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!
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 called PurTox. There are two other forms Xeomin in Germany, and Prosigne in China.
If you have superficial lines in your glabella, a fractionated CO2 laser resurfacing is a great alternative, and a more permanent "fix". At age 53, you (like me) are showing other signs of aging like lax skin under the eyes, face and neck, hooding of the upper eyelids, crow's feet, and general sun damage of the skin. A single treatment with Fraxel re:pair, Active/Deep FX, or Mixto will give you overall skin rejuvenation, help you look years younger, rested, and healthy. If you choose to go with the fractionated CO2 laser, make sure to choose your treating physician most carefully. Be well.
Dr. P
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.
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.
Web reference: http://www.drkrisreddy.com/west_palm_beach_botox_palm_beach_gardens_bocaraton.html
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 row to allow the lines to totally flatten over time.
If lines are deep enough, Botox does NOT erase them. It only prevents the underlying muscles from repeatedly folding the skin... and as the skin stays flat over months (and months)... the lines may smooth out. I am not totally surprised that you could still see visible fine lines after each Botox treatment.
If you want to try again, remember how the Botox works, and ask your board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon if a small amount of filler under the lines would help you with more immediate line erasure, while the Botox sits in place to prevent re-deepening. Good luck!
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 theoretical though.
There is also recent information, and I am awaiting scientific data, to show that vitamin supplements (Zinc) may increase the effectiveness of Botox injections. We'll see....
Hope this helps!
Dr. C
johnconnorsmd.com
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.
Web reference: http://www.ShaferPlasticSurgery.com
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, I will give Botox another try and it usually works.
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.
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