has anyone tried Botox injections for migraines?

10/ 8/07 5:23pm

Hi, Anita;

YES,YES, AND YES! I highly recommend it, it gives me 8-10 weeks free of migraines, and only a few minor headaches during that time. My insurance finally authorized payment for one session, this after one year of efforts to "prove at least 3 other alternative meds failed". You are welcome to read my profile for more details.

It is expensive, matter of fact I still am paying off a loan for the most recent session (I had one other prior). You are very fortunate to have such a forward thinking physician! Good Luck!

Karen

Mr Wonderfuls wife

10/ 9/07 7:35am

Thanks so much for the reply! I will be calling the doc first thing this morning! See if he can light a fire under the insurance company's backside! Especially since I woke up at 5 this morning with the beginnings of yet another migraine. Oh happy day! On the up side...if you can call it that...there will be no physical therapy today...lol!

Thanks again!

Anita

Karen

10/10/07 12:00am

Good luck Anita! I don't know much about the botox other than what I read on the site, but it looks like some docs inject in the back of the neck. Mine were in the forehead, along the frown line wrinkles and "oh what a surprise" wrinkles. Let me know how it goes please. My next session is in two weeks, which I am eagerly awaiting!

Karen

msmigraine

10/ 9/07 1:06am

I tried botox injections 3 times with no luck. But they have worked wonders for others. My dr. actually wrote a letter to my insurance co describing all the medications that I had already tried and all the alternative things that I had tried to get rid of the migraines. He told them that the cost of botox was no more than all the medications I was on and they actually approved it for 3 tries. Maybe your dr could try this. Even if they didn't pay for everything they may pay for part. Good luck

Amy

10/12/07 11:06am

My insurance company does pay for the injections. At first the botox was a miracle for me! The first time it lasted 8 weeks but then it started lasting less time until we had to start injecting more and it lasted less to the point that they no longer work for me. I am so bummed because in the beginning it really was the relief that I had been waiting so long for. Good luck and I hope they work for you.

Amy

bellanotte03

10/12/07 11:10am

A friend of mine gets the injections every six months I believe. She says it's painful but it greatly reduces the frequency of her attacks. I forwarded your message. I hope she responds to you.

willieo

10/12/07 11:42am

I had a client recently tell me she went to Mexico for Botox injections. She said she was feeling much better. She said they ran around $150.00. She did some checking of course before she went to JUST any Dr. there. Good Luck.

Diana

10/12/07 1:05pm

If they helped at all, it was minimal. The frequency of my migraines fluctuates over the year, and I didn't have the botox often enough to be sure. The only obvious difference was a slight brow-droop. Maybe you'll have a better result.

dts547

10/12/07 1:06pm

I was part of a headache study by a pain neurologist. I also had trigger point injections of phenol and anesthetic when my insurance refused to pay for the continued botox treatment. The botox injections lasted about 4 months , decreasing my headaches from 5 per week to 3 per month. I also had a much improved response with my rescue med since I was having fewer headaches.

The phenol/anesthetic injections only gave me relief for as long as the anesthetic agent lasted, generally 24-48 hours.

My advice, ask every family member who normally would be getting you a Christmas/birthday/anniversary present in the next year to make a contribution to your botox headache relief fund instead. And good luck with your insurance company, mine wouldn't budge.

Kendra

10/12/07 3:41pm

I have been interested in Trying Botox for a couple of years. I am 47, have had migraines since 18. Tried topomax, (became anorexic on it, didn't help headaches) Imitrex, relpax, elavil. Am on 20 mg pamelor, and 25 mg toprol xl. Still had probs. saw on T.V. a local dermatologist who does botox, and he said his patients reported less headaches. So I went to him April 6th, had injections in forehead. Had two better months for headaches. Told my neurologist, who on July 27th gave me injections in forehead, temple area above my ears, and back of my neck. I went most of August, and all of September without a migraine. Stunned, we decided to keep on with the treatment, along with the low dose of meds I am on. This past Oct 9th I had a migraine with start of my period, but it was easily treated with Imitrex.

