Do you suffer from migraines that come more than 15 days per month? If so, you may be a candidate for a treatment that uses Botox. Depending on how long you have suffered with migraines, and how many you have per month, you may be a great candidate for Botox injections. In recent years, Botox has become a favorite of chronic migraine sufferers. Doctors do not recommend this treatment for those who have fewer than 15 migraines per month.
What does Botox do?
If you are new to the idea of Botox, you may not know what it is. It is a botulinum toxin. When used correctly and in small doses, it stops most muscle movement. Most people use Botox to help diminish fine lines and wrinkles. This treatment is used to help stop some movement in the brain that activates migraines. Migraines are normally centralized to one side of the head. There are fibers in the brain that cause and keep pain in them. When you are injected with Botox to treat migraines, they inject the pain fibers that cause the pain. This causes the activation of pain to cease, when used on the schedule set by you and your doctor.
Most medications that are used to treat headaches and migraines help stop the headache after it has started. The beauty of Botox treatments for migraines is to prevent the headache or migraine from happening in the first place. This works best after about the second or third treatment. Doctors have noticed that those who have more than 15 headaches per month, have been cut down by about half with this treatment. The treatments last for approximately six weeks.
When you go to your first appointment, the injection time will take about 20 minutes. During this time, the doctor will inject you with several injections in about six to seven key areas in your neck. You need to make sure that you take the remainder of the day to rest and relax. Some patients may experience a sore neck the day after getting Botox injections. The best way to treat this is with ice.
Who should I see for Botox injections in Mt. Juliet, TN?
When looking for a practitioner or Botox specialist, the best one you can find is the one who has the most experience in this field. When filing it with your insurance, most insurances will want you to have tried and failed at a minimum of two different treatments. The best way for doctors/practitioners to help in this process is to be as detailed about treatment as possible. That way the insurance will cover it. It can take up to about six months of regular visits and injections to see the maximum benefit of Botox. The good news is, that you can continue your regular migraine treatments without any hesitation or fear that there will be drug interactions. For more information about how Botox can help treat your migraines, contact our Botox specialist in Mt. Juliet and Lebanon at The Lett Center.