Migraines and a silver lining
I know I have ignored this blog for some time, but now I find I have something others might want to hear. This is about my experience receiving Botox for migraines. I write this in hopes of it helping someone else make a decision for treating their migraines. I start with a quick view of my particular migraines. Migraines are NOTHING like headaches. With migraines you are incapacitated! Sounds, smells and light all make it worse, on top of that you are nauseous, you are vomiting and many other uncomfortable things. I have been getting migraines for YEARS! I can’t remember quite when they started, but I remember it was sometime in high school. They would always pop up around noon and only last for a little bit, then they just stopped. For a year maybe two I didn’t get a migraine. Then sometime between senior year in high school and freshman year of college they returned. At first they weren’t to bothersome, until another year/ year and a half later. I then noticed them coming more often and they were more severe. So my neurologist at the time ( I’ve seen at least 6 in the past few years. NEVER be afraid to see another doctor if you don’t feel comfortable with your current one!) they came to a point in the last 2-3 years where I was getting migraines at least 3 days a week sometimes up to 6 in a week! By this point I have tried every trick in the book. My only relief up to this point was the use of peppermint oil, marijuana and butterbur. (Butterbur proved most effective; it takes up to a month to start working). I felt horrible, I thought my friends must hate me for always deciding not to go out or doing anything. This actually benefitted me, I found out who was important because they stuck by me. They would see me with a migraine and just be curled up in ball trying not to think about anything and do what they could to help. So after trying ALL of the preventative medication and some giving me horrible side effect I saw a new doctor. This one understood my frustration. I lived day to day afraid to enjoy things or go out of fear of getting a migraine. He suggested Botox for migraines. I went home and for the next month did my research. Would insurance cover it, side effects, reviews... you name it I searched the internet high and low to decide if it was right. Some review TERRIFIED ME! But after a month of research I realized that these were because their doctor was not proficient in using Botox Which is EXTEREMLY important. Botox is a toxin used to weaken the muscles around you head, neck and upper back. If it spreads from injection site you could die. (from paralysis of muscles you need to breath) many people had said they had trouble breathing from it. I had this slightly but I believe it was from anxiety of the possible side effect and was not real. The only side effect I have had has been a sore neck and slight crook in my eyebrow. (aka jack nicols eye brows (pardon my spelling)). I did read people had horrible neck pain, but I think it might be overrated. My neck has been sore since I receive the injections ( I had 200 units in 32 shots). But that is to be expected, humans have heavy heads and need strong neck muscles to support it. Weakening them will make your neck sore! You should keep I’m mind it will take different amounts of time for each person, until the injections start working. Some people say it took them two rounds of shots. This I have found was because they received too little amount (usually 100 units) , but once its increased they went away. Other than that it has been almost three weeks since the injections and I believe its working!!! Its been 6 days now without a migraine and I can’t remember the last time I had gone that long. I have started to worry less about getting them! So overall I would suggest it!! It will be interesting to see how long it lasts and how well it works!
