Laryngitis - treatment?

[ny biker]

Thanks ladies.

The frustrating thing now is having to wait more than a week to find out if it is idiopathic or if there is a more serious cause, and then wait more for whatever treatment is appropriate -- unfortunately many of us know this feeling all too well. I did try to expedite things by going to the radiology department in person and then back to the doctor's office to schedule the follow-up appointments, since they are located in the same hospital.

Overnight I decided to make an appointment to see the pulmonologist, just to get his input -- he also does critical care which I think gives him a broader view of things. Unfortunately his first available appointment is not until the end of June. So I sent him an email instead to ask for a referral and if he felt it would be helpful for me to see him.

[ny biker]

I thought I had followed up on this thread, but I guess not.

The paralyzed vocal cord gradually improved. I think it was August when my voice sounded normal again. I still had minor breathing problems on bike rides for a month or so longer. The pulmonologist was great. I was able to see him before I got the CT scans, and he asked me to send him a cd with the CT scan images so he could examine them. If the CT scans had shown that something in my chest that was affecting the nerve, he would have treated me instead of the ENT. He also referred me to an ENT who specializes in vocal cord problems. By the time I was able to get an appointment with her, the symptoms had improved quite a bit. She told me that the cold I had had was the cause of the problem -- idiopathic in this case basically means caused by a virus.

I came down with a couple more colds last year. The ENT had said that the paralysis was likely to recur, so both times I worked from home while I was sick so I could avoid straining my voice. Recently I've had a mild sore throat a few times, but I think it was caused by pollen allergies. My voice was not affected.

This morning I woke up with a sore throat and laryngitis. The pain is on the right side, not the left which was the paralyzed side. My right ear hurts a little, too. Otherwise I feel fine. I'm kind of concerned -- I know it's not paralyzed, but I'm worried that will happen. I'm trying to rest my voice, hoping this will clear up on its own.