Can GCA effect the vocal chords? .I find it difficult to have a conversation with anyone, more on the phone now sadly ,
My voice gets feeble and my neck feels tight.
My other question is about the affect Prednisolone has on how I smell. Not horrible but a bit like souring milk! Will this improve as I reduce Pred; I’m on 9:0 mgms ,soon to reduce to 8.0mgms. Ami I the only one to wonder about 1. Vocal chords and 2. Odd smell?
No - they have been mentioned by others in the past but don't seem to affect everyone, I had to stop singing when my PMR started - it affected both my breath control and I had a permanent sore throat , especially when I had to talk a lot. Others have said they couldn't sing.
The BO may not be the pred - it was a nasty problem for me in the early days of PMR and it definitely wasn't pred because it was during the 5 years I had PMR but was not diagnosed so no pred. I found I could get up and shower and head to the gym and by the time I had done a Pilates class I stank. Not a nice fresh sweat smell but really unpleasant. I changed deodorant with no improvement and eventually stopped using deodorant altogether - and within a few months it improved. I haven't used deodorant since - about 15 years now. I also later gave up using soap except for hands and washing hair - and no, I don't smell and there are a couple of others on the forum who will say the same. We also have fewer dry and delicate skin problems than most people!
I have PMR and couldn’t sing at first:
My body seemed to adjust with time
And reducing the steroids. I still can’t sing ( in tune 🤣)
I know exactly what you mean about the voice. I noticed it reading to my grandchildren on FaceTime and the singing had gone. I think my throat is narrower too. It has improved lately on lower dose Pred.I used to imagine that I could smell an odd chemical smell. My family insisted that they couldn’t smell anything, maybe it was in my nose?
You are not the only one to wonder about these things. We have a lot of time to wonder. I spray myself with a bit of Jo Malone and that’s all I can smell.
I’ve lost my range with my singing voice, and am going to try some singing exercises. I have Gerd, which seriously messed with my voice, until I swapped around my meals, having my main meal at lunchtime. I do wonder wether prednisone also causes problems with reflux?My other thought is that, as PMR affects all the muscles, it makes sense this would include the muscles around the vocal chords. Maybe it’s like exercise - we need to build them up slowly. A good way is to hum or sing oohs, and let your voice resonate in your head. Also, as best you can, support your breath with your diaphragm.
I hope this helps
I also lost my singing range and my speaking voice was croaky. My throat felt tight when I tried to sing.
I have found all of the replies to your vocal chords question very interesting, as I have found in the last year or so that my throat feels a little sore when talking more than usual & embarrassingly, in these COVID times, sometimes cough. This is relieved with Fishermen’s Friends that I always carry with me now. I did get a COVID test early on, to make sure it wasn’t that. I hadn’t before your post associated it with PMR
One of my main symptoms of GCA was hoarseness. I would always know when I’d overdone because my voice would go. If I got a cold I would always get laryngitis. Am currently off Pred and on every other week Actemra 4 years on from GCA diagnosis and voice is fine. Unless I forget and Actemra dose!
Thank you for all your comments and support. Can I just ask- what is Gerd?
When I retired, thereby losing nearly all my social interactions, I took up reading aloud to myself every day and also singing to myself. Fifteen minutes of each every day. With the pandemic and minimal communication with others this has kept my voice functioning. I read that our voice is one of the last body parts to begin ageing, and this occurs at about age 65, so in order to keep a strong voice we have to keep on using it. You may be experiencing the worst of all worlds at the moment, the pred and GCA as well as limited opportunity to talk to others. Unless there's another cause found maybe you will find your voice strengthening again if you take up reading aloud for a few minutes every day.
Update 2 from 'Shall I or Shan't I\" and a small question
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