How Long Does Botox Take to Work if Used for Tension Headaches?

Botox is used successfully in many patients with both tension and migraine type headaches.  The Botox should take effect in a few days but can take 7-10 days to have maximum benefit.  Result should last 3-4 months in most patients.  Most patients with migraine headaches will still need some rescue medications but studies have shown about a 50% decrease in headache frequency and severity with Botox use.

Botox has been noted to help some patients with migraines, and other patients with tension headaches, especially those who get relief from injecting the glabella of the forehead (between the eyebrows) get relief usually within a few days of the Botox being injected.  They tend to konw when to schedule the next treatment even before seeing the wrinkles reforming, when they start to feel headaches recur around three to four months.

While some patients may experience immediate relief (within a day) with the use of Botox for tension headaches, full effects may not occur for up to two weeks.

Certainly if you have not had benefit at the end of 10 days then it is very likely that your treatment is not working for you.  Tension headaches do require a sufficient dose of BOTOX in the right muscle groups to be effective.  So even if the initial treatment was not effective, it is still possible that additional treatment might be beneficial.  I would encourage you to work with a neurologist with experience with this type of treatment.

Botox takes about 3-4 days before you will notice any effect, and about 7-10 days before full effect is felt. It will last about 3-4 months.  

The mechanism of botox is totally different from medication so it is hard to compare directly.  Studies thus far have shown a reduction from about 15 headaches per month to 7 or 8.  Not perfect, but it definitely helps!



Best of luck

Dr Rodman

It can take anywhere from a few days up to 2 weeks for the treatment to be fully effective. Typically, in my experience, it takes about 2 weeks. The effects last up to 4 months before another treatment may be needed.

You should experience some relief within 48-72 hours, but may take up to 2 weeks for the full effect. It is important that Botox is used appropriately for headaches. It is not meant to treat all types of headaches.

Botox been used with good success in cases of migraine headache. Botox action usually takes 3-5 days to work. The duration varies between 2-3 months. 

Botox can work for tension headaches and the results can be apparent usually few days after treatment.

Botox tends to work very well for tension headaches.  It usually starts to work within a few days of your treatment, but I always tell my patients to wait a full two weeks before deciding on whether or not they have achieved the desired result.  Initially you still may need to take Tylenol or a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication for your headaches, but the need for this should diminish as your Botox kicks in!