A recent encounter with one of my headache patients got me thinking. I am treating this young woman for chronic migraine with BOTOX injections. She told me that one of her other physicians had been surprised to hear about this use for onabotulinumtoxin A. According to my patient, the gastroenterologist’s words were, “BOTOX for migraines? I’ve never heard of that.” 
If going back for additional treatments three or four times a year sounds like a lot of treatments, the good news is that the more Botox treatments you get, the fewer Botox units you'll need. With each repeat Botox session, the frontalis muscle and other facial muscles surrounding Botox injection sites get a little weaker and become "trained" to not contract.
Besides the volume of product used, Baby Botox is about the technique, says Doris Day, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City and author of Beyond Beautiful. "If you're very precise in where you put the product, you can use lower doses," she tells Allure. These super targeted micro injections deliver the more natural, tailored look Baby Botox is so coveted for.
Most insurance providers now cover the expense of Botox injections when they’re used to treat chronic migraines. If you don’t have insurance, or your insurance won’t cover the cost of the procedure, it may cost you several thousand dollars. Before you begin receiving injections, talk to your insurance company. In some cases, they may require you to undergo other procedures or tests before they will cover the costs of Botox treatments.

There are no limits on therapy or activity after the session. For patients that don’t normally use a device to help them walk, at first it may seem like their walking has gotten worse. They need some time to get used to the feeling of the sudden change in the way their muscle contracts when they walk. This most often improves quickly over one to two weeks. Some very young children may have discomfort in their heel cord from rapid stretching. The child may limp or refuse to put weight on it. Again, this most often resolves quickly in the first week.

There has not been a confirmed serious case of spread of toxin effect away from the injection site when BOTOX® has been used at the recommended dose to treat chronic migraine, severe underarm sweating, blepharospasm, strabismus, or when BOTOX® Cosmetic has been used at the recommended dose to treat frown lines, crow’s feet lines, and/or forehead lines.
The results usually start to be noticed within three to 10 days or even sooner. They tend to last in most people for up to three or four months. As time passes, the muscle activity will gradually return to normal. Additionally, other areas may return to activity over time, depending on the amount injected. The interesting thing about Botox is that it tends to work fairly well even up to the third month, as a procedure that might last a very short time at full strength and then go away quickly (filler injections such as Restylane, Perlane, or Juvederm tend to last approximately six to 12 months, depending on the amount used).
Dubbed as the “little neurotoxin that could,” by USA Today, Botox now boasts sales of well over $1 billion for its manufacturer, Allergan. Many of us who start to see our migraine-furrowed forehead lines show up in our 30s think: hey, maybe Botox for migraine could help me too. But before you say “heck yes!” at the next Botox party or med-spa, be sure you know what you’re getting into.
Botulism toxins are produced by bacteria of the genus Clostridium, namely Clostridium botulinum, C. butyricum, C. baratii and C. argentinense,[70] which are widely distributed, including in soil and dust. As well, the bacteria can be found inside homes on floors, carpet, and countertops even after cleaning.[citation needed] Some food products such as honey can contain amounts of the bacteria.[citation needed]
There are many physicians who encourage their patients to either work the area several times during the next several days or, alternatively, to not use the affected muscles during the next several days. Many practitioners do not tell the patients to do anything in particular other than to avoid strenuous activity for several hours afterward because of an increased risk of bruising.
_{They affect 39 million folks in the U.S., 4 million of whom deal with daily pain. Chronic migraines can severely inhibit daily life, and when I started to feel like my bad days were outnumbering my good, I knew I needed to find a solution. Botox had been suggested to me multiple times before by friends, family, and doctors, and though it took quite a while to get it approved by insurance and find a provider I trusted, my migraines were making it hard to live a normal life, so I decided to try it out.}
The needle should be inserted approximately 2 mm into the detrusor, and 30 injections of 1 mL (~6.7 Units) each (total volume of 30 mL) should be spaced approximately 1 cm apart (see Figure 1). For the final injection, approximately 1 mL of sterile normal s aline should be injected so that the remaining BOTOX in the needle is delivered to the bladder. After the injections are given, the saline used for bladder wall visualization should be drained. The patient should be observed for at least 30 minutes post -injection.
A placebo-controlled, double-blind post-approval 52 week study with BOTOX 100 Units (Study NDO-3) was conducted in non-catheterizing MS patients with urinary incontinence due to detrusor overactivity associated with a neurologic condition. Catheterization for urinary retention was initiated in 15.2% (10/66) of patients following treatment with BOTOX 100 Units versus 2.6% (2/78) on placebo at any time during the complete treatment cycle. The median duration of post-injection catheterization for those who developed urinary retention was 64 days for BOTOX 100 Units and 2 days for placebo.
Two years later, Allergan bought Oculinum for $9 million and changed the drug's name to Botox. At the time, Allergan was primarily an ocular-care company that sold products like contact-lens cleaners and prescription solutions for dry eyes, bringing in about $500 million in annual sales. Allergan says it saw Botox as a drug for a niche population: it's estimated that 4% of people in the U.S. have crossed eyes, for which the drug was initially approved, and Allergan made about $13 million in sales from the drug by the end of 1991.

