Hi all, i posed a while ago, thought i'd respond a bit to your posts.
This post is only for people who get botox injections for headaches & injuries, not for those who get it for cosmetic or other reasons.
Botox injections hurt. & you hurt after you get them. It's what a lot of individuals are saying, not what my doctor tells me, or what i read in medical journals, etc. & i believe what individuals tell me of their personal experience over drug companies.
However, for me, the botox after-effect of pain got better. But until you have experience with it, you won't know if it'll hurt, for how long, or how many injection series' you'll get before it gets better, & how much better will your headaches be?
you have to weigh out for yourself whether it is worth continuing to try using it to manage migraines & chronic neck/back pain, if it is worth the pain you are experiencing to see if it will eventually relieve some, alot, or most of your pain.
it was, personally, a commitment i made to myself to just try, & keep trying. It was worth the try, for me, b/c my pain was so ridiculously bad. The research (which i ttly read fully, checked on, made sure was done well) said botox has a cumulative effect. so, i included that in my considerations. i still have the 3-year-long migraine, it's 24-7, never goes away, but the botox has lessened both the pain & the neurological symptoms. it just hasn't cured me.
i know it sucks, but sometimes, you have to compromise on what you *think* you SHOULD be doing, or taking, or how you should be living, when you have a pain disorder. I always did natural medicines, for eg. But that doesnt help anymore, for the problems i now have. so i kindof look at all this in a different context, one which really fits the situation for what it is. my decision has been to keep trying new things til i find a way to best manage. i dont really care what i try, as long as it's not very dangerous or super bad for you. b/c if it can improve my quality of life....
If anyone's going to say the 'should' word (which i hate b/c it makes people feel quite crappy when we think we should anything), it might be that we should try to find something that works to lessen our pain & symptoms.
mostly, i want to not be disabled. so i keep trying.
I've been getting Botox for chronic daily migraines for abt 18 months now. My 1st several rounds were excruciating after, for weeks, & then he started doing the needling more superficially. Been fine since then. last fall was a nightmare with it. Just got it again today & what do you know...wow it hurts! Esp the back of my head I can barely lay my head down. this fall's been painful. My neurologist sd its like that every fall for people with chronic pain, this fall is no different, all his patients are just messes right now. Thankfully, I found that acupuncture helps with after-pain for all injection Tx's that I've had (those yucky c-spine ones too). Thankfully I go tmrw for acupuncture! It's worth the $75-odd to beat out the side-effect pain of Tx, even if you only go once every 3 months. Face drooping: I got that. Once. During a bad migraine, weeks after Botox. Dr sd its bc my muscles on that side had more Botox & they slumped briefly during headache. Odd, but likely true. Scared the pants off me. I took a photo & immed sent it to him, freaking out. But it resolved when the headache lessened. Back to Botox pain...it happens. Mine always cleared up except maybe once (last fall. Should've gone to acupuncture, doh!). I'm super sensitive & quite psychosomatic from my injuries, post traumatic etc. I'm a big pain in the arse abt side effects...just try to find something to.offset the Botox pains or aches. Try different things, or stop your Botox. It has really lessened my migraine pain levels, over time. I still always have a headache, but now its rare for it to reach a pain level of 7.
Recent comments
Posted to botox side effects - neck pain? on 6 Dec 2012
Posted to botox side effects - neck pain? on 13 Nov 2012
I've been getting Botox for chronic daily migraines for abt 18 months now. My 1st several rounds were excruciating after, for weeks, & then he started doing the needling more superficially. Been fine since then. last fall was a nightmare with it. Just got it again today & what do you know...wow it hurts! Esp the back of my head I can barely lay my head down. this fall's been painful. My neurologist sd its like that every fall for people with chronic pain, this fall is no different, all his patients are just messes right now. Thankfully, I found that acupuncture helps with after-pain for all injection Tx's that I've had (those yucky c-spine ones too). Thankfully I go tmrw for acupuncture! It's worth the $75-odd to beat out the side-effect pain of Tx, even if you only go once every 3 months. Face drooping: I got that. Once. During a bad migraine, weeks after Botox. Dr sd its bc my muscles on that side had more Botox & they slumped briefly during headache. Odd, but likely true. Scared the pants off me. I took a photo & immed sent it to him, freaking out. But it resolved when the headache lessened. Back to Botox pain...it happens. Mine always cleared up except maybe once (last fall. Should've gone to acupuncture, doh!). I'm super sensitive & quite psychosomatic from my injuries, post traumatic etc. I'm a big pain in the arse abt side effects...just try to find something to.offset the Botox pains or aches. Try different things, or stop your Botox. It has really lessened my migraine pain levels, over time. I still always have a headache, but now its rare for it to reach a pain level of 7.