Botox: Q&A
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Immune to Botox?
I am 53 years old and I have had Botox injections on 5 separate occasions from 5 different board certified doctors hoping that I would see results. I did not. The "eleven" lines between my brows are fine (not deep) therefore I thought Botox would be perfect.
Is it possible that I have antibodies that would prevent me from getting results from Botox? Is there an alternative to Botox that would give me the results I am searching for? Thank you so much for your time and advice!
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15 Doctor Answers |
Asked by
Deb W
in Wallingford, CT
+3
Botox immunity, a growing problem
Patients who receive dilute Botox at clinics, then come in frequently for touch-ups when the weak Botox fails can, I believe, essentially develop immunity to Botox. It is actually a growing problem.
Fortunately, if all the Botox is allowed to go away for a period of 6 months, and the patient goes to a reputable doctor who uses concentrated Botox, applied to the right muscles, most patients can return to a normal Botox injection cycle every 3 or 4 months.
+3
Possible, but probably require a higher dose
Hi DW,
Of the thousands of Botox patients that I have injected, I have never encountered a patient with immunity to the effects. There have been patients that require higher dosages, sometimes twice the usual amount.
The most popular Botulinium Toxin type A in use, and the one that you probably received from your 5 injectors is Botox manufactured by Allergan. You may consider using Dysport which will soon be marketed by Medicis as Reloxin. Mentor will be putting out another alternative...
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+2
Try a Filler Instead
There are rare situations where a person's body may not react to Botox as expected, and you appear to be one. As an alternative, you might want to try a filler for the number 11 lines such as Restylane or Juvaderm. Without actually examining you, it's difficult to say what might be best. Also a surgical procedure could be performed to intentionally cut some of the muscles that create the #11 lines. I hope this helps. I am sorry that it did not seem to work well for you.
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Botox resistance
In some rare cases, patients may not react or no longer react to botox. Dermal fillers are a safe alternative in the hands of an experienced injector on the appropriate patient.
+1
Botox does not immediately erase lines, but it does over time!
You say that you had Botox injected by five different doctors on five different occasions. This makes me wonder if you had all of your five treatments in a row, every three months, or whether you tried every 6 to 12 months.
I ask this because you said you have fine lines between your eyebrows (frown lines) which aren't deep. But it is very possible that the Botox DID work..... to prevent you from frowning and folding the lines, but that the Botox wasn't in place long enough in a r
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+1
Immunity to Botox
Rare, but not unreasonable....however, from the wording of your question, the botulinum toxin you received never worked for you. I have had a few patients with the same issue....Recently I have treated these patients with a higher concentration of the medication and therefore a smaller volume which allows less migration of the drug and therefore has been more effective. I also think this limits the amount of effective drug needed and lowers the risk of immunity in the future...only theoretica
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+1
Immune to Botox / Botox Resistance
There is about at 1 in 10,000 chance of developing antibodies to Botox. I have seen two patients in my practice with this problem. If you are concerned, your blood can be tested for the antibodies. Also, there are other botulinum toxins, such as Myobloc, which can be used effectively in patients with immunity. Good luck.
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Immunity to Botox
I've had a couple of patients develop immunity to Botox over the years. They both responded very well to Dysport, which is a different type of botulinum toxin. I would only used Dysport, however, on one of my own Botox patients. There are a lot of injectors out there who do not inject deeply enough (especially between the brows where the muscles are deep) or who really dilute their Botox. For patients who have not had good luck with Botox from another injector...
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+1
Botox immunity possible, but unlikely
It is possible to have antibodies to Botox. If you have ever had botulism you would have antibodies. People can also develop antibodies to Botox if they have received large doses of Botox (like for cerebral palsy treatments). It is possible to have antibodies for no known reason, but quite unlikely.
Keep in mind, that Botox directly affects nerves (and thus muscles), not the crease. It is more likely that Botox is working, but you are not getting the indirect...
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+1
No Response To Botox Treatment
It is possible, although unlikely, that you have antibodies to the Botox being injected into your body. If this is the case, Botox will not have the same effect on your body as it does in other patients. You will effectively be immune to the treatment. One option is to try a different strain of botulinum toxin, like Dysport, to see if this is any better in controlling the unwanted muscle movement.
+1
Botox immunity
Botox immunity is extremely rare but can happen you may be better off trying Dysport which is Botulinum toxin B as opposed to A. This may do the trick.
+1
Botox immunity extremely rare
Botox immunity is extremely rare. When discussing this with your doctors, go over how many units of Botox you are using and consider increasing the dosage. I would also focus on treating just one or two areas while you are working this out.
For more information on Botox or to schedule an iConsult, please visit us online at
+1
Immunity to Botox is uncommon
Immunity to BOTOX is uncommon, but possible. If you have been injected with the correct number of units and at the right depth by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon, and the results are suboptimal, it may mean that your body has formed antibodies against BOTOX.
With cosmetic BOTOX use, this is very uncommon, & more common when used in large doses (e.g. for cerebral palsy). That said, you may benefit from the addition of a hyaluronic acid filler using a microdroplet technique to fill...
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+1
Botox for 11 lines not working
There are cases of patients being resistant to Botox. Although it is not very common, we have seen it before. If you have been injected by five different board certified physicians, there's a very high probability that the procedure was done correctly more than once especially if you shared your previous history with the subsequent practitioners.
You still have a couple options. Given what you have described, perhaps Restylane, Juvederm or even laser resurfacing are a better option. In...
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