The most common side effect of the BOTOX procedure for migraines is neck pain. In clinical trials, 9 percent of patients reported this side effect. Other side effects can include headaches or muscle pain, but these side effects are far less common. If you do experience neck pain, an ice pack can help you manage the discomfort until it dissipates. At Allure Esthetic, we will perform the BOTOX for migraines procedure carefully and correctly.

Individuals with peripheral motor neuropathic diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or neuromuscular junction disorders (eg, myasthenia gravis or Lambert-Eaton syndrome) should be monitored when given botulinum toxin. Patients with known or unrecognized neuromuscular disorders or neuromuscular junction disorders may be at increased risk of clinically significant effects including generalized muscle weakness, diplopia, ptosis, dysphonia, dysarthria, severe dysphagia, and respiratory compromise from therapeutic doses of BOTOX® (see Warnings and Precautions).
The efficacy and safety of BOTOX for the treatment of primary axillary hyperhidrosis were evaluated in two randomized, multi center, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. Study 1 included adult patients with persistent primary axillary hyperhidrosis who scored 3 or 4 on a Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (HDSS) and who produced at least 50 mg of sweat in each axilla at res t over 5 minutes. HDSS is a 4-point scale with 1 = “underarm sweating is never noticeable and never interferes with my daily activities”; to 4 = “underarm sweating is intolerable and always interferes with my daily activities”. A total of 322 patients were randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to treatment in both axillae with either 50 Units of BOTOX, 75 Units of BOTOX, or placebo. Patients were evaluated at 4-week intervals. Patients who responded to the first injection were re-injected when they reported a re-increase in HDSS score to 3 or 4 and produced at least 50 mg sweat in each axilla by gravimetric measurement, but no sooner than 8 we eks after the initial injection.
"There is a difference in pricing based on the duration of the results," says L.A.-based injection specialist Lisa Goodman. (FYI: She's incredible, and I emphatically recommend seeing her if you're in L.A. or Dara Liotta, MD, if you're in NYC.) "The longer-lasting formulas cost more upfront. Shorter-term fillers can last from six to 11 months based on the patient's rate of aging (i.e., smoking, drinking, sun exposure, genetics), while the longer-term fillers last about one to two years."
Treatment with BOTOX® and other botulinum toxin products can result in swallowing or breathing difficulties. Patients with pre-existing swallowing or breathing difficulties may be more susceptible to these complications. In most cases, this is a consequence of weakening of muscles in the area of injection that are involved in breathing or oropharyngeal muscles that control swallowing or breathing (see Boxed Warning).
The potency Units of BOTOX® Cosmetic are specific to the preparation and assay method utilized. They are not interchangeable with other preparations of botulinum toxin products and, therefore, units of biological activity of BOTOX® Cosmetic cannot be compared to nor converted into units of any other botulinum toxin products assessed with any other specific assay method.