My next scheduled injection will be the 26th of October. They tell me at the office they've had some real success. Insurance covered the injections but not the botox.

I am encouraged. Thrilled. Wish that more scientific studies would be done so FDA will approve, just like they have other off label drugs.

I encourage you to discuss it with your Dr. In my opinion, there is nothing to lose trying and maybe everything to gain. I am working now, after being out of work and afraid to try to get a job. Even with the stress of learning, no headaches. I was getting several a month before. I don't believe it is psycosymatic, because if it were, we could all talk ourselves out of migraines. They think the botulism toxin may work with serotonin, along with the muscle involvement.

Best of luck to you

GidgetCommando

10/12/07 5:01pm

I've tried Botox for about a year now, paying a local plastic surgeon out of pocket because my neurologist doesn't do it (and was reluctant to put his name on docs vouching for a therapy he didn't perform, to see if HMO would cover). It definitely acted as a "booster shot" for me, improving the results of the preventives (first topamax, now zonegran) and giving me longer stretches of pain-free or pain-reduced time than preventives alone.

When I tried to taper off topamax, they came back with a vengeance. So now I take my preventives, but get my Botox every 2-1/2 to 3 months. I pay $350 a whack (a good price around here) and my credit card isn't happy, but I'll rather deal with debt than more migraines.

Theresa Unquera

10/12/07 6:00pm

I have daily migraines and am going crazy looking for some relief. I tried my first botox injections 3 months ago, but they didn't work for me. I got my second, stronger injections 9 days ago, they really hurt, but if it works it will be worth it. I am spending so much on meds its ridiculous. My insurance turns me down if I need a refill too soon and then I am forced to go to the hospital for shots. If it is going to work it should start in a couple of days. My insurance paid for it though. Have you checked with your insurance? Mine is Pacific source. I have only been on one preventive medicine at a time. How did your Dr. go about recommending more than one? Should I ask my Dr. about that?

TheBelle2

10/12/07 6:41pm

Hey there. I have been a migraine survivor for 9 years now. I have intractable daily 24/7 and am on disability for them. But I tried the botox on mine and was not impressed with any results. If anything, they were a bit worse, plus I couldnt give my son or (then current) husband "the look" (all of us know that one! lol). But do try it for yourself. Everything that has a possibility, is a possibility. Good luck with everything and take care!!

shar4j

10/12/07 9:55pm

I'm currently in a Botox study for migraines. I had my most recent set of injection on Sept. 26th. I had a on-going when I went in and that migraine last for another 5 days. Since then I have had on average a migraine every other day. Which is an improvement from every day. When I get one now it usually starts late morning or early after and will be gone when I wake up the next morning.

With my last set of injections, the benefits lasted for about 4-5 weeks before the migraines were back to how they were back the shots.

~Sharon

HJS

10/12/07 9:55pm

I have been using Botox for migraines for about 5 years. I got dramatic benefit from the first treatment. Initially cut my migraines by 50% in frequency, severity, and duration. I get my injections every 10 or 11 weeks. Most people can wait 12 weeks between injection cycles, some longer.

For about 2 years, I worked for a Neurologist who specializes in migraine, doing prior auth for therapeutic Botox for about 600 patients. We were very successful in getting insurance to pay for the treatment. Proper documentation and coding are key. Also, check your pharmacy plan for Botox coverage. Many require prior auth, but some do not. I have acquired Botox for patients with as little as a $16 copay. I get mine for a non-preferred, formulary, brand name copayment of $80 thru my pharmacy plan. Retail cost is about $600/vial. Usually only one vial is needed. Botox comes in 100 unit vials - my treatments to face and neck use about 75 units. But, I have seen patients successfully treated by injecting the face only with less than 50 units.

