July 7, 2013 A holiday weekend comes to a close, and a discussion of Botox for Migraines.

The sun has set on the last day of the holiday weekend and within the hour, I will close my eyes, to awaken at the beginning of a new work week.  The weekend was far from wasted, though.

In the course of four days, I got some writing done on my book, went to the gym a couple of times, spent quite a bit of time with friends, saw a play, danced, washed clothes and bedding, took two cats to the vet for checkups, got my internet and TV fixed and still got my meanls ready for the week and the kitchen set back to rights.  I'd say the weekend was a success.   My only question is, when do I get another long weekend! :)

I also managed to get a  couple of nice, long meditations in, though today's started out as a challenge for the cats to see how many of them could manage to pile on top of me at once!  Toby won the "fit the largest cat into the smallest spot award again,. squeezing himself between my chin and Loki, mamo mashing all the way!

A friend posted an interesting article about migraine causes tonight, coming at a time when my chiropractor's ministrations do not seem to have done their usual magic in warding off said malady.  I'm experiencing 2-3 of my vision loss episodes a week at the moment, though, thankfully, have been able to keep the headache from manifesting by using my relaxation techniques.

The article mentions things like lightening, barometric pressure, humidity and wind as possible triggers as well as a good old, rousing bout of sex!  (I'm sure, though, that any strenuous activity could yield the same result!)

I notice that for me, when the weather changes, I'm more likely to wake up with a bad headache and that the thing which seems to help it the most, aside from, believe it or not, getting up and moving, is a decongestant like Claritin D, which gives even more credence to the weather related migraine triggers.

One of the migraines which started to manifest this weekend happened after I'd been dancing for a couple of hours so the strenuous activity might well have been a factor.  A two-step set worth of relaxing with my eyes closed allowed the worst of it to pass me by, thankfully!  So I'm thinking that if strenuous activity can trigger them, relaxation can send them packing!  Yet another one-two punch for the pharmaceutical industry which was dealt a blow in the article when it was suggested that medications can actually make migraines worse!  I can certainly attest to that as I had the worse migraines ever after taking Imitrex a number of years ago!

Yet this weekend was the first time I saw commercials claiming that Botox was successful at treating migraines.  Bad enough people are shooting botulism into themselves to keep from having wrinkles, now they want migraine sufferers to poison themselves as well?  Seriously?  I'd rather eat dirt!!!

(here comes my soapbox)  If you ask me, we need to ingest LESS chemicals and poisons, not more, if we want to minimize our health problems!  And of course, there are always the disclaimers as to possible side effects from the drug being advertised (and isn't it just so good of the drug companies to offer to help you if you can't afford their medication??).  Here is what one headache clinic says about possible side effects:
Side Effects?
In our experience, the most common side effects associated with BOTOX® injections include bruising and slight discomfort at the injections sites, drooping eyelid, headache, and muscle pain and stiffness. These symptoms usually occur within the first two weeks following injection and are usually mild and very temporary. Because some of the injections are given into the forehead, many report they cannot raise their eyebrows for the 3 months the BOTOX® is in effect. This is a concern for some, and it should be considered if limiting your facial expressions will be an issue for you. More serious side effects typically occur with treatment of other disorders in which a much higher dose of BOTOX® is used.

I don't know about you, but if I'm taking something (and heaven knows, this would not be one of my choices) I would hope that it wouldn't give me the headache I'm trying to avoid as a possible side effect!  And what about the idea of shooting something known to cause paralysis into my brain?  Have they really thought this through????  

I get that some people suffer frequent, debilitating migraines which I am fortunate to only experience on rare occasions, but this seems to me to be one of those "cure is worse than the cause" scenarios.

I'd love to hear from people who are severely impaired by migraines to see what they might think of this method of treatment.  I want to be fair, and in all fairness, maybe I'm missing something.    I did find, however, an article in U. S. News and World Report which stated:

Botox is considered a preventive medication for debilitating migraine headaches, but a new review finds that it may only help people with chronic migraines or chronic daily headaches. And, even then, the effect appears to only be "small to modest."
The review found that Botox (botulinum toxin A) was no help for people with episodic migraines (fewer than 15 a month) or chronic tension-type headaches.
"Our analyses suggest that botulinum toxin A may be associated with improvement in the frequency of chronic migraine and chronic daily headaches, but not with improvement in the frequency of episodic migraine, chronic tension-type headaches or episodic tension-type headaches. However, the association of botulinum toxin A with clinical benefit was small," wrote the authors of the review. 

The article goes on to state that when compared with a placebo group, the Botox group suffered only 2 fewer headaches per month which is not considered either significant or conclusive.

For me, I'm going to continue with the relaxation exercises and making sure I keep my protein and hydration levels up.  It's less invasive, easier to come by, less expensive, carries no known side effects and, frankly, it's working!    But I would love to hear from you on this!  


On another topic, I'm noticing that a few people get really upset if they don't get their two comments on the UBC thread.  I have to say, I do love getting comments, but I don't EXPECT them, even though that's what we've signed up for.  I know that my posts will not always appeal to the next two people on the thread, or, sometimes, I just post so late that I'm the last poster standing.  Either way, when I get comments, it is such a wonderful bonus, but I don't want anyone to ever feel obligated to leave me a comment!  If you have something to say, by all means, share it, but please don't feel that you need to dredge around for something to say when my post just didn't resonate with you!  I won't take it personally!  

Happy posting, everyone, and thank you for allowing me into your lives.  I'm learning a lot, meeting some great people, gaining some followers and following a lot of other people!  (even if I don't say so, if you follow me, I will definitely follow you, assuming my feeble brain can figure out how to do it on the other blog sites!)

I am in this life to learn and appreciate all of the opportunities which are being offered to me to further that goal.

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for my wonderful readers who are thrusting my page view numbers further up than I would have guessed a few months ago.
2. I am grateful for people who are helping me learn the lessons I need in order to fulfill my purpose and live my passion.
3. I am grateful for the good health of myself, my family and those I am able to touch with healthy energy.  I appreciate reminders that I am allowed to have an impact on some but not on all.
4. I am grateful for a good, solid night's sleep that prepares me for the lessons I will encounter as the day unfolds.
5. I am grateful for the love and support I encounter, especially when I least expect it.

Love and light.