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A friend of mine has been losing her voice for a long time now.

In her own words:

Quote:

In October 1996, I had a tonsillectomy that soon led to very traumatic medical complications. Apparently, I had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia which caused me to become very dizzy weeks after to the point that I passed out and hit my head on a tile floor. When I hit my head, I could not remember anything before the fall; it was as if I was living inside of a Lifetime movie.

I spelled phonically for several years, I went from writing with my right hand to my left hand and back to my right hand, my vision went from perfect to abominable, and I couldn't remember anything before October, 1996; I still haven't gotten my memory back. If all of that wasn't bad enough, I soon developed this "death metal" voice. The doctors said I was using my "false" vocal chords instead of my "true" ones. I couldn't even begin to understand what was all going on; I was only 8 years old at the time.

I also was not able to walk on my own for over a year. When I fainted, the trauma from hitting my head impaired my balance severely. I had to move from Colorado to Shreveport, Louisiana so I could go to Shriners Hospital. Diane, who was my physical therapist, she was one of they very few who believed in me and was able to get me walking on my own again. I thank her immensely for what she did for me.

As time progressed, I woke up one morning without a voice. I could not make one sound. I couldn't even whisper. The days without a voice increased to weeks, the weeks became months, and the months evolved to years - SEVEN years. Seven LONG years without a voice. As the time kept growing, the doctors kept emphasizing that it was all "psychological" or it was a "conversion disorder".

They soon injected the needle directly into my neck where my vocal chords are, three times. It hurt like HELL but I remained still and somehow calm. Within seconds I began to produce a little bit of sound. It was amazing! They said that my vocal chord muscle had been sleeping for 7 years and that the Lidocaine woke it up.

So my friend has seen TONS of doctors, had cameras inserted to her throat, has had MRI's, CAT scans, etc etc. Everything all came out normal.

She said her voice still comes and goes. Right now she's lost it again. She said eating fresh pineapple or screaming can sometimes bring it back. Other times it's simply a waiting game.

The majority of her doctors told her that it was psychological and nothing more. She never received any sort of diagnosis after all of these years.

Does this sound like neuropathy or some form of it?

Thank you for your help and I apologize if this is the wrong forum to post this in.