It's a remarkable arc for a drug that only a few years ago was associated with Hollywood cocktail parties where guests came for Bellinis and left with a forehead full of Botox injections. It highlights the advances that can occur when physicians, seeking new therapies for their patients, explore creative new uses for approved drugs--basically, real-world experiments that take place largely beyond the reach of federal regulators. That, in turn, raises questions about the risks of deploying medicines in ways that have not been fully vetted. But it happens all the time.

Andrew M. Blumenfeld is director of The Headache Center of Southern California. Most of his research has focused on the use of OnabotulinumtoxinA in the treatment of chronic migraine. He helped develop the injection paradigm approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and has taught providers around the world on practical aspects of this treatment option.
[b] These values represent the prospectively planned method for missing data imputation a nd statistical test. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the 95% confidence interval excluded the value of no difference between groups and the p -value was less than 0.05. These analyses included several alternative missing data imputation methods and non-parametric statistical tests.
Before using this medication, tell your doctor your medical history, especially of: bleeding problems, eye surgery, certain eye problem (glaucoma), heart disease, diabetes, signs of infection near the injection site, urinary tract infection, inability to urinate, muscle/nerve disorders (such as Lou Gehrig's disease-ALS, myasthenia gravis), seizures, trouble swallowing (dysphagia), breathing problems (such as asthma, emphysema, aspiration-type pneumonia), treatment with any botulinum toxin product (especially in the last 4 months).
Study 2 compared 3 doses of BOTOX with placebo and included 91 patients [BOTOX 360 Units (N=21), BOTOX 180 Units (N=23), BOTOX 90 Units (N=21), and placebo (N=26)] with upper limb spasticity (expanded Ashworth score of at least 2 for elbow flexor tone and at least 3 for wrist flexor tone) who were at least 6 weeks post-stroke. BOTOX and placebo were injected with EMG guidance into the flexor digitorum profundus, flexor digitorum sublimis, flexor carpi radialis, flexor carpi ulnaris, and bic eps brachii (see Table 27).

Symptoms of overdose are likely not to be present immediately following injection. Should accidental injection or oral ingest ion occur or overdose be suspected, the person should be medically supervised for several weeks for signs and symptoms of systemic muscular weakness which could be local, or distant from the site of injection [see BOX WARNING and WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS]. These patients should be considered for further medical evaluation and appropriate medical therapy immediately instituted, which may include hospitalization.

Potential Botox side effects include pain at the injection site, infection, inflammation, swelling, redness, bleeding and bruising. Some of these symptoms may indicate an allergic reaction; other allergy symptoms are itching, wheezing, asthma, a rash, red welts, dizziness and faintness. Tell your doctor immediately if you have any breathing issues or a faint or dizzy feeling.
Allergan’s Phase 3 hypothesis for securing conditional accelerated approval is to demonstrate that CVC treatment therapeutically initiates and induces improvement in histological hepatic fibrosis without worsening of NASH resolution. Notably, establishing improvement in NASH resolution after CVC therapy in NASH is not a prerequisite for attaining FDA conditional accelerated approval. A Phase 3 interim data readout for FDA Subpart H conditional accelerated approval is anticipated possibly in H1/2019.

After a muscle has been injected, the nerves still send the signal to the muscle to contract, and the acetylcholine is still released, but is unable to bind to the muscle, resulting in a reduction of muscle activity and temporarily preventing contraction of the muscles that cause frown lines. The binding process typically begins within about 48 hours from the time it is injected into the muscle, and results typically become noticeable within 7 to 10 days. While results are often most noticeable in dynamic wrinkles (wrinkles that appear when a muscle contracts), it can also help soften wrinkles that are present even without muscle contraction. If you’re serious about improving the appearance of moderate to severe frown lines, it may be just the right treatment option for you.