If you suffer from chronic migraines you know how debilitating they can be. Migraines impact about 1 to 2% of the global population (Turkel et al., 2023). Migraines are painful attacks of throbbing headaches that can be accompanied by nasa, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. These migraines are strong enough to change a persons functional and emotional state (Lanteri-Minet et al., 2022). A chronic migraine is defined as having 15 or more headache days per months. The attacks can interfere with activities of daily living and bring down ones quality of life (Turkel et al., 2023). I wouldn’t risk such pain on my worst enemy, and for those who have tried countless treatments with little relied, Botox might be the solution for you.
OnabotulinumtoxinA (BOTOX) is an intramuscular injection with acetylcholine inhibitor and neuromuscular agents. Since its approval for migraines in 2010 42,000 papers have came out testing its effectiveness (Lanteri-Minet et al., 2022). Since the 1990 Botox was used to treat facial lines (wrinkles) as to which they saw an alleviation of headache symptoms as well (Turkel et al., 2023). The injection are around your head and neck in nerves with and typically these sessions happen every 12 weeks.
For chronic migraine sufferers, Botox can offer the relief needed in life. It improves quality of life by reducing the frequency and intensity of migraines. On top of improving everyday life it also makes you look young and can boot your self confidence.
References
Lanteri-Minet, M., Ducros, A., Francois, C., Olewinska, E., Nikodem, M., & Dupont-Benjamin, L. (2022). Effectiveness of onabotulinumtoxina (botox®) for the preventive treatment of chronic migraine: A meta-analysis on 10 years of real-world data. Cephalalgia, 42(14), 1543–1564. https://doi.org/10.1177/03331024221123058
Turkel, C. C., Aurora, S., Diener, H.-C., Dodick, D. W., Lipton, R. B., Silberstein, S. D., & Brin, M. F. (2023). Treatment of chronic migraine with Botox (onabotulinumtoxina): Development, insights, and impact. Medicine, 102(S1). https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000032600
A relative of mine got this treatment and she has said that it has helped her and that she no longer experiences them. It's cool that you brought something we are learning about in class into your post. It's unfortunate that a patient has to go in every three months to get this treatment, when you were reading did you come across and current studies/research being done on how to permanently stop these debilitating migraines???
ReplyDeleteThank you for an interesting post about botox! While I have heard the medical uses of botox, I am much more familiar with it’s cosmetic uses, for example to reduce wrinkles. I found it very fascinating and cool that botox could be a way to reduce chronic migraines, especially as someone who experiences severe headaches quite often. My mom has considered botox before but also thought it was too pricey so she has never followed through with this interest. I am curious if you found anything regarding the cost of botox and how accessible it is for individuals who are low income or supported by insurance?
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