BOTOX: Clearly Not Just For Wrinkles Anymore

This article just came out from NPR.  It is nice to see the FDA back up something that is working for my husband.  Rather surprising the insurance company paid for it, because they hold a strict NO on any thing not FDA Approved.  Even the DR's office person was shocked it was approved and approved so quickly too.  All I know is it was a heaven sent blessing.  

The link is below to the article, but I also copied the whole thing below too. 

 BOTOX: Clearly Not Just For Wrinkles Anymore

Douglas Allen/iStockphoto.com Ready for your BOTOX shot?

Even old products can learn new tricks. Just ask BOTOX.
Late on Friday, the FDA announced it had approved BOTOX to treat chronic migraines in adults. That's defined as debilitating headaches for more than 14 days per month.
But this isn't the first time the anti-wrinkle cosmetic is steering its image away from a parlor game involving aging Hollywood beauties, pols, and wannabe "real" housewives from New Jersey.
  The therapeutic uses from this formerly controversial cosmetic derived from a deadly neurotoxin continue to grow.
Multiple injections around the head and neck are expected to help minimize migraines for up to three months, and there are an estimated 3.2 million migraine sufferers in America, says Allergan, makers of BOTOX.
Back in March, BOTOX was approved for muscle spasm of the elbow, wrist and fingers. It's now being studied for treatments of excessive sweating and overactive bladder, reports Aesthetic Medicine News.
And WAMU radio talk show host Diane Rehm has famously used BOTOX for a decade to control spasms in her vocal chords, even though the FDA has not approved this use.
BOTOX's new approval for migraines doesn't come cheap. It came fresh off the heels of a $600 million case Allergan settled with the feds over promotion of the product for uses not on the approved label — like migraines. But, the company's profits are expected to grow.
Allergan is also looking at more medical uses for the drug, Allergan Executive Vice President for Research and Development Scott Whitcup tells the New York Times. "We call it our pipeline in a vial," he says.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/10/18/130644594/botox-clearly-not-just-for-wrinkles-anymore?ft=1&f=1001

Botox for reduction of daily headaches

I have been waiting for my husband to post an update on his headache blog. He really just does not like to deal with it.  I don't blame him, but I feel strongly that it is important to provide hope for others who are suffering.  There have been so many days I have felt like crying when we reach another dead end to solving this headache phenomena.  It came on just suddenly and has not gone away long term without some major medical intervention.

 We were so hopeful when we had cervical radio-frequency ablation. However, recovery time is long and the benefits for him decreased with each procedure.  The first two procedures lasted 3-4 months.  The last two were 30-33 days.   He had his last procedure in December.  It wore off in January.  It was not until the end of July and three new doctors later that Botox was introduced into the picture.  The goal is to use the botox  to paralysis the nerve endings where it was injected. He was told not to expect any cosmetic benefits.  (I didn't notice any either.)  The DR injected his forehead along his eyebrows all the way into his hairline every few centimenter.  Then she did the same thing at the top and  base of his neck and into his shoulders. 

The first few days he seemed fine.  The recovery from this procedure was quick and the lido-cane in the injection provided some immediate relief. It was about 5 days afterward that his headaches returned to pre-procedure levels.  They stayed there for 5 days and we thought the procedure did not work, but then it began to get better and better.  The Botox did not make the headaches go away, but they are much more livable. He went from having them be at a pain level of 7-9 daily for the last several months to 1-3 post Botox.  When they would rise higher than a 3 they came down pretty quickly. 

We were told to expect this to last 2-6 months.  We are almost to three months and he is having bad days every week now for the last 3 weeks.  So we know the party is coming to an end, but at least we finally have a new option.

Meanwhile,  the pain management doctor, requires that he not take any pain meds at all.  His old doctor told him not more than twice a week on his really bad days, but the new one says use of any pain meds at all, may be too much and cause the headache to be stronger.This is really hard on those hard days.  Thankfully there is anti-nausea meds to help when the pain is really bad. She also sent him to a pain psychologist, who worked on controlling pain through breathing and relaxing. He only had three visits with this DR, because it was more to satisfy the insurance companies requirements that we have done everything, should we need to proceed with  even more less traditional treatments.

Well that is it in a nutshell.  Hope anyone out there suffering gets the help they need.  Everyone deserves hope.  And when one doctor is out of suggestions, have them refer you one to another, then to another.  Some one out there has your answer.