Botox? Anyone with success?

I live with migraines and chronic tension headaches. The chronic tension headashes are almost every day, pain scale of about a 6-7. I am at a lost in my life.

Wanting to talk to ANYONE that has tried Botox. Worked or not.

Thanks

There are some good threads here already on this. However, I'll say I tried it twice without success. First time was the typical face & neck spots. Second time was neck and shoulders only. I highly recommend against the shoulders as I couldn't move for weeks without pain. I am very glad I tried it though. The data is pretty mixed on this. At least however insurance now has to cover it if your doctor writes chronic migraine as its FDA approved.

A lot of doctors are willing to write chronic migraine (> 15 days a month, not responding to other treatments) for anyone with headaches that often, despite the type. I have NDPH and my doctor wrote chronic migraine. I knew going in I didn't have too much of a shot of success as the data on headaches besides chronic migraine for this wasn't so good. I think its a good treatment option as the side effect profile is actually much lower than most of the meds they try us on. Plus, you will know sooner than most meds if it is helping, although many recommend three treatments three months apart for a true trial (my doctor would not do this as my eyebrows were still not able to move after three months).

My best suggestion is to ensure the doctor you have chosen does this procedure often...they can have completed the training but may not necessarily get much practice. The more skill they have the better chance of it working and the less chance of side effects (such as an eye drooping if they inject it too close to there). I have heard of some folks having success with Botox, especially those who actually do have chronic migraine, and often in combo with other treatments. Good luck! Best wishes.

It can work really well. A lady on my group, in Scotland was pain free the next day and still is 2 months later.
She is elated of course. Two others have had a 50% drop in migraine.

I agree its very important to get the 31 shots, in the right places.
This seems to be the key.

Pen

hi,

i just posted again as a reply to an earlier post. mine did not work. my eyebrows looked like "spock's" from star trek.
thank goodness i have bangs, fringes i think is the english term.

been trying stuff without success for 20 years. going for my 2nd round this month.

can't believe someone found relief the next day, did not think that could happen. but, i am absolutely thrilled for them. i am happy for anyone who can find relief from this nightmare.

rose

Here we get 31 injections on the NHS.
It takes maybe 2/3 weeks to work if its going to.
So far so good.....

hi,

i was supposed to do my second round of botox on monday. had the worst migraine i've had in a year so off to the clinic for rescue meds. , another kind neighbor drove me and then nap time monday and most of tues. am rescheduled for late aug.

lucky, someone must have cancelled as the next opening was november.

maybe this time it will work.

best wishes.

rose

I don't know that it really is much of a success, but I have recently gotten my second round of Botox injections. The full 31 shots, and it stopped the rapid decline I was having. I went from a scale of 4 to 8 over the course of a week and the Botox and steadied me at a 6 in about two weeks. That counts for something. I guess for each person it's different, just like every other migraine treatment. You never know if it will work for you until you try it. At least that's been my experience. But I have yet to find a treatment that has stopped my migraines even for a few hours.

I really don't expect much relief for my chronic headaches. I have been trying various treatment over the 40 years and it seems like the headaches & migraines are getting worse as I get older. I have considered that I maybe getting rebound headaches. We are expected to bear the pain letting the headaches consume our lives and take meds only twice a week. Perposterous! I certainly would like to break the headache cycle but who needs more pain from withdrawal? Has any of you broken the cycle painlessly? If you have had sucess please email me @ flo_02472@yahoo.com. Thanks.

I had my first botox treatment last Friday, and so far I only have good things to say about the treatment. I have currently gone 3 days without a chronic constant headache and/or migraine for the first time in nearly 18 months.
The day of the injections left my feeling pretty awful - like my head was a pin cushion and I felt very tired. However, while I have had some tension in my shoulder blades since then I have not suffered a bad headache. The headache has not completely gone but is not bad enough to have to "manage" the pain with codeine (previously the only medication that seems to get rid of my headaches).
I had approximately 30 injections in my forehead, temples, side of the head, back of my neck and shoulder blades. Is anyone able to tell me if the tension (like an intense cramp) should go away in my shoulder blades?
I am not sure if this is associated with the actual botox injection or an effect from tension I never realised I was carrying until I had the injection.
I have previously tried countless medications (Allergon, Inderal, Sandomigran, etc) and nothing has really been this effective at keeping the headache away. I have also previously tried one round of Lidocaine hospital treatment and two rounds of DHE hospital treatment. The Lidocaine to no effect, and the first DHE to great results (for 4 months) and then getting headaches back with a vengeance. I am currently also on DHE injections, which I am required to inject into my stomach, to good results. However, I am only able to take these when I get a severe migraine (on average 5 a fortnight) and would rather take something preventative than managing.