Chronic Migraines are headaches that last four hours or longer, and come in frequency of 15 or more per month. We discussed some of the causes and treatments of Chronic Migraines in our blog article, however, in this article we will cover a different treatment – Botox.
Dr. Omar Henriquez is a certified Chronic Migraine Specialist. If you feel you are living with chronic migraines, then fill out this Headache/Migraine Diary to bring in for your next appointment.
Botox is a kind of botulinum toxin, a neurotoxin produced by the bacteria that causes botulism. Doctors use a purified form of this neurotoxin. Once it is injected in small amounts into specific shallow muscle tissue, it reduces those muscle contractions for about three months.
To treat migraines, Dr. Henriquez would inject the Botox into seven specific areas of the head and neck into this shallow muscle tissue. He will use as many as 31 injections to target the nerve areas of migraine pain. The Botox can then enter into these areas to deaden the nerve pain from transmitting.
The treatment is done in office and takes only about 20 minutes.
Patients can expect that Botox treatment for migraines will take a bit of time to take effect. One treatment will last 10-12 weeks. Typically, it is during the second and third treatments that a patient will notice the difference.
Once they do, a migraine patient will experience the Botox stopping the headache before it starts.
It is worth noting that even after Botox treatments, a migraine patient can still use the medicines prescribed to stop headache pain.
What to do Next
Call us so we can set up an appointment to discuss your options for chronic pain treatment. Dr Henriquez strives to provide an approach for personal and compassionate care.
Learn more about Getting out of Pain
About Chronic Migraine – Blog Article
Pain Management FAQ – Blog article
