Singing post-op

Hi all!  

I'm a singer - I take voice lessons and sing in a local community choir.  I'm not hardcore, just a hobbyist that is trying to improve.  Since singing is very demanding of the abdominal region, I figure I'll be out of commission for a while and then need some recovery time to build up my stamina again.  

If you sing, what was the recovery period like for your ability?  Or.. even if you play an instrument that requires your lungs to use I'd be curious to know about recovery periods.  

Thanks!!

Hi Gwen,

Why don't you try posting this on your surgery type forum and you may get more responses from those that can relate to what  you will be going through.

Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum (VSG)

Regards,

Member Services

Hi Member Services, 

I already did that and got no replies :(

Thanks, 

Gwen!

I guess Gwen we don't have any singers that have had WLS to advise you. May we suggest you discuss this with your surgeon as he/she would be a good source for advice.

Regards,

Member Services

I asked my surgeon and he told me I should be back to singing in 2 weeks, but I've learned that most non-singers have no idea how physically demanding singing is!  So I was hoping for some personal experiences. :)  Hopefully some OH members will come through for me.  

hi Gwen! Congrats on the surgery... 

I am a 53 yr old man who sings with a local adult group and take voice lessons. I  had an RNY on 2/10/13. I returned to rehearsals after missing the first month hoping that the director would still let me perform in our late April shows. She did, but I have to admit that I was short of 100% even by the end of April. My abs/incisions simply were not up to the fullest lung support I had been used to. The voice was okay, but I certainly didn't have the volume, endurance or phrasing that I wanted until probably mid to late July. 

On the plus side, the weight loss has made moving so much easier, and not 11 months out I'm definitely better than ever.

Thank you so much for the reply!  I knew there had to be someone around with experience :D  That seems much more reasonable of a response than my surgeon saying that I'd be back to normal with singing in 2 weeks - people just don't know how much energy singing takes from us!  

If I may ask, did you range change at all post-op?  Did you tell your voice teacher that you were having WLS?  I guess I should warn my teacher that it might take me a number of months before I'm back to "normal."  :)  I have a voice recital in May, so here's hoping that I'll be able to at least not embarrass myself.. 

(And how funny, I'll be having my surgery almost a year exactly after yours.)

Your results certainly may vary. 

Yes, I talked about it with the voice coach. Despite his many years as a university professor he hadn't had anyone go through a bariatric procedure so he didn't have a clue other than the affect to the abs/lungs would likely take some time to recover from

I was similarly curious about range/tone having listened to many bariatric videos it seemed like people's voices changed as they lost weight. I have added a wee bit to the top of my range, but I suspect that is best attributed to the exercises my coach does with me. 

Yea, the energy was definitely an issue and I can't begin to overstate how long it took to REALLY get my abs/lungs working together as well as they did prior to surgery. Best of luck! 

Thank you again.  :D

I sing in a Chamber Choir.  I was sleeved 12/31/13 and I'm going to give it a try a next week's rehearsal (2 wks post op). I'll let you know how it goes.