The importance of voice in CFS

[Jo86]

Does anyone feel that they've got a weaker voice (less sheer volume comes out as you're talking), to the point that to get any discernible volume and clarity out of you, you've got to push to the limit every time you utter out a sentence, and unless you stop and gather yourself or clear your throat every 5 seconds, your voice is bound to break midway through a sentence ('cause it's pushing so hard) ?

Yeah so the voice is currently my major indicator (or "thermometer") for how good or bad I am at that moment, on that day. You could basically go as far as saying you could know whether my mitochondria are working decently or terribly at that moment, from hearing me speak. Will leave it at that as an introduction.

 

[hapl808]

Does anyone feel that they've got a weaker voice (less sheer volume comes out as you're talking), to the point that to get any discernible volume and clarity out of you, you've got to push to the limit every time you utter out a sentence, and unless you stop and gather yourself or clear your throat every 5 seconds, your voice is bound to break midway through a sentence ('cause it's pushing so hard) ?

Always.

 

[Andryr]

Sometimes (I have CFS-like symptoms, haven't been diagnosed)

 

[ruben]

Having a weaker voice has been a feature of my ME/CFS. When I'm in a noisy environment, say like at a football match, and trying to speak loudly to be heard over the crowd noise, my voice would just break and give up. I'd always considered it a minor symptom though in comparison to fatigue, nausea, bloatedness and migraines.

 

[Jo86]

Having a weaker voice has been a feature of my ME/CFS. When I'm in a noisy environment, say like at a football match, and trying to speak loudly to be heard over the crowd noise, my voice would just break and give up.

Funny thing is: for me these situations often help because they force me to get my full voice out, which is an effort but it helps me produce a constant stream of speech (much closer to my normal self), whereas using my regular voice right now in quiet situations I either need to speak in a low energy tone (a hint too quiet) or try to speak up a little and that's when my voice cracks and the slurred speech occurs. For eg if I'm talking to someone I'm very comfortable with or recording an audio message on the phone I'll use the quieter voice and I can go for good lengths, but as soon as I need to put in a bit more liveliness/rhythm and volume with strangers, or a crowd (of even 3 or 4) and the likes, the voice cracks eventually happen.
I've yet to find the right balance, it's very difficult to find that.

 

[hapl808]

For eg if I'm talking to someone I'm very comfortable with or recording an audio message on the phone I'll use the quieter voice and I can go for good lengths, but as soon as I need to put in a bit more liveliness/rhythm and volume with strangers, or a crowd (of even 3 or 4) and the likes, the voice cracks eventually happen.

Same. I can push and use a 'normal' voice but it exhausts me faster. If I speak quietly I can speak longer, but my voice sounds weak. Not at all what I used to be like. (I used to talk on the phone for many hours every day.)

 

[Jo86]

Same. I can push and use a 'normal' voice but it exhausts me faster. If I speak quietly I can speak longer, but my voice sounds weak. Not at all what I used to be like. (I used to talk on the phone for many hours every day.)

Right. There's certainly a psychological component at play here - we're trying hard to be our normal selves, but perhaps accepting the current conditions would be wiser. Some people that don't even suffer from CFS at all talk in a quiet voice for eg. But I guess it feels too boring for others if we did. If I were to speak "as I felt", as my body would naturally cause me to speak, with no stress and at my own speed, I'd probably be adding a bunch of "uhms" a lot and my tone would generally hang too much. So I attempt to compensate for that, and end up speaking faster and louder, but a lot messier too.

 

[Azayliah]

My voice changes depending on how I feel. If I can sing, it's a really good day. On a bad day it's hard to hum, and that cracks and stutters. For the past week or so, it's been waffling between low-normal to whispery and cutting out mid-sentence, and it might take a few tries and a little throat-clearing to push my voice to work.

I don't normalize it for others, so everyone can tell when something's off. On bad days I'll rely on typing instead (esp. for work), but I have a similar issue with my muscles where it might take a few tries to "push" my arms, legs, or fingers into moving, or to get my eyes to work together and focus, which can make typing not an option.

