Treatment options designed for relief

Q. What exactly is Botox?

A. Botox belongs to a class of Botulinum neurotoxins, the same little proteins that can cause botulism if you ingest them (think, poorly canned or refrigerated foods). Botulism is a medical condition that causes paralysis of the body. Obviously, we aren't giving people botulism! You don't ingest the toxin. Instead, we use a purified, diluted form of the toxin (Botox) and inject it into specific muscles to get a specific effect. They're very helpful little molecules.

Q. But Botox is used for wrinkles, right? Why do you use it?

A. While everyone's heard that Botox reduces brow lines and crow's feet, Botox has been used to treat a variety of conditions for decades, including chronic migraine, spasticity, hyperhidrosis, cervical dystonia, blepharospasm, hemifacial spasm, spasmodic dysphonia, tremor, overactive bladder, and cosmetic purposes. Our focus is to inject Botox for the treatment of chronic migraine, but occasionally we can satisfy other issues at the same time.

Q. But the 'neurotoxin' part sounds dangerous. Is Botox safe?

A. Absolutely! Injected locally, Botox generally stays where it's injected, so there are no systemic side-effects. That means no liver, kidney or heart toxicity, no weight gain, nausea, diarrhea, insomnia, rash, joint pain…well, you get the idea. And, no drug-drug interactions with any of the medications you take.

Q. Really?

A. Honest. When done properly, Botox is safer than Tylenol (which can hurt the liver), by a long shot. The only side effects one could ever have are local, at the injection site, and could include a bruise, local pain, or weakness, all of which are temporary. And if weakness occurs, we can modify the injections so that it doesn't happen to you again. One of my mentors used to say that "all medications are poisons with positive side effects". This concept applies to pharmaceuticals, vitamins, minerals, herbs, water, and anything else you put in your body. Botox is no different.

Q. Okay, you convinced me about the safety thing, but does it hurt?

A. In studies, most people rated the injection pain as mild or non-existent, and only 5% of folks report the pain as anything more than moderate. We chat during the injections, and do them fast, roughly 5 minutes of injection time. The most common reaction we hear after injecting a first-timer is, "That's it? I stayed up all night worrying about THAT?" We smile. And most of the time, it hurts a bit the first time and gets easier with each time you get it done.

Q. Is Botox permanent?

A. No. The body naturally breaks it down over time, and that usually takes about three months, give or take. Most Botox patients drop in four times a year for their shots. It's a long term treatment, so you can expect to get to know us very well!

Q. Okay, I'm in. Will my insurance cover Botox?

A. Botox for chronic migraine is generally covered by your insurance. We'll do a prior authorization and have all that sorted out for you before the injections.