Masseter Botox & Migraines

First of all, let me start out with saying Dr. Yew and his staff are the best! This is one visit I’m always excited for. I know I’m in good hands and will walk out feeling my best! Now, for the details on my last visit! I’m a good 2 weeks late on this review, but I’m glad I waited so I can tell you guys about my results. So, I recently went in to see Dr. Yew for Botox in my masseters. But first, let me tell you why! I’m someone who has suffered with migraines ever since I was a child. Throughout this time I have gone weeks and months at a time with pains that I’m not even sure how to explain at times. From extreme eye sensitivity, days were you can’t concentrate, nonstop head pains & throbbing to the point where the only thing I could do to somewhat feel better is sleep, is not a solution.I actually grew so accustomed to having migraines weeks at a time that a specific level of pain became my “normal”. I had gone to doctors before, but if I’m being honest I hated that I would always be prescribed pills to deal with it. It wasn’t a solution that worked for me or helped enough to make an impact, so one day I asked my doctor about Botox injections. I had a family nurse who was getting them and said they had really helped her migraines, so I wanted to really try it and was referred to a neurologist. Now let me tell you, this appointment took 8 months! 8!! And the reason you have to go to a neurologist for this is because insurance DOES NOT COVER BOTOX INJECTIONS. In order to have a chance at insurance covering any Botox migraine treatment, you have to go through an entire process that a neurologist will put you through to see if it is something that might help you. This was a very lengthy process. For my first appointment I had to track my migraines for a month and a half by writing what times of the day I had them and identify/recognize what the triggers were based off of a list they provide you. I was also prescribed a couple migraine medications to take if I needed and track whether they helped or not. After this was complete I had to go back and look it over with the neurologist and go through a few different migraine treatments because the others did not work for me. Not only this, but in order to receive partially covered Botox injections you have to had tried almost every medication under the sun. So the process itself once you get to a doctor, can take someone a year to complete if not more! Insurance does not want to cover these shots, it’s their last resort so you have to do it all to have a chance. In my case, after my first couple appointments with a neurologist, which are spaced about 3 months apart, you then are able to receive a “sample” Botox injection. They let you try the botox but with less units than you would typically receive for migraines to see how you might react. During this time if you have completed every treatment for migraines and it has not worked for you, your neurologist can try to ask your insurance to help cover the injection costs. The only catch, your insurance will not cover everything, so you will have about $300 out of pocket costs every 3 months if this is something you choose to continue... A few months ago right before receiving Botox for my migraines I went to Dr. Yew and he had mentioned botox in your masseter muscle for people with migraines. The idea behind these shots is to help relax the muscle tension and also shrink the muscle size a bit. I was willing to try anything to help my migraines and decided I would do it with him next time I received my migraine shots. The shots & my experience: The shots in the masseter themselves were practically painless! Dr. yew and his assistant did a few measurements of each masseter to make sure they knew exactly where to inject me. Mind you, this is something I would never go to just anyone to get done! If it’s injected incorrectly it can go as far as to altering your smile... and you don’t want to walk around with a droopy face for a few months, sounds horrifying! I knew I was in good hands. His assistant iced my cheeks and then Dr.Yew did the injections in less than 30 seconds. It was actually amazing! Botox usually has a little sting, but I barely felt a thing! It was incredibly easy to sit through and would recommend it to anyone thinking of having it done. The procedure itself I think is about 25 units of Botox on each side, depends on the size of your muscles. Upwards $700 , but they signed me up for a rewards program so I was able to save about $140 on my visit which was great!! The results will take some time, the masseter muscle needs to shrink and it’s something that is really dependent on the individual. I’m hoping to come back in 3 months and get another set of shots if the first round doesn’t give me enough of an effect. But so far good! Not super sure if it’s helping with migraines, I think personally my migraines are very head specific, but would def say getting these shots does help relax those jaw muscles so anyone that clenches, or simply wants their muscles to lean out and get your face defined again should 100% try it. I can see slight results just 2 weeks after and excited to see how it will be another 2 months from now. As always thanks again Dr. Yew and to your tram! You guys are great with what you do! And thank you for taking care of me!