It is important that, in the case of severe headaches, a definitive diagnosis of migraine has been made.
Firstly, a chronic migraine sufferer is someone who suffers with 15 or more days of headaches in a month with the headache lasting over 4 hours and 8 of the 15 or more being associated with migraine. (Botox is not recommended for people who suffer with less than 15 headache days per month)
Botox is not meant to stop the headaches once they occur, but rather to prevent the headaches from occurring.
Botox used to treat chronic migraines may not prevent all headaches from occurring but will reduce the number of headaches and are likely not to last as long should they occur.
Chronic migraines can be very effectively treated with Botox. As a chronic condition, preventative treatment is extremely important for those who suffer with the debilitating effects of migraines. As a treatment for chronic migraine, it is recommended that you receive Botox treatments every 12 weeks or so and after a the second treatment at 24 weeks, you and your doctor can decide what the optimal intervals are to reduce headache days on an ongoing basis. One of the reported side effects of using Botox to treat chronic migraine is neck pain which effected less than 10% of patients in trials.
Below are the areas that the injections are administered for chronic migraine. (Not all sites are necessarily used for each patient)
After the injections, you may experience small bumps where the injections were given but these will disappear after a few hours and is important not to rub the area that was injected to avoid any possible infection.
At the initial consultation it is important to give the Doctor as much information as possible, including any times/areas that your headaches are the worst or feel more painful. It is not unusual for chronic migraine sufferers to experience headaches worse in one area than another area.
To find out more about Botox treatments for chronic migraine please contact us and we will schedule an appointment with a Doctor to discuss the treatment and outcomes. Make a Botox appointment >>