The pain of the injections is nominal - nothing compared to a migraine - migraineurs know real pain. A little *****, a little sting, and done. The anticipation is worse than the injections. Try to stop taking any aspirin, Vit E supplements, etc. about a week prior to injection to minimized bleeding (don't stress it though, you won't bleed to death, just bruise).

If you get injections in the neck muscles you need to be aware that initially it may seem the Botox makes the pain worse. As the those muscles weaken from the Botox, the other neck muscles must take over the load of the weight of the heavy head. Just like the muscle soreness you get after starting a new exercise. It takes a week or so for the neck muscles to adjust. This lessens over time/repeated injection cycles, as the "strong" muscles stay stronger-waiting longer between injection cycles increases the chances of this neck pain, as the muscles have time for the weak muscles to strengthen again, and the strong lose some of their strength due to the decreased load. Horehead injections can occasionally trigger a headache as well. Don't worry, this is relatively rare.

It takes a little trial and error regarding dosage and placement to get the formula for each patient just right. This takes time since it is about 12 weeks between treatments. A couple of tips. Most providers like to start very low in dosage and work up. That is how they are taught, and it is sound advice clinincally speaking. However, if a patient does not get any benefit from it, they are not likely to try it several times until they do, because there is such a long period between treatments and the cost may be very high. Also, with the cost so high, insurance is not likely to continue to pay for any treatment if all the documentation says the patient repeatedly received little or no therapeutic benefit from it. With Botox treatments, it is usually best to start with somewhat higher doses and widespread placement, and titrate down with successive treatments.

Keep track of the cost of your other medications while using Botox treatments. This is useful in getting insurance to pay or continue to pay. Even if you have to pay out of pocket, Botox can often still be cost effective due to the reduction in need for your other migraine meds, some of which can be quite expensive. And it is prophylactic, so you don't get the headaches in the first place. Many migraineurs would pay extra for that alone.

Good luck! Big Smile

Karen

10/13/07 2:36pm

HJS;

I want to thank you for the info you provided. In reading the other posts, clearly some were less fortunate than myself in the response to BOTOX. I began to wonder if there was a different response based on the type of migraine? Did your clinic tx people with migraines related to hormonal changes/menstrual cycles? Did the injection site matter in terms of the success rate or length of effectiveness? I had injections only in the forehead and frown lines, but wonder if other areas may stretch the benefits? The 2 times I had it done it worked so wonderfully for 8 weeks, not a single migraine and hardly a headache worth mentioning. Then week 9 & 10 the intensity and frequency started to creep up. By week 11 & 12 things were very close to baseline.

The reason I ask is that I live in a very rural area and would have to travel and take alot (more) time off work, which is really a tough situation. Do you think going to a specialist on women would be worthwhile? I know of a distant University that is doing trial studies, but that sounds even more risky.

Karen

HJS

10/14/07 7:55am

Hi Karen,

It sounds like you have gotten great results. I’m really happy for you.

The office where I worked did not make a specific differentiation between different types of migraine where treatment with Botox was concerned. Botox seems to be effective pretty much across the board. However, I did notice with the other female patients, and also in my own case, that the hormonally triggered migraines specifically seem to evolve a bit differently than other types of migraines. And, the Botox treatment seemed to be not quite as successful in treating those. It definitely reduces the frequency, duration, and intensity, just not as much as with other migraine types. Most of our female patients did appear to have a mixture of hormonal and other migraine triggers. Some of our patients were recommended to ask their general practitioner or GYN to put them on birth control pills to try to regulate their hormone levels. But, that is tricky business as well, as the pills themselves can be a trigger for some women.

