My Second Botox Treatment For Chronic Migraine

Two weeks ago I received my second Botox treatment for my chronic migraine. Again, I received 31 injections in my head, neck, and shoulders. This time I had a major migraine when I walked in the office.

I already knew from my first round of injections that the treatment, ironically enough, will cause a migraine. I did not know just how bad it would be this time, already having one.  I could barely function that day.

Now, I am sure the big question is "How's it working?". As it has only been two weeks, this is difficult to say with certainty. That said, I have had a couple of days where I have needed less of my pain meds. More surprisingly, to me, is there have been several days where I did not need a pain pill upon waking!!! I have needed to take a pain pill within an hour (more often than not a half hour) upon waking, every single day for over ten years!!!!

I am hopeful, but afraid to have too much hope.  Those who live with chronic pan will totally understand where this fear of hope comes from.

For now, I am keeping my fingers crossed!

For more information on my Botox treatments, check out my first post.

My Botox Experience - Migraine Therapy

I have been diagnosed with "Persistent Chronic Migraine" by my neurologist.  This is a diagnosis 16 years in the making. When the headaches first started, my doctor diagnosed me with Cluster and Tension headaches.  I have had 3 MRI's, with and without contrast, many CT scans, an EEG and tried so many medications, diets.....

Basically, I have run the gamut of options. That is, all except two:

Botox Therapy  and Surgery to interrupt pain receptors.

Today I had my first Botox treatment. See the red dots on the picture above? They represent each place I had to receive an injection! And, let me tell you, it hurt. Oh my.... did it ever! Then the burning. And after the 4th injection, the forced migraine began. Now tell me, is this supposed to help of cause them? Of course I know the answer and was prepared for the possibility, but it still sucked.

All I know is I am putting a lot on the line hoping this is my "magic bullet". It costs $813 per script. That is $813 every 3 months! Oh, yeah, and that is with prescription coverage. And the process is very painful.

That is all I know right now. Hopefully I will have many more updates in the coming months.

New Diagnosis For Unending Headaches

Yesterday, I went to my neurologist and got very surprising news. Luckily, my EEG and MRI results were normal. At first, I felt devastated by this, but you would need to understand my story to know why that was my reaction.

You see, for 16 years, I have been suffering from debilitating headaches. No one could figure them out. I have had CT Scans, MRI's, and tried more medications than I could list off the top of my head here. We tried the usual Migraine meds, the anti-seizure meds, muscle relaxants, and dietary changes (no gluten). I have been on Fiorecet for 14 years and have build quite the dependency on them. I have also, just learned the difference between dependency and addiction. In my case, thankfully, it was tolerance and dependency!

I would have a headache all day, every day. And in addition, would suffer the debilitating type at least half the month- every single month! For 16 YEARS!

Finally, I realized I could not live this way any longer and decided to see a neurologist. He, of course, ran all the tests. He also did a very thorough symptom check, med check, and medical history. He went through the timeline of my attacks and gave me a diagnosis of persistent, chronic migraine. Essentially, I have been riding the same migraine for all this time.

How on Earth did my doc miss this? Well, apparently it is very easy to miss as it is rare. About 2% of the population actually suffers from this type of migraine. Go figure!

So, the ruling is Botox treatment. I am hoping my medical will cover it. It is quite pricey! And, frankly, we can not afford it if the medical will not cover it.  It is also scary as all heck! 31 injections all around the head, face, and neck every 3 months! However, I know I must at least try.

Has anyone had any experience with Botox treatment associated with chronic migraine?