What is a Migraine?
A migraine is a severe, recurring headache, usually affecting only one side of the head. It is characterized by sharp, throbbing, debilitating pain, and is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity and visual disturbances.
Migraines can be triggered by two possible issues:
- Vasodilation of cerebral arteries
- Muscle contractions around the skull (often associated with tension headaches)
Inflammation and pain are the results. Medical experts don’t clearly understand what causes the vasodilation and swelling characteristic of migraines.
It is known that migraines occur much more commonly in women than in men. This may provide clues as to possible causes. Migraine pain is perhaps linked to hormonal changes or surges released by stress, menstruation, puberty or menopause.
Prescription medications can be helpful for some patients to manage episodes. Still, medications do not prevent the occurrence of episodes, but simply minimize their painful effects.
If medications are not providing the relief you really need, contact us with the form to the right to schedule your injectable treatment with BOTOX® or Dysport™.
Expectations for Migraine Treatment Relief
Treatment
Using botulinum toxin for chronic migraine treatment is FDA-approved. Why this neurotoxin works to prevent and treat migraine headaches is not clearly understood. It is theorized to block one of the steps in the neurotransmitter cascade that precipitates the event.
With tension headaches, it’s clear that relief is effective because Botox® or Dysport™ relaxes the over-constricted muscles that cause the headache pain.
The treatment itself entails minimal- if any- discomfort and consists of:
- Applying ice for vasoconstriction and numbing
- Applying topical anesthetic to further increase numbing
- Targeting select injection sites to address the over-contracting muscles causing tension headaches or targeting the glabellar area (between the brows) and forehead for treatment of typical migraines
- Treatment takes less than 15-20 minutes
- No downtime
Your health insurance provider may reimburse this therapeutic use of treatment for medical conditions such as migraines and hyperhidrosis.
The product manufacturers, Allergan and Medicis, also offer therapeutic discount programs for patients that demonstrate financial need. Our office has the details. Call us!
Results
In terms of specific migraine relief onset and longevity:
- Partial relief should be felt within 1-2 days of injections
- Full relief is evident in 5-7 days
- Results vary but may last for 4-6 months
- Periodic re-treatment is required to maintain relief from recurring episodes