My First Botox Experience

O.K. So because I suffer from chronic migraines and have not found preventative drugs to be effective, my neurologist proposed Botox injections. Apparently, they have had great success using Botox on patients who did not respond well to the preventatives.

Mind you, I’ve always been uneasy around needles (who isn’t?) and I’m not fond of the idea of having something that’s labelled “toxin” injected into my “temple” of a body. However, After 34 years of pain and a multitude of futile attempts to lessen it, I was desperate.

So, today was my first treatment.

I had 22 needle injections in my forehead, face, and neck. 22! (BTW, each injection sounds a little crunchy as it goes in.)

By the first 18, I was feeling a bit warm, particularly in the face. I managed to wait until after all 22 were in before I almost passed out. The doctor was really impressed that I wasn’t a “bleeder”, but that was because all of the blood had drained out of my face apparently. My whole body got warm and clammy and hot and I threw up a little, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. I was light-headed and dizzy and had to be reclined and left to rest for about 20 minutes before I felt well enough to drive.

I’m still not feeling well…and I think the whole experience may have triggered a migraine…

I can say that the immobility effect is not immediate despite what all those sitcoms claim and those little shots hurt like the dickens.

Anyway, we really won’t have a good idea if it’s working for a while. I’ll have a check-in in about a month to report if I’ve had more, less, or the same number of migraines. I do hope it works because I feel like I’ve run out of options.

tags: botox, migraine

4 comments

1. on January 11, 2006 at 8:53 pm

   Tamara said:

   Crunchy? That’s odd! It reminded me, though, had you tried acupuncture? I think you said you had. I only had one treatment, and I loved that part of it, but I could never tell whether it worked because I couldn’t afford to go back.

   Hope it works for you. Take care and get some rest tonight.

2. on January 11, 2006 at 9:58 pm

   Kerrie said:

   Hi,

   I stumbled upon your blog looking for chronic headache information…

   Don’t think you’ve lost your mind if you think the injections triggered a migraine. Mine triggered the worst migraine I had ever had until that point. The moral of the story? if you have an effective abortive med, take it as soon as you’re sure it’s a migraine! It may save you some mistery.

   Sorry for the unsolicited advice, but I hope it helps.

3. on February 24, 2006 at 3:14 pm

   Mom said:

   I got mine yesterday and I believe it actually stopped a migraine last night. I felt the shoulders get tense, but it didn’t go beyound that. Let’s hope this works, I have no other options other than paying out of pocket for meds.

4. on February 28, 2006 at 11:31 am

   Michelle said:

   I don’t like getting shots, so I was intrigued with an article I read recently on http://www.radthemag.com about there being a whole line of lasers, heat therapy, and more to rejuvenate skin without taking Botox injections or having surgery. Don’t know if they work or not, but it was written by a plastic surgeon.

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