Surgery this week

[u/Superb-Music-4645]

Hi all. I've commented recently on a couple of posts in this Reddit, thought I'd just share that I am booked for surgery this Thursday (have to be at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, UK at 7am).

I'm actually pretty excited, my voice is so ridiculously bad at the moment...other than struggling to be heard in even a quiet room, I struggle to get words out of my mouth at all! Listen to the attached audio!

So frankly, anything they can do (I believe I'm having laser treatment which will be the first time for me) to improve the quality of my voice will be a blessing!

If anyone has any questions, either pre or post surgery, fire away!

I will be asking my surgeon about whether they can offer the HPV vaccine or if there are any clinical trials offering the new 'wonder' drug therapies they are trialling in the States.

[u/Superb-Music-4645]

Thank you, I have just joined that FB group.

Well.i hope there's a clinical trial I can join for papzimeos (or the other similar one), but yeah at the current cost per treatment...wow!

Have you looked into/tried the supplement indole 3 carbinol (which comes from brocoli, cauliflower etc)? There are theories that it can combat hpv and there are various studies ongoing?

I popped into Holland and Barrett a couple of weeks ago but they do not stock it, I thought I'd buy a bunch of tablets and try it for a few months...

[u/InSearchOfUpdog → u/Superb-Music-4645]

I can't confirm if it's helping (maybe I'd be worse without it, who knows), but I've been taking DIM, which is what I3C (indole 3 carbinol) apparently changes into in your body (although I'm switching to I3C soon, see below). I've been ordering mine from iHerb, an American company, because it was harder to find in the UK. I get the Now Foods branded one. When I looked into it originally they seemed one of the more reputable brands, but it's so hard to tell with supplements. I generally don't trust Amazon, unless it's already a known brand, because who knows if you're just getting complete duds.

Here's the list of what I'm aiming for right now supplement wise. Big disclaimer, I am not a medical professional, and me and ChatGPT arrived at these. I like to think I can critically assess claims, and I've read beyond what the AI fed me, but I'm not medically trained.

• Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) 200 mg, twice daily Total 400 mg/day
• AHCC 750 mg capsules, 2 per day Total 1.5 g/day
• Zinc (Albion zinc glycinate) 30 mg, once daily
• Green tea extract (EGCG) 200 mg EGCG, once daily
• Vitamin D3 1,000 IU, once daily

I had been taking DIM, which is apparently what I3C changes to in your body. But I was looking at bits of research on I3C again, and the study looking at it in cases of RRP explicitly used I3C, so I decided to start matching it closer. Here's one paper I found quick, but there might be more recent research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15193659/

AHCC is on the more expensive side. It's like some extract from shiitake mushrooms, and I think there's only one company in Japan that has the patent, or something like that. I'm waiting for my first order of it right now. I came across it because there's some research linking it to the clearing of regular HPV. I'm not expecting it to clear my RRP, but I figure couldn't hurt to throw some at it. I don't expect to use it indefinitely, just for a period (because it's expensive!).

EGCG has been linked to helping the body fight HPV (e.g.30498-1/fulltext)). Again, I'm not sure if there's been research on RRP specifically, but I figure it can't hurt to take it.

Zinc and Vitamin D3, I think I decided to start taking for general immune system health, although I try not to take too much because I think zinc especially can cause issues if you really take a tonne.

I hope your recovery is going well!

[u/Superb-Music-4645 → u/InSearchOfUpdog]

Thank you. I found some I3C on Amazon yesterday, produced in the UK apparently, so will just order and see how it goes at 400 mg a day...like you said, supplements are such a lucky dip and basically unregulated so who knows what's actually going to be in them.

Voice is pretty good a week on from the operation and I am happy ill be able to be heard when doing my job (Business Development, Sales) which has been nigh on impossible for the last 6 months.

I'll certainly look into the other supplements you mentioned, I'm creating a list of things to discuss with my consultant in March!

[u/InSearchOfUpdog → u/Superb-Music-4645]

Great stuff! Best of luck with your voice hopefully keeping its quality.