In my own case, I have never been able to use birth control pills as they always sent my migraines spiraling out of control. A couple of years ago I ended up having a total hysterectomy/oophorectomy for reasons unrelated to migraine. Since I was relatively young and my ovaries were still “hopping” at the time of my surgery, I opted for Estrogen replacement. This definitely made a positive difference in my migraines, by further reducing the frequency, duration, and intensity than the Botox had already done. But, because my adrenals are still producing enough estrogen that I still had a “cycle”, evidenced by some hormonally triggered migraines. I would track my “cycle” on the calendar and add a little extra estrogen during the dip. This did help prevent the hormonally triggered migraines. However, it was very tricky to track without the usual “evidence” of the cycle. Additionally, since using Botox was so effective for me, I frequently lost the only evidence, the migraine, of my “cycle”. Consequently, I lost track and have not been able to reestablish that delicate balance.

Placement of the Botox injections is something that really needs to be tailored to each patient individually. Generally, each practitioner has a standard placement and dosage that they start with on every patient. The placement and dose needs to be tweaked and individualized over time by trial and error. Unfortunately, this is a time consuming, and often expensive, process. However, it can well worth it. Medical practitioners become pressured to run as many patients through the office as possible per day to maximize profits. Consequently their practice can become somewhat of an assembly line type operation. You as the patient have to be your own advocate for what works best for you.

My injections are placed in a line across my forehead just below my hairline, a “V” between my eyes with the point at the bottom of the V directly between my eyes, several injections in the area of my crow’s-feet, down either side of the back of my neck, and in my left shoulder area. My practitioners really like to place it in the hair in the “sideburn” area rather than the crow’s-feet area. That is the “Botox placement” they have worked out and use on everyone. It has become the formula for their practice. I have to remind them that it works better for me closer to the eye. Those injections in that area, when placed in the crow’s-feet placement, almost completely rid me of that horrible “ice pick in the temple” feeling when I do get a migraine - it is now just a vague dull throb. The addition of this placement to the Botox you are already getting might increase and extend your benefits.

I also have neck involvement with my migraines. Many migraineurs do, but need to be told to pay attention to how their neck feels in relation to their migraines before they realize it. I, and many others I have spoken to, get neck tightness for a few days prior to a migraines appearance. I find myself constantly rubbing my “stiff” neck for two or three days, and turning it to “pop” it (head turning only, NOT using my hands). Just before the migraine hits, I notice my neck no longer pops. If I don’t get an aura, this is the way I know a migraine is coming. Then, I can start to pre-treat. I have heard this exact description from many other migraine patients. But, I have not seen anything like this in any research.

Karen

10/27/07 11:46am

HJS;

Thank you so much for the time you take and the detailed descriptions, it has been the most valuable info to date. I will keep it with me for future reference. I had no idea others had the same problems with their necks, I always attributed mine to a whiplash injury from years ago.

I went to my eye doctor this week for botox, which my insurance company paid for the very first time, and I was disappointed when he only did the V tx between my eyes. The assistance explained this is where he likes to start with patients, and your information helped me to understand why.

I consider you one of my "earth angels"! Thank you,

Karen

HJS

10/28/07 9:39am

Good luck with your Botox treatment, Karen. I will be praying for you. Be sure to report back to us. Cheesy

HJS

10/12/07 10:02pm

Oh, how funny. They bleeped me. Word that was bleeped was "stick", only I spelled it with pr at the beginning instead of st. Grin

One thing I forgot. Be aware Botox treatments may cause weight gain! Not really, but I lost so many days of eating due to the N/V before I started using Botox I thought I was naturally thin. NOT! Apparently, I am just as likely as any one else to weight gain when I feel like eating every single day of the year. Beware! Wink

HJS

10/12/07 10:07pm

One more thing...In my experience and the experience of the hundreds of patients I have spoken to over the years, the benefits of Botox treatments build over time/successive treatments. Since it not know exactly how Botox works to prevent migraines, why is still unknown. Breaks the cycle? makes changes in how nerves/brain react? Who knows. Who cares! As long as it works. Cheesy

jazmc

10/13/07 3:31am

I saw someone else who responded that the botox made her headaches worse, and I have to say they did the same for me. I had the worst 6 months of my life after being injected. It was like clockwork, they told me the injections would take affect in 3-4 weeks and last approximately 6 months. well, 3 weeks after the injections, I was in out of control pain that lasted in some form or other for about 7 months, then all of sudden, went back to the normal hellish pain I usually have!

