Vocal cord atrophy and saliva pooling

[Heisuke]

Hey all,

I’ve had symptoms for a while now. A bit of muscle twitching/clonus here and there. I have a a few episodes a day where I have to yawn successively 5-10 times which is very embarrassing. My voice has also begun to break after extend periods of time of talking. No slur or anything though.

I went to an ENT who noted that saliva was pooling in in my larynx (hypotharynx I think it’s called) and that my vocal cords were slight atrophied. He said the folds weren’t hitting together properly at low frequency which is why my voice is hoarse and fatigued, but when he tested at higher pitch they vibrated normally.
He seemed worried but wanted to try GERD treatments, which after a few weeks have done nothing to improve on the follow up inspection. He is happy to wait and see but I’m worried about the combination of symptoms. Is this something I should pursue?
Kindest regards,

 

[lgelb]

As with any new issue, you're entitled to ask what he's waiting for, what could be wrong, if waiting could be dangerous, and what if anything should be done to narrow the possibilities (including the one where nothing important is wrong).

I would certainly make sure you're getting enough sleep and ask about a sleep study if your symptoms vary by time of day. I don't think this is ALS-connected.

Best,
Laurie

 

[Heisuke]

Thanks for your reply Laurie,

my ent also has sleep study stuff so I can always ask to do one and see. The yawning definitely occurs more when I go to bed and read before bed. If I’m intently focused on what I’m doing it doesn’t happen.
I’m mostly worried about the atrophy because he kinda came out of nowhere with it and I wasn’t expecting it. Not to mention all the saliva I saw stuck on the screen. He called it glottis insufficiency. I googled it a little but stopped myself lol
I also saw (on google) that all of my issues seem to involve the vagus nerve, but can’t seem to find any info of what could be wrong with it.
Again than you kindly for your answer