Botox is a drug that often helps with eliminating unwanted facial lines and wrinkles. Botox may also be useful if you frequently suffer from migraines. If you’re considering getting Botox to deal with frequent migraines, you might want to know whether it can also help you look younger in addition to relieving your pain. Here’s what you need to know about Botox for migraines.
Does Botox Help Prevent Migraines and Headaches?
Many doctors believe Botox treatments can help prevent chronic migraines and other medical conditions because it modifies the release of neurotransmitters, which send signals between brain cells. The FDA approved Botox in 2010 for adults suffering from chronic migraines. If you suffer from chronic migraines, you may experience regular headaches, dizziness, and nausea, so having an effective treatment to relieve your symptoms may help enhance your quality of life.
To dull or prevent your migraines, you can take Botox shots once every 12 weeks around your head and neck. If you have a lot of pain in a particular spot, you might require more shots. Many migraine patients need as many as 30 to 40 shots in total in order to relieve their pain completely.
Does Botox for Migraines Help With Wrinkles?
The Botox that you can use to prevent migraines is a therapeutic drug that differs from the Botox others might use for cosmetic purposes. Botox Cosmetic helps enhance a person’s appearance by blocking the nerves that cause muscle contraction. Meanwhile, therapeutic Botox works to prevent or reduce the symptoms of many conditions, including migraine headaches that may result from stress or anxiety.
Botox for migraines isn’t likely to help with wrinkles in the same way that Botox Cosmetic is. This is because doctors prescribe the latter form of Botox in lower doses, and the treatments occur at different sites. Since Botox for migraines only provides relief to the specific nerves in the muscle groups that you inject the treatment into, the chance of a substantial reduction in facial wrinkles is relatively low. In addition, while taking Botox Cosmetic may help relieve some migraine symptoms while preventing wrinkles, most doctors don’t recommend it as a sole treatment for migraines.
However, it is possible to use both types of Botox at the same time, as long as the total amount doesn’t exceed the recommended dosage for adults. Both Botox treatments come in different dosages, and the instructions for using them may vary. It’s important to meet with your doctor to discuss whether Botox is the safest and most effective treatment for you before you use it.
How Does Botox for Migraines Work?
Botox appears as a powder that comes in a single-use vial, which gets mixed into a liquid solution. Your doctor will then provide the treatment in the form of intramuscular injections, which helps ensure that the body can receive the medication quickly. These intramuscular injections might occur in the area between your shoulder and your neck, at the back of your neck, in the area behind each of your temples, in the middle of your forehead, at the back of your head, or in the lower areas of your forehead.
It often takes some time to begin to see results from Botox. While some patients begin to see results a few short weeks after their first treatment, others might not see results until their second or third treatment. The effectiveness of the drug also tends to increase with additional treatment cycles. Typically, the more pain you have as a result of migraines, the more treatments you’ll need. Most Botox treatments only take about half an hour and don’t require anesthesia.
What Are the Side Effects?
While using Botox to treat migraines is safe, there are a few side effects that are important to keep in mind. The most common side effect that patients experience after treatment is usually a sore neck and a headache. Many doctors recommend that their patients rest their necks on an ice pack to relieve any pain they might experience. It’s also possible that the drug might spread to other parts of your body, causing a condition called botulism, which may lead to muscle weakness, trouble swallowing, and difficulty breathing.
In rare cases, an allergic reaction may warrant medical intervention. Signs of an allergic reaction might include hives, swelling in the legs or arms, or shortness of breath. If you have a condition that causes muscle weakness, you may want to check with your doctor before beginning treatments. If you take Botox, you can typically continue taking other medications, but you may also want to talk with your doctor. After receiving treatment, you should be able to carry on with your regular activities with minimal risk.
How Much Does Botox Cost?
The cost of Botox typically varies, depending on several factors. These might include your location, the clinic where you go to receive your treatments, the number of injections you receive, and the insurance that you have. The cost of the FDA-recommended dosage per treatment may vary, but many health insurance plans are able to cover all or most of the cost. Your insurance is more likely to consider Botox as a treatment for migraines if you fail to respond to at least two other treatments, usually in the form of prescription medications.
Migraines can greatly affect your quality of life, including your work, family, and social life. Having several potential treatments available is important, and Botox is one treatment that has the potential to reduce your migraine symptoms significantly.
Our team at the Northeastern Eye Institute wants you to both see and feel your very best, no matter what. Hopefully, this guide can help you if you decide to receive Botox treatments for migraines. In the meantime, feel free to look at our website to read more about the eye care services that we offer. Contact us online or give us a call at 570-342-3145 if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you.