Like everyone else though, it was a possibility, so I had to try it. I think I am in the minority of people that this has happened to, I just tell you primarily so if it happens to you, you won't think you are crazy.

Also, since I know you will want to see if they work for you either way, most likely, I had two docs tell me that there is always some of the botox left over from other people's injections. I guess once they open the bottle they have to charge for the whole thing or something, even if the person doesn't need or can't tolerate all the medicine. The docs said if I could wait till they called me, then they would use the left over botox on me and see if it worked, that way I wouldn't pay for the meds, just the injections. Don't quote me word for word on that, I am not sure why or how they had some left over, I was just trying to fill in the blanks with something that sounded reasonable! Luckily, my insurance paid for the treatment so they were able to use the free leftovers on someone else.

Just some stuff to think about....

Julie

HJS

10/14/07 8:20am

Hi Julie,

I am really sorry to hear about your bad experience with Botox. I can honestly say that in dealing with literally hundreds of patients using Botox for migraines, I have never heard of anyone having an experience like yours. The worst I have heard before is of someone getting no benefit from it at all. I hope you are able to find other treatments that work for you.

And yes, most practices buy and stock their own Botox, and sell it at a per unit price. Then they bill for a separate injection charge. The practice I worked for did that for some patients. Those with no insurance coverage, and those whose insurance denied coverage. In the case of using "stock" Botox like that, they need to use the entire vial in order to recoup their money used to buy it. So, many practices that use Botox have "clinic days" where they try to group patients who receive Botox injections all come on the same day to minimize Botox waste. If they don't use it all, some of them spread the cost of the vial among all the patients who received it. I'm not entirely sure of the details as that is not how we did it.

Botox comes in a temperature controlled container. Is is supplied as a powder in a vaccumed sealed vial and is reconstituted with saline in the physician's office just prior to use. It is supposed to be used within four hours of reconstitution according to the manufacturer's instructions. However, it is know that reconstituted Botox is stable for up to 21 days if kept in a temp controlled environment. This information is from the manufacturer's own research.

At the practice where I worked we attempted to obtain a Botox prescription specifically for each patient, by obtaining prior auth through their insurance first, either under their pharmacy plan or their major medical plan. Then we would fax or call a prescription for the Botox to the specialty pharmacy indicated by the patient's medical plan, and the pharmacy would fill the script under the patient's name and send it to our office for use for that patient.

Anonymous

10/13/07 1:53pm

I just happened to see your post, and all I can say is DO IT!! I am a woman who will be 61 next month. I have had chronic daily headaches and migraines my entire adult life, and in the last 6 months they had gotten to the point where I was becoming an invalid. My neurologist also tried different meds, and they either didn't work or I had nasty side effects. I had my first Botox treatment last Tuesday, and it is a miracle!

I am pain free. My migraines were triggered by changes in the barometer, so I had no control over them. Even if I didn't have a migraine, I ALWAYS had a headache. The Botox stopped that. I can't believe it. It's like coming out of a coma-or a nightmare.

There is no way of knowing how much relief you will get, but boy, it's worth the try....good luck!

Judy in New Jersey

HJS

10/14/07 9:23am

Hi Judy,

I had never realized that I even had a constant headache between migraines. One day, a couple of weeks after my first Botox treatment, I was at work and became aware that I had a headache. But it was weird because I was not nauseated or mentally fuzzy, or anything else. My head just hurt. I had never experienced that before. Before that day, everytime I had a headache, I had a migraine and became violently ill for at least four days. That day I took two Tylenol and in about 30 minutes my headache was completely gone! It was then that I realized my head did not hurt at all. I did not realize until that moment that I had had a headache every day of my life that I could remember right up until that very minute! I got all teary and emotional. It sounds silly now. But that was such a profound moment in my life. Most people wouldn't understand. Only those living with chronic pain get it. My goodness, I am getting teary just typing about it. I have joked that I would sell my body parts one by one if that is what it takes to continue getting Botox injections. My life has truely been changed by this medication. And I have seen the same in hundreds of others as well. Keep spreading the word!

