Work problem

I'm new to this forum,
I've had SD for years now and currently my voice is not too bad but not perfect.

I'm dreading work the next few days as I'm covering switchboard which I hate doing as my voice struggles at times. I have let the manager know my problem but since then we have organized work between ourselves. ONly one other person knows what is my problem but they dont understand.

Work has been horrible recently with me frequently being upset. Changes have caused people to argue and fall out. I'm worried if I say anything I'll be seen as lazy and a trouble maker. I will try to do my best but last time I covered switchboard for a morning i went home with a very sore throat and hoarse voice.

Nobody understands me. They think i've made this thing up. I feel so down.

Can anybody help.
thanks

I completely understand your frustration at work. I used to teach school for years then got moved up into administration and thought my career was on an upswing. Then what started out as a hoarse voice, turned into shakiness, inability to get words out, and frequent voice breaks. Finally, after a year of hearing all kinds of nonsense explanations, I was diagnosed with SD. I found a doctor about 4 hours away that does Botox injections and suffered through it, with excellent results (although short lived) the first time. The second time, I experienced no relief at all. I'm frustrated, tired of the effort it takes to speak and I know my work has suffered as well as my self esteem. Would love to "chat"..... I completely understand....

--Amanda

Hi Stef and Amanda,

Yeah, I get that a lot, too.. especially when ordering in the fast food stores. Also over the phone. They keep asking you to repeat what you've said (with irritation in their voice). I think there are times when the general public does not immediately think that there's something physically wrong with SD patients.

I think talking over the phone aggravates our condition. Must be really hard if your job involves a lot of talking. I'm with executive search (recruitment and selection), so I'd have to talk a lot. I've applied for unpaid leave for 6 months and it just got approved. I'll start Jan to Jun 2011. I was ready to resign if I don't get a leave, it's really damaging.

Stef, sorry to ask, what's switchboard work?

Amanda, do you still work in the school admin?

Maybe shifting to a non-voice work for a while would help us recuperate?

Hi Misty,

I wish I could take a leave of absence or not work for awhile, but unfortunately, my income is a large part of what we live on, so that's not an option. Now that I've worked my way up in my career, I can't afford to do something where I would earn an income less than what I earn now, plus finding a job that doesn't need your voice? I wish I knew of one. I currently am "Academic Dean of Instruction and Accountability". My job consists of monitoring a campus improvement plan, tracking "at-risk" students' progress (grades, attendance, discipline referrals), doing staff evaluations, training and informing staff of progress, etc. It's not as much talking as teaching was, and the people I work with are aware of my "problem", and I have to say, they are supportive for the most part. I think the hard part is that I always have a lot to say (maybe I just like to talk ) and that frustrates me because I tend to just keep it all in my head rather than try and get some things out.

As for the type and onset of my SD. I have the AD type , but have some symptoms of AB/SD, so some doctors would say I have mixed SD others, just say I have primarily AD/SD. My problems began more than a year ago, following a cold that progressed into laryngitis, then I just never regained normal voicing after that.

Take care,
Amanda

Hi Amanda,

The onset of my AB/SD also started with a bad case of colds. But previous to that, I've been having around a year of very stressful work.

Oh, I understand. I salute your persistence at work. Yes, it would be hard to let go now of your current level. I have found a good forum where there are lots of sources for SD medications. It's at www.voicematters.net. You might also want to check it out.

I'm trying to figure out what is the best procedure to have or do at this point - to get healed.

Have you checked The MindBody Prescription by Dr. John Sarno? I found another SD patient her name is Lynn and she's now healed of SD by using Dr. Sarno's methodologies. I'll check it out.

God bless,
Misty

Misty,

Let me know what you find out about Dr. Sarno's methodologies. I will also check the other site you mentioned. Thanks for the resources

--Amanda

Hi Amanda,

Happy new year! Have you checked out voicematters.net? I've been visiting there for a while.

Dr. Sarno's method is mainly on the connection of the body to the mind. He said that most of the physical problems we experience (one of which is having voice problems) are due to emotional turmoil. His suggested method is to accept and acknoledge that we have anger or something disturbing us emotionally and then once we acknowledge that, the physical symptom should go away.

I'm not sure as to the effectiveness of this since there's only 1 person who testified that she got cured from it. I'm guessing she didn't really have it that bad and once she dealt with issues in her life, her voice became better (since I believe SD can be caused by stress).

How are you? How's your voice?

Misty

Hello, I'm new to this forum..not sure if many are on here anymore

For anyone that is, my question is what do those with SD do for work?

I had to leave my job as a receptionist because their version of limited duties still ended up with me on the phone all day...
3 years with SD, continued speech therapy and throat manipulation and although it is MUCH better than it was, it still remains a big problem.

When I apply for work I am told to re-apply when I am 'feeling better'.
1 year out of work and it is driving me crazy and not sure what jobs exist where the employer understands this frustrating condition.

Like others have mentioned using the phone is a nightmare now, from being a receptionist to not being able to use the phone has been difficult to deal with.

I am happy to talk about anything related to this, feel free to message me