Botox: Stories

I had injections about 3 days ago and the worst anxiety since yesterday. i already suffer from post traumatic stress disorder so this had just blown it above and beyond. my eyes are very watery and sore and i am not feeling great i cannot sleep and look terrible because of it. hoping these symptoms do not get any worse as this is already very bad it doing my head in.

I had 12 units 4 days ago and feel awful. Dizziness, upset stomach, headache and blurred vision in one eye. Hard to concentrate, this is awful. Can't wait for it to wear off. I have 2 little ones and it has been very difficult feeling like this. I wish I knew the side effects. Anything out there that helps, to get this out of your system?

i am having severe dizziness after having botox injections. i get them for medical reasons- hemifacial spasms in my face. i was doing fine up to about one week post the injections and then experiencing extreme dizziness. it worsened each day and now up to 4 or so weeks dealing with it- i conacted my doctor he said not from botox. i contaced allergan they just took my report. i was evaluated at the er-negative for botulism poisining. i also have had a brain stem tumor so this can also be the cause of my symptoms. however, i was doing fine prior to the injections. it's gotten where i am so dizzy and balance is poor i cannot even leave my home or drive etc. my vision alo is blurry. i feel anxiety as well.

if this has happened to anyone else, can you please let me know how long it lasted. i am trying to figure out here if this is a side effect from the botox or my other medical condition. i'd rather it be from the botox and it will subside. it really seems as though happened post the injections. i just like to know if happened to anyone and how long for and did it go away once the toxin left your system. please help me, i am freaking out here!thanks!

I experienced a sense of disconnectedness and memory loss. It has been 7 months and I still haven't entirely recovered memory wise.

PLEASE REPORT YOUR SIDE EFFECTS AND ADVERSE OUTCOME TO THE FDA. The link for online reporting to the FDA is: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/medwatch-online.htm If you live in Australia, please also make a Blue Card report to the TGA online at https://www.ebs.tga.gov.au/ebs/ADRS/ADRSRepo.nsf?OpenDatabase

Thanks memoo - I know exactly what you mean by the 'psychological' side effects and you are correct - I am positive they are NOT in my mind! It is so hard to get any medical professional to admit it though. Shattered that I am by my hideous botox experience, I am not the type of person who will be easily dismissed when I really believe in something. (Perhaps this will give you a clue as to what I do for a living!) After feeling that I was not being taken seriously, I absolutely went to town on the reporting. I thought that reporting at MedsOnline through the FDA was not sufficient because I live in Australia. In addition, I reported the adverse event to Allergan Australia but they could not have cared less and didn't even give me a reference number for my phone report. I note there is nowhere on their website to make a properly documented adverse events report. The woman from Allergan Australia assured me that she was taking notes of my report and it would be sent to 'Allergan Corporate' in the US. (For the shredder I am assuming.) Anyway, I did not believe her and thanks to her unhelpful and dismissive attitude, I investigated further how I could make my report be taken seriously. The equivalent of the FDA in Australia is the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). I filed a 'Blue Card' report about the adverse event. Australia is pretty conservative in respect of medications - more so than the US. Honestly, I have had enough of the doctors on this website and others continually making unchallenged claims about the 'safety' of botox. I am not anti-botox but users and potential users deserve to be informed properly so they can make a choice for themselves based on the real story. I am firmly of the belief that the phrase 'rare, rare' side effects of botox actually means the 'massively under-reported' side effects of botox.

"Tried But Failed" -- fantastic that you filed an adverse event report, the more people do this the better. I hope it helps reassure you somewhat to hear that 4 months after my last (and final) Botox treatment I can feel the psychological effects beginning to wear off. When I say "psychological" I simply mean with regard to the psyche, not that they are in the mind -- they are not, I know, I've been there, and I've had Doctor's give me the same line of BS. At the same time as I feel the awful side effects lifting, I can see the lines reappearing in my forehead... I never thought I would be so glad to see them. A couple of things have helped me -- 1) P5P, a coenzymatic form of B6 that for some people helps with mood, anxiety and insomnia -- I was able to stop taking Ativan and Sleeping Pills, and take P5P instead... and 2) an intensive fast with daily colonics under the care of a Naturopathic Doctor -- I felt this removed a lot of toxicity from my system. Stay well, and hang in there.

Thanks for the tip babalulu, but unfortunately in my line of work I will have to rely on prescription meds! It is half way into the 5th week now and I am sleeping a little better. Down from 4 x 5mg Valium at night to 2. Still look like crap but that will obviously persist for some time.