Judy

10/14/07 10:52am

I inherited my headaches from my father, who is now 87 years old, who always had a headache. I was never without a headache. I would wake up with one every morning, and one of the first things I would do was take two Excedrin. Actually, a few years ago I gave myself an ulcer with all the pill popping. I never talked about the headaches-what was the point? I figured there was nothing I could do about them. Like you, I had Migraines mingled with the chronic headaches...I also found that over the years the Migraines changed. Actually, in the last few years they have gotten more frequent and more severe.

Finally, a couple of years ago I mentioned them to my doctor, who put me on Elavil, which didn't work, and then later on Topamax, which did help. Then I went to a Neurologist, who was useless, and then to a second Neurologist who (bless her) is wonderful. I had my first Botox treatment this past Tuesday, and all I can say is...last Saturday was spent in bed with a headache pad on my head all doped up crying. Last night I went out to dinner and a Classical Concert. :) Woo Hoo!

Judy

Meredith Zickert

8/ 3/08 8:02am

No, it doesn't sound silly at all! I am teary eyed reading it. I have had daily headaches for the last year and a half I guess(I have lost count) and then migraines to boot. I have been diagnosed with migraines for 6 years, but had my first when I was 11 years old. It is no fun. The real "no fun" part is that is affects all of my family. I am having my first treatment of Botox tomorrow. I am looking forward to it. My insurance won't pay it at all. But, it is just that important (says hubby). So, we are doing a complete round of three treatments! Hope I get to know what it is like to again take Tylenol for a regular "non-daily" headache! Congrads!!!!

MZ

Joan R

10/13/07 8:37pm

I have used Botox. The first time it worked great. NO migraines for 4 weeks. My insurance did pay for it.

HJS

10/14/07 9:58am

Oh Karen, I got so involved in my very long winded response it forgot something. At one time I considered enrolling in a Botox for migraine study in my area. Not sure if that is the kind of study you were talking about. I opted not to do it because I did not want to risk being in the control group and not getting the Botox treatment. Doing the actual injections is not an especially tricky thing. Maybe you could find a doc in your area who would be willing to inject you. You might want to ask the person who did your injections if they would be willing to speak to someone closer to you, and explain the dosage and placement they used on you.

Check out www.botox.com

Click on the red box in the middle, Botox therapeutic for Neurological conditions. Keep in mind, Botox treatment is off label for migraine, so the website will not talk about migraine treatment. In the upper right of the page is a link for healthcare professionals...this will take you to information for your provider regarding how to obtain reimbursement for therapeutic Botox. Good luck.

Nancy Harris Bonk

10/14/07 3:12pm

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

Botox can be a very effective treatment for some people with Migraine disease and various other pain disorders.

Thank you for creating a SharePost. SharePosts are a form of blogging, and there are many things you can do with them. You can share an experience, suggest something that's helped you, use SharePosts as a Migraine and headache journal, and many other things.

We also have a discussion forum that you may want to check out. Especially if you have questions or are looking for information, you may find the interaction on the forum to be quite helpful. Botox would be a great topic on the forum. To get to the forum, just look for the orange box marked "Manage" and click on the Migraine Forums link. Because our forums are maintained by a third party, you'll need to register for the forum. You can use the same information you used to create your community log-in if you like. If you want to go directly to the forum, you can click HERE.

Along with your personal "My Home" page and the discussion forum, you'll find links to a great deal of helpful information on the main page of our site, http://www.MyMigraineConnection.com.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them to the forum or send me a message through my profile.

