Hey everyone ...

It's been ages since I've visited this site, but I also know that the people here are always willing to jump right in and help and so I'm here asking for some assistance.

A little background info ... I am 49 years old and was dx five years ago at the age of 44. Since that time, I have not had to increase my medications and still take Mirapex, Artane, Wellbutrin and Baclofen (a muscle relaxant to stop my toe from curling).

My latest symptom seems to be staying around and is more permanent than I would have liked ... and that's a gravelly voice. I assume that my saliva glands dry up or something, but I honestly don't know.

I'm not very good about drinking glasses of water, but I also don't drink soda. What I drink is diet lemonade by the gallons. Is this causing my throat to be so dry? I guess I could lay off the stuff for a week and see if it helps, but it would also be great to hear how others have coped.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks much ...

Hi Terri-
I think you would benefit from Lee Silverman Voice Therapy. What causes your voice to get gravelly is not enough air. You need to learn to take breaths from your belly and keep the air passages in your throat open to let the air through. Parkinson's causes your neck and throat to get stiff. I hope I am explaining all this correctly. My voice still gets gravelly when I talk and/or sing a lot. Sometimes people think I have a sore throat and stay away so they won't catch germs, but it is only PD making my voice hoarse. If I do my voice exercises I learned in LSVT regularly, my voice is better.

Do you find that your singing voice is very undependable? I can be singing just fine and all of the sudden, nothing comes out or my voice does some weird cracklly note and embarasses me. I belong to Heart Strings, a string group at our Senior Center. Since I have been taking my fava tincture more regularly, my voice has improved dramatically... so much that they want me to sing harmony all the time (I still prefer playing my lap dulcimer and harmonizing with it) I know my voice could do something strange at any time, though it doesn't happen very often now and I have more volume than a couple months ago. Perhaps it is stress that makes it act up now, knowing that it might?

Aunt Bean, please tell me more about your fava tincture. I'm a vocalist, and also having some "skipping" in my voice while singing. Thanks!

Hi Coach, My tincture is made with brandy and dried fava plant tops. When I am out somewhere, I just put a few drops in my mouth from a tiny dropper bottle kept in my purse (handy) It seems to relax my throat pretty fast. I'd like to develop something like a cough drop that would seem less noticeable to other people...next project! REad my other posts about the fava bean project for more info Keep singing!

Yes, my voice is not dependable. Sometimes all of a sudden I can't sing. I think it is because the muscles tighten and restrict the air flow. I am trying to do vocal exercises and breathe correctly and I am hoping to get it to be more dependable again.

I think PD is a constant battle against stiff muscles. I used to have trouble raising my arms over my head, but if I do the exercises I learned in PT for my shoulders, I can raise me arms up. I hope to be able to do the same for the muscles used in singing. That includes muscles in the face and jaw and neck. If the muscles are tight, the amount of air that can get through is limited and that interrupts the sound.

Thanks, Aunt Bean. I'll read up on the fava plant!