SAN ANTONIO -- The FDA has approved the use of Botox to treat chronic migraine headaches. That’s good news for the estimated three million Americans who suffer from this debilitating health problem.
Botox is a drug that has erased the signs of time on millions of faces. Now the wrinkle treatment is formally approved for the treatment of migraines. The FDA says someone has chronic headaches if they suffer from them at least 15 days out of the month for four hours at a time.
Jean Carlson, 63, of Boerne knows how debilitating that can be. “It just totally affected me in a bad way,” she said. “It’s actually on my left temple and it’s very blinding. I would have to go to bed.”
San Antonio pain medