How can Botox kill you? What can go wrong to make this happen? Give me all possibilities. My life will be changed forever!

Question

ER straight from the doctor’s office following the injection. Admitted to the ICU and hospitalized 14 days. I experience numbness, weakness, difficulty walking, discoordination, tremors, slurred speech, difficulty communicating what I was thinking, swallowing, HR 170-30’s, irregular rhythms, chest pain, electrical shooting, difficulty breathing and O2 sat problems. I never knew what the next symptom would be. Scariest experience of my life.

Adam Scheiner, MD · Answer

Dear Patient from Ohio,This could have resulted from an individual using either 1) much too much Botox (unlikely) or 2) using a non approved Botox meant for animals or research. There was a case a few years ago in Florida where a chiropractor got "cheap" botox from a distributor but didn't dilute it properly giving likely a lethal dose to a patient and that patient ended up the hospital for 3 months until her respiratory muscles were able to contract again.This may have been the cause in your situation. But it usually takes a few days for the botox to start working and the botox would keep working for 3 months so possibly this was just a coincidence and your ICU admission may have been due to another medical situation that occurred around the same time such as a stroke or heart attack. Hope this was helpful.

Matthew Elias, DO, FAAD · Answer

Thank you for your question.  I am very sorry to hear that you have had such severe complications from your Botox, hopefully you are recuperating at this time.  The package insert for Botox Cosmetic contains a black box warning, warning against the distant spread of toxin effect.  Specifically "The effects of BOTOX Cosmetic and all botulinum toxin products may
spread from the area of injection to produce symptoms consistent with
botulinum toxin effects. These symptoms have been reported hours to
weeks after injection. Swallowing and breathing difficulties can be life
threatening and there have been reports of death. The risk of
symptoms is probably greatest in children treated for spasticity but
symptoms can also occur in adults, particularly in those patients who
have an underlying condition that would predispose them to these
symptoms"It is the duty of the physician to warn you of these possible side effects and it should be in the informed consent that was provided to you to read prior to signing to allow the Botox to be injected.As Dr. Scheiner said there was a case in Florida approximately 10 years ago where an unlicensed physician injected research grade Botulinum toxin into patients that was not intended for humans and unfortunately had serious consequences for the patients (one of whom was a doctor) that had it injected.Other possible causes of your symptoms could be hypersensitivity to any of the components of the preparation, infection, using unapproved Botox or Botox purchased from out of the country, already having an unknown underlying neuromuscular disorder, or having a comprised respiratory system to start.Again, I am truly sorry you have had such a bad outcome and truly wish a speedy recovery.  I suggest you talk to your injecting physician and be referred to the appropriate specialist to be properly evaluated and managed.Regards, Dr. Matthew J. Elias

How can Botox kill you? What can go wrong to make this happen? Give me all possibilities. My life will be changed forever!

Answers (2)

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