Botox

Hi jlknox52,

Welcome to the Migraine.com discussion forum - a wonderful site to find information and support!

I've not tried Botox, but it works wonders for some people. Unfortunately there are people with migraine who think it's a 'miracle' solution and forget to monitor and avoid their migraine triggers. The fact is we have to monitor our triggers all the time to help avoid attacks. The thing is migraine preventive medication (such as Botox, beta blockers and others) can help reduce the severity and frequency of our attacks, but if we aren't watching triggers, any medication we take will not be enough. Here is a new study with information on Botox; https://migraine.com/blog/will-botox-work-new-study-may-provide-clue/. We also have information in this link; https://migraine.com/blog/the-first-week-chronic-migraine-and-botox-diary/.

Speaking of triggers, have you been able to identify any of yours? I can't stress enough how important it is to figure these out as it really helps reduce attack frequency. Migraine triggers can include but are not limited to certain foods, changes in the barometric pressure, hormones, smoking, alcohol, caffeine, lights, odors and a big one for some people is an irregular sleeping pattern. Because we have sensitive brains any changes in schedule can trigger an attack. Here is information on migraine triggers; https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-management-essential-trigger-management/.

To identify what our triggers are keeping a migraine diary is essential. If you haven't keep a detailed diary in a while it probably is a good idea to do so. This link has information and helpful tips on how to keep a diary; https://migraine.com/blog/keeping-migraine-diary-basics/. With all the apps out there it's easier than ever. In fact Migraine.com has the Migraine Meter you may want to look at here; https://migraine.com/blog/new-migraine-meter-app-available-on-itunes-and-google-play-for-android/. Many people ask me what the 'best' migraine and headache app is, but truthfully it is an individual decision. What works for one of us may not work for others.

You mentioned you've used Imitrex. This medication is a triptan - an abortive - that stops the migraine process. These abortive medications are designed to be taken at the first sign of a migraine, not on a daily basis to prevent attacks. There are three types of medications that are used in a good migraine management plan; abortives, preventives and rescues. You can read more about these medication in this link; https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-preventive-abortive-rescue-medications/.

Another issue many of us run into, myself included is called medication overuse headache, moh which was formerly called rebound. Moh may occur if we take migraine medication (like Imitrex) and/or pain medications, whether they are over-the-counter or prescription, more than two to three days a week. This is a difficult problem to deal with because if we are in an moh cycle our migraines will be more difficult to treat AND we will live in a daily, horrible cycle of pain that too is hard to break. It's not that we do this on purpose, we just want the pain to go away! This article has good information on moh you may want to take a look at; https://migraine.com/blog/new-research-shows-abnormal-pain-processing-in-medication-overuse-headache/ and https://migraine.com/blog/help-how-can-i-not-overuse-migraine-medications/.

I think I will pause here, seeing as I gave you an abundance of information! Look at it when you feel up to it, and let me know how you are doing.

Nancy

I’ve just started the Botox treatment last month. There is no significant changes so far. I have topilamat, sumatriptan and codeine for daily treatment, and have already tried Emgalty, Aimovig which didn’t worked well with me. I have almost 15-20days per month headache that I have to take pills I really want to do something so that I can keep working…