If you’ve struggled to find relief for chronic migraines, you’re not alone. This complex neurological disorder can prove challenging to treat. Unfortunately, that has left far too many people with debilitating symptoms that make it difficult to function on a daily basis.
If this sounds familiar, we have good news. Our team at Glaser Pain Relief Center in Encino, California, specializes in pain management solutions, especially with complicated conditions like chronic migraine. Here’s how our experts use Botox® to treat migraines.
Chronic migraine basics
It’s difficult to confuse a migraine with regular headaches. That’s because the pain migraines cause involves nerve pathways and the release of neurochemicals. And your aching head is only part of the problem.
Telltale signs of a migraine include:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Sensitivity to noise, light, movement, touch, and odor
- Visual or speech disturbances
- Confusion, vertigo, and dizziness
- Tingling or numbness in your face, hands, and other areas
- Neck pain
- Tenderness or pain in your scalp
- Fatigue
- Mood changes
The symptoms can last 4-72 hours, and they can be so intense that they interfere with the ability to perform even minor tasks.
For people living with chronic migraines, Botox prevents an average of 8-9 headache days each month. And it works by stopping them before they even begin.
How Botox works as a migraine treatment
Unlike other chronic migraine treatments, Botox takes a preventive approach. That means our team administers Botox injections during a scheduled office visit — not when you’re already in the midst of a migraine.
Botox contains onabotulinumtoxinA, which temporarily disrupts muscle activity. This remarkable ability gained mainstream attention as a wrinkle treatment decades ago. However, experts soon realized it could also prevent chronic migraine headaches.
They suspect it works by deactivating pain receptors in the treatment site and blocking the pain signals nerves send to the brain. More simply put, those pesky pain signals get silenced, which eliminates your symptoms.
However, you need regular treatments to maintain your results.
What to expect from Botox treatment for migraines
If you experience migraines 15 or more days each month, Botox could provide relief.
During your appointment, you get up to 31 injections into specific areas near nerve fibers associated with migraine headaches. In most cases, that’s your:
- Temples
- Forehead
- Back of your head
- Neck
- Bridge of your nose
- Upper back
That many sticks might sound painful, but we use a very thin needle. The entire process is quick — around 10 minutes — and relatively painless. After Botox treatment for migraines, you can resume regular activity.
Because Botox is a preventive therapy, you don’t see results immediately. Instead, it takes two treatments to take effect, with the best results at week 24. To maintain your results, you continue receiving treatments approximately every three months.
Research shows that 92% of people who use Botox for migraine treatment wish they’d started sooner. For many, Botox controls their symptoms entirely. However, our team can also provide additional treatment options for those who continue to experience migraines.
Have you been looking for options to help with your chronic migraines? Are you curious about Botox? Contact Glaser Pain Relief Center to learn about all of our migraine treatments by calling or booking a consultation online today.