U will be back to normal, give it another week, its traumatic, smoke pot at night instead of pills, I don't know why but it really works and u sleep, not stay up and trip, like one would think.

memoo - I read a previous post of yours and got the link to the FDA website for online reporting from that. Thank you. It at least made me feel that I was doing something proactive. I have filed an adverse event report with the FDA in relation to both the side effects I experienced and the interaction with the tetracycline antibiotic (which exacerbated the side effects) as well as created the horrible physical effect that I have right now. You are right about not expecting the side effects and perhaps looking past them if the result is positive. Clearly that is not the case for me this time. I look at old photos of myself and just cry. What did I do to myself? It is appalling. In respect of botox side effects, unfortunately they are too easily explained away by doctors as something else. When I say I feel like I have the flu (achy, fatigued, weak and generally unwell) I don't actually think I have the flu. I know I don't. I have botox side effects. Same deal with the sinus pressure and dry throat. The other side effects like insomnia, agitation, irrationality, dizziness, disorientation, confusion, memory problems and anxiety etc are too easily put down to stress by doctors. I am no more stressed than I was before the botox - in fact my life was taking a turn for the better before this disaster! Now I am getting through every day on Valium (Aussie Xanax) which is ridiculous. My doctor is sceptical about botox side effects - he described it as a 'conspiracy theory'. He is WRONG. I am refusing to take anti-depressants because I know I am not clinically depressed. I did not feel this way before the botox. I am only four weeks in to this nightmare. I look like a zombie and I miss the bright, sparkling blue eyes I used to have so very much. I fear that so much damage has been done both physically and emotionally that it will never come back to normal.

It took me 6 years of getting Botox to realize that every time within 12 hours, I experienced sudden and severe insomnia, extreme anxiety, panic attacks, and a rapid slide into depression. I have always been very even keel, not terribly moody, and sleep like a champ, so the difference is drastic and obvious, and certainly not psychological. Suspecting the connection, I began to keep "mood charts" over the last 2 years, documenting what happened to me after having Botox. The link is absolute and very clear -- it's the Botox that is causing the problems. If you search message boards, MANY other people have experienced exactly the same thing. Doctors and Clinicians deny such "side effects" are common, even real, and yet they are being widely reported all over the internet. The problem is, because we do not expect such a response to Botox, we do not directly connect the reaction. It has quite devastated my life -- leading to a misdiagnosis from a Psychiatrist, and eventually taking 5 dangerous mind-altering medications to "treat" the misdiagnosis. Of course, my "mental illness" strangely went away every time the Botox wore off, but try explaining that to a Psychiatrist! Once I realized what was really going on, I weaned myself successfully off all medications working with a Naturopathic Doctor, and a Nutritional Psychiatrist (yes, they exist!) -- and of course I stopped having Botox. I think it will be years before the true effects of Botox become apparent. I wonder if there is any link between the drastic increase in RXs for sleeping pills, anti-anxiety meds and antidepressants in the last 10 years -- and the advent of Botox during the same period. It's hard to know -- because these side effects are not disclosed by the manufacturer of Botox -- so Doctors don't know to expect or look for them. They automatically dismiss them as probably psychological, when clearly they are not. I think the key problem is people probably don't realize Botox is doing this to them, because a) they don't expect it, and b) they want to focus on the positive outcome of Botox. Until more people speak up -- and file "adverse event" reports with the FDA as I did -- nothing will change. You can file an "adverse event" report here: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/medwatch-online.htm

Hi jayne01 It would appear that, aside from not being 'with it' (probably just a result of your double vision!) your side effects are all physical. However, I certainly think that the side effects of botox can be both physical (vomiting, double vision etc) and emotional/psychological (anxiety, disorientation etc). The latter does not seem to have happened to you. My response was really posted for babalulu and in korea who identify side effects of insomnia and anxiety (which can also cause feelings of dizzines and not being with it).

Major panic attack today guys! Really thought I was losing it. I just spoke with the "medicalsupp" guy (that's his user name) in New York - yes I made a cell phone call to the US from Australia I feel so terrible - and he would encourage anyone with these symptoms to send him a private email. He is doing some research into the emotional side effects of botox that most doctors deny exist. Please contact him. He is extremely nice and very helpful. He will not make you feel that it is all in your head.

Yes, the first time I had botox was only around my eyes, but the second time I had it in between my eyebrows, and I only had the bad reaction on the second treatment. I agree, there should be more information on these possible side effects. I was so relieved to find that other people had suffered the same symptoms, because I seriously thought I was going mad. My last treatment has nearly worn off though....and I have to admit, I hate those lines that are starting to appear! Maybe I'll try just around the eyes again. I wasn't taking antibiotics, but I stupidly took some ibuprofen just before the treatment thinking that it would help with the pain of the injections, and found out later that ibuprofen makes you bleed more easily. That may even have been the cause of my weird side effects. Did anyone else take ibuprofen or aspirin before the treatment?

no, never

I am amazed. I have had similar reactions after botox but never attributed it to botox. I just thought it was a coincidence that I always happened to have bad sinuses and the flu after botox shots (especially in the forehead). I have looked around on the web and lots of other people write very similar things on blogs. Also upset stomachs, vomiting, uncontrollable crying, inability to socialise, lack of concentration etc etc etc, which I have too. The doctor who replied may not have come across it but if your read the hundreds of stories describing the exact same symptoms then I do not see how such little credit is given to these "rare, rare" side effects. It would suggest that they are not all that rare after all. Was anyone who experienced these side effects taking antibiotics at the time of the botox shots of shortly thereafter?

I am feeling much better now. It took probably 6 weeks before the symptoms wore off. As much as I liked the effect of the botox, I won't be putting myself through it again. But just remember, it will wear off and you'll start to feel normal again soon!