 

[Jo86]

So, many of us here feel this weird symptom of being out of breath while talking, or like merely talking feels like an enormous weight needs to be lifted forcing us to chop our sentences or make them shorter, right ? Like our natural flow is gone, and like starting a sentence is a risk having our voice break midway through, or like some weird brain fart might occur making us slur our speech ?
If you feel this, has any medication or supplement helped ?

 

[hapl808]

There's certainly a psychological component at play here - we're trying hard to be our normal selves, but perhaps accepting the current conditions would be wiser. Some people that don't even suffer from CFS at all talk in a quiet voice for eg. But I guess it feels too boring for others if we did. If I were to speak "as I felt", as my body would naturally cause me to speak, with no stress and at my own speed, I'd probably be adding a bunch of "uhms" a lot and my tone would generally hang too much. So I attempt to compensate for that, and end up speaking faster and louder, but a lot messier too.

Hmm, for me it's almost the opposite, although these things can be hard to figure out.

I get enthusiastic easily, and my voice gets stronger and more enunciated. It took me years to realize these conversations were contributing to my daily crashes and constant exhaustion (because I love talking on the phone even when I was too weak to go out). Once I limited my time on the phone, that helped a bit. Then when I consciously tried to avoid natural enthusiasm and energy, that actually helped me talk for a bit longer or made the crashes less severe.

But it's the opposite of my normal self and incredibly frustrating.

If I weren't experiencing it, then it would all sound improbable and crazy. I don't think it's particularly psychological, or at least not in that way. For years I never even noticed the correlation, because I'd feel 'better' after a phone call, then wake up the next morning with acid reflux coughing and a headache. I always thought it was some food sensitivity or something, but once I did some very careful elimination diets, I finally noticed the correlations with talking or even working on the computer.

So for me, it's more cognitive than any oxygen or physical thing in this case. But others may be different.

Sadly nothing much has helped me with that, but I've tried a lot of stuff.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

of being out of breath while talking, or like merely talking feels like an enormous weight needs to be lifted forcing us to chop our sentences or make them shorter, right

yup

recently its become more obvious to me we aren't getting oxygen delivered despite breathing it in, and it circulating in our blood streams.

I"m gasping like a fish tossed onto dry land.

I don't normalize it for others, so everyone can tell when something's off.

I sound awfully sick, much of the time. Rarely will my voice just come out, primed and clear. Its another example of the idea we don't "seem sick" or "look sick"...

but I"m the only person I have ever seen, who cannot sit up for five minutes on the little bench across the street.

If I can sing, it's a really good day.

I managed to sing one silly song to my grandaughter last week. (that song about water, cool clear water, and how you gotta have some, if your a cowboy named Dan)

Over the last 14 days, I felt not crashed for about four hours one day, and maybe two hours on another.

Today was a record for sleeping 10 hours plus three more. That sleep happened because I can no longer hold my head up on top of my spine. I pulled some muscle. Thats been ongoing for a month. Instead of getting better its worse?

to avoid natural enthusiasm and energy,

essential behaviors. With my little grandaughter here visiting, it's painful when I turned on enthusiasm and creativity. Its like immediately pay back PEM.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I get enthusiastic easily, and my voice gets stronger and more enunciated.

I think I understand what you mean, and I was sort of that way also, but now (recent downturn) I've downturn further.

It's normal to get energized by being around others, and we might rise to the occasion (briefly). Only to feel the burn.

Perhaps this has some connection to wired but tired. So we feel the wired thing (sometimes)...but soon enough it comes with chemical imbalances which feel pretty awful.

My blood sugar is also a mess. I don't see folks talk about that much around here. But insulin resistance when physically stressed becomes even worse.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

So for me, it's more cognitive than any oxygen or physical thing in this case

I think its mostly cognitive, but ...well somehow I also feel my throat muscles getting wiped out too.

Holding my eyes open is using muscles...so is trying to focus thru the blur. Its painful.

I just returned from twenty minutes outdoors. I could not handle the wind. Even with my eyes closed.