image by: Quinn Daedal

HWN Suggests

This cosmetic treatment can get rid of your migraines

So far, it's been a lifesaver for me. Prior to Botox, I'd been experiencing around three or four migraines a week that would have me waving the white flag, and now I'm down to one on average (and two at most). I also find that my medication works better when I feel one coming on.

That said, there are a few things I'd make sure everyone knows before trying it. For one thing, it can be pretty painful. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but getting 30 to 40 shots every three months is pretty rough — it feels a bit like getting tattooed with a bee's stinger, but once the needle is out of your skin, the pain goes away, and if it works for you, it's worth it. It's also important to know…

read full article

Featured

 Botox leads to bad reactions for one in six users, says study

Doctors fear that the side-effects of the treatment are being hugely under-reported.

Articles of Interest

A New, Surprising Treatment for Migraines

Do you get migraines? If you do, or if you have gotten one--ever--you know they're the worst. Wait, let me edit that: they're THE WORST. But it looks like the FDA just okayed a treatment for people with chronic migraines that's especially, um, eye-opening.

Botox and Ajovy; A One-Two Punch

Botox and Ajovy together worked well in my opinion. I don’t know if any of the other CGRP drugs such as Emgality or Aimovig would have yielded the same results, but I’d be interested to know. I felt very fortunate to have been able to use the combined therapy of Botox and Ajovy.

Botox and Migraine: What You Need to Know

The bottom line is that Botox can be an effective treatment for chronic migraine and has been found to improve patients’ quality of life.

Botox doesn’t just control wrinkles, it’s also effective for treating migraines

One large randomised, double-blind study, known as the PREEMPT study, showed that Botox significantly improved multiple measures related to the headaches such as frequency and intensity, leading to less missed days of work, less “as needed” medications and less emergency room visits.

Botulinum toxin in the management of chronic migraine: clinical evidence and experience

OnabotulinumtoxinA is the substance that has been best studied in the prophylactic treatment of CM. There is good clinical evidence that treatment with onabotulinumtoxinA leads to a reduction of monthly headache days and improves quality of life.

Botulinum Toxin in the Treatment of Headache

Given that its mechanism of action is quite different from that of the new monoclonal antibodies directed against calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) or its receptor, it is unlikely to be displaced to any major extent by them.

Botulinum Toxin Type A as a Therapeutic Agent against Headache and Related Disorders

In 2010, regulatory approval for the treatment of chronic migraine with BoNT/A was given, notwithstanding the fact that the mechanism of action is still not completely elucidated.

Botulinum toxins for the prevention of migraine in adults

People with chronic (persisting) migraine treated with botulinum toxin injections had two fewer migraine days per month than people treated with placebo (fake treatment). It is unclear if this improvement was large enough to make a meaningful difference to their lives.

Does Botox reduce the frequency of chronic migraine?

A recent meta-analysis pooled the results of multiple prior studies to investigate the usefulness of Botox, a brand of BoNT, in reducing the frequency of chronic migraine. The results suggested that there was benefit from this treatment; it not only improved quality of life and significantly reduced the frequency of chronic migraine headaches, but did so with few and mild side effects.

Injecting Migraine Pain Away

Botox "does not help everybody," Dr. Saper says. "It may not even help most everyone. But it does in my personal anecdotal experience help some people."

Therapeutic use of botulinum toxin in migraine: mechanisms of action

We now know that peripherally delivered BoNTs are taken up in sensory afferents and transported to cleave SNARE proteins in the ganglion and TNC, prevent evoked afferent release and downstream activation.

Treating Migraines With Botox: Here's What You Should Know

Botox shots drastically reduce the frequency of migraine attacks in some people—which is sure to be welcome news to anyone whose migraines have caused them to miss out on much-anticipated trips, concerts, and family parties.

Resources

Botox

In a survey, 92% of current BOTOX® users said they wish they’d talked to their doctor and started BOTOX® sooner.

The Migraine Trust

Injections are given every 12 weeks. Botox is usually given until your migraine has changed to episodic migraine for three months in a row, or that there is significant improvement in disability using quality of life questionnaires. If Botox doesn’t improve your migraine enough it may be stopped.