Has anyone tried Botox for headaches?

Posted by mikaylar @mikaylar, 5 days ago

Was Botox successful? My doctor wants me to try it again. It did not work 8 years ago. I worry about the toxicity and my glaucoma and macular degeneration. Eye doc says it's okay, but they aren't his eyes.

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@mikaylar

Holy cow! You have been through the ringer. I avoid pain killers 'cause of the constipation. My headache center will not give pain killers. They say it causes rebound headaches. You are right, God help us all 'cause the doctors sure are not!

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Tylenol is the only pain reliever I will take. Everything else has upset my stomach!

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@mcgrathcreative2

Please, I have been on every elimination diet there is, gluten included. I had to be on these drugs called MAO Inhibitors (some very old antidepressants that have diet restrictions that are extremely restricted because certain foods react very badly to them, as in to cause a hypertensive crisis and death). That MAOI diet eliminated everything from chocolate, to cheese, nuts, processed meats and foods. The list of foods to avoid is daunting. It was also called a “tyramine free” diet. From my understanding tyramine is also produced when foods break down so leftovers were out of the question. I followed this extremely strict diet for several years and it did not make any difference in my migraines except to make me miserable. Have you been on a restrictive diet like this? I lost 100 lbs but still had the headaches. Please do not tell me it’s my diet.

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I concur. Migraines are multi-faceted and difficult to treat. There isn’t ”One Perfect Recommendation” or protocol that will work for everyone. I found out I have Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome in 2016 (age 55) with dissected carotids, FMD, wretched Cervical mess (C2 - C5), and a geneticist is discovering more bizarre issues and metabolic weirdness…. We are far more complex than current science can even fathom.
Dr. Pradeep Chopra is a compassionate provider who is attempting to understand pain in humans. He has some validating and informative presentations on YouTube and elsewhere, and is attempting to educate med students re pain patients.
Bless him and providers like him, and wishing positive energy to those of us dealing with life-altering pain.
Warm healing vibes to you < 3

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It’s a super complex problem with many root causes for every individual. It’s also why there are so many different treatments…

Botox has worked well for me. I’ve been using it for 18 months now and I haven’t had a single migraine from day one. I was averaging 18-25 days per month with migraines before I started treatment.

It may or may not be effective for you, but the only way to know is to try it.

Good luck in your journey, I hope you find relief soon.

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@kate2002

Stop eating gluten. Botox never helped me but eliminating glucose from my diet stopped the headaches completely.

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Eliminating gluten 15 years ago definitely helped my gut issues and may help others with inflammatory pain. I will NOT have gluten at all now.
Unfortunately stopping gluten definitely did not eliminate my migraines.

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My retina doctor and my neuro eye doctor both say Botox is okay to take. Now I don't know what to do.

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Botox has reduced my migraines and pain in related areas (temples, occipital region, tmj, “coat hanger” regon pain…
The effects were not immediate, but were more noticeable after working with clinic providers (who offered helpful suggestions), tracking symptoms (required), and adjusting where botox injections went. I asked if they could be used in different areas, and now they’ve adjusted the protocol to suit my particular (or peculiar) trigger areas.
I think being on a mast cell protocol helps too (to avoid inflammatory reactions that can trigger problems)
The providers also offered some helpful suggestions. Ask them questions.

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@madvzebra

Botox has reduced my migraines and pain in related areas (temples, occipital region, tmj, “coat hanger” regon pain…
The effects were not immediate, but were more noticeable after working with clinic providers (who offered helpful suggestions), tracking symptoms (required), and adjusting where botox injections went. I asked if they could be used in different areas, and now they’ve adjusted the protocol to suit my particular (or peculiar) trigger areas.
I think being on a mast cell protocol helps too (to avoid inflammatory reactions that can trigger problems)
The providers also offered some helpful suggestions. Ask them questions.

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What is mast cell protocol? Thank you for info

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@mikaylar

What is mast cell protocol? Thank you for info

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Mast Cell Activation Disorders or Syndrome (there’s controversy in the field like many others) in general is a body having an overly-enthusiastic response to any substance - food, fabric, fragrance, airborne stuff like pollen or smoke, etc…. and causing a chain reaction “inflammatory response” (akin to the cytokine storm in Covid). If someone has any allergies or sensitivities, this may be an issue.
I’m looking for my fave user-friendly site, but actually Wikipedia is pretty well-rounded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cell_activation_syndrome
There are different classes of mast cells that get activated. The idea is to have mast cell inhibitors “on board” for each class throughout your days. The article lists the classes of inhibitors that you can look through.
Additionally, a table of researched natural supplements is cited:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3764846/table/tbl1/
I hope you or someone will find this helpful. Let me know if you have questions - I’ll keep an eye out.

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@mikaylar, and all... My son has severe cervical dystonia and has migraine type headaches daily even with a pain pump and other attempts at resolution. He has for years received regular botox injections in his neck, back, shoulders, chest... now in his jaws and eye areas for severe pain and light sensitivity and such. He is now getting botox injections in his head for the headaches and is getting some help. Thankfully! These are specific injections in specific locations for a specific kind of head pain.

Hopefully this bit of information will add to your decision ability.
Blessings, Elizabeth

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@ess77

@mikaylar, and all... My son has severe cervical dystonia and has migraine type headaches daily even with a pain pump and other attempts at resolution. He has for years received regular botox injections in his neck, back, shoulders, chest... now in his jaws and eye areas for severe pain and light sensitivity and such. He is now getting botox injections in his head for the headaches and is getting some help. Thankfully! These are specific injections in specific locations for a specific kind of head pain.

Hopefully this bit of information will add to your decision ability.
Blessings, Elizabeth

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Thank you Elizabeth

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