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George B.... I had the bovine collagen injections into my vocal cords at the UCLA Neck & Throat Clinic, by Dr. Gerald Berke. This procedure is covered by Medicare if you have that, or will cost ya out-of-pocket $500 if ya don't have Medicare. This is NOT a one-time treatment. The initial injections last from 3 to 5 months and thereafter are repeated about every 10 months or so... depending upon how fast your body absorbs the collagen. I cannot begin to tell ya how much I value having this procedure available to me. It gave me my "normal' voice back! It ALSO helped my breathing considerably, which was an added, and unexpected bonus. This is a 5 minute, painless procedure, which corrects vocal cord problems, NOT muscular problems -- so it won't help ya if the muscles around mouth and/or tongue aren't working properly. It's your for the MD to tell if your vocal cords aren't working at full capacity tho since they are video-taped as you speak, thereby permitting the MD to SEE the problem if it is with the vocal cords. It is my understanding that UCLA also teaches the Lee Silverman method of speech therapy, tho I don't have a phone number for you. I CAN find it out if you're interested. Please feel free to contact me about the collagen injections if you have any questions or just wanna discuss it. Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] ---------- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of George L. Bousliman Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 1997 6:22 PM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: speech problems Dear Barbara, I'm primarily an observer of the PD list and have noted your frequent messages on a wide variety of symptoms. I've been diagnosed for 10 years, have had three thalamotomies (number 2 was botched and had to be redone), am currently on sinemet CR, regular sinemet, amantadine, and zoloft. I'm doing fairly well and still work full-time (executive director of the state bar of Montana), but I'm sounding more and more like Donald Duck. My once rich baritone is now a squaky imitation of the real thing. You mentioned collengen (sp?) injections. Was this a one-time treatment, or does it have to be repeated? Also, do you know anything about or can you refer me to a source for information on the Lee Silverman technique. Thanks in advance for your help. George L.Bousliman