, in a big room, and no microphone is available.

Lately, I've felt what I would call a "presence" in certain areas on the sides and in the center of my neck (not exactly a pain, just a feeling), and I have felt like I've needed to give my voice a rest whenever I can. I rested it over the weekend, and Monday and Tuesday of this week, I had no pain, no "presence" feeling in my neck, even though I taught classes all day Monday. Last night (Tuesday), I had band rehearsal, so I played tenor sax for two hours. Today, my voice is very painful. In order for it not to hurt when I talk, I have to intentionally raise the pitch of my voice rather than talk in my natural voice.

I guess I'm just talking myself through this, but I'm starting to think that maybe it's the sax playing that's causing some of my discomfort with my voice, even though the sax playing itself does not actually involve the voice. Maybe it's the pressure/resistance involved in playing a wind instrument???

I've been a little paranoid about the "presence" and pain, thinking maybe the cancer has spread, but since my thyroglobulin level came back as 0.2 last week, I think that theory is out the window, which makes me happy!

So, my question is this: if you play a wind instrument, and you had thyroid surgery, did playing cause some pain for quite a while after your surgery?

Thanks!


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