Welcome again,

Nancy Bonk
MyMigraineConnection.com Expert

PS: If you receive this message from more than one of us, please excuse the overlap. Thanks!

maurice haren

10/14/07 7:17pm

i tried the botox injections when i lived in new york for some reason the state paid for them,but when i moved to north carolina this treatment stopped,if you want to try it,there is a programme that pays you to try botox,i was on this program for a while but as i dont drive i could not afford the train fare to connecticut for my whole family and you only get alump sum which only covered the first fare,the name of the clinic is the headache center ,ifoget which town but there was abig university thereand it was in connecticut ,if you could get in touch with them they might pay you to try botox

Kendra

10/16/07 9:45pm

I wanted to add that sometimes if you are in a migraine cycle and are over medicating, you may need to get off the advil, asprin, etc....because of rebound, and then Botox may be more effective. To read more on rebound headaches, do a google search, or ask your physician. I have a family member who is addicted to fiorinol and is in a migraine cycle because he is dependent on the med. For me, even though I wasn't over medicating, I was still in a migraine cycle, and Botox has helped break that cycle. I was near tears in my Neuro's office after experiencing a month and a half with no migraine.

Mr Wonderfuls wife

10/17/07 7:30am

I wanted to thank everyone for your responses!It was actually overwelming to see all the replies.

I have another appointment with neurologist in several weeks. Hopefully after I share all the info with him we can come up with some way to get insurance to cover the Botox injections. If not maybe I'll start selling "body parts" (lol) to pay for it!

Thanks again for those of you who took the time to reply and help me.

Anita

Cyndi Stewart

12/20/07 1:15am

Hi! I am new to this site and my daughter has had migraines for about a year. Right now she has had a constant migraine for 3 months straight with no relief. She has been on so many medications, recovery medications. nerve block, IV's in the hospital and has seen 2 neurologists and every other kind of doctor immaginable in hopes to find a way to stop this cycle. Our new doctor is having us consider Botox for her migraines. Do you know of anyone in their low teens (my daughter is 14) that has used Botox and it has helped? Also, does anyone know where I can find information on the long term effects of Botox? My husband is very concerned that by having botox at such a yound age could be very harmful to a child and not knowing what the future my hold. I feel we should try it since I feel my daughter is at her breaking point. Last but not least does anyone have any suggestions on petitioning your insurance company for reimbursement of Botox? It amazes me that insurance will not cover something for a medical reason but has paid so much money for medication that has not worked at all. Please let me know your comments as soon as possible. Thank you!

M. Ackal

2/ 7/08 7:45pm

I was in a car accident several years ago and have been fighting headaches on a daily basis. I've been to several Dr's and have tried all medications. I went to Miami and noticed several girls that had the injections so I wanted to try it. Well, I noticed my headaches very coming once a week then I read an article about headaches treated by Botox. I'm a firm beliver that it works. I've had 3 sets of injections and been headache free since October 2007. Good Luck

Joan R

12/ 5/08 1:50am

If you fight with your insurance, they often will pay for the botox.

I used it a few years ago. The first time I tried it I was headache free for 3 weeks-

for the first time in over 25 years. Its definitely worth a try. The first time I paid for the shots but my insurance reimbursed me and paid for them after that.

It never worked as well as the first time- but it did give some relief.

Marina

2/24/10 3:12pm

I recently tried Botox injections for migraines for the first time and I would never do it again. I've had severe migraines for over 30 years--I average 18 really bad days a month so I was desperate. The day after I received the injections my entire forehead became extremely swollen--also my eyes and eyelids. My eyes are so swollen they're half shut and it has been difficult to see properly. My forehead was so swollen the second week it cracked and started to bleed. Since I had the Botox treatment the headaches have gotten more intense and frequent--they're every single day and I often can't get out of bed the pain is so severe. It's been seven weeks now and the swelling is still there--I wish I had never tried Botox--however, I feel my neurologist gave me more injections than necessary--I received 18! I feel like I have a brick in my forehead--and I'm just counting the days till the Botox is out of my system.

has anyone tried Botox injections for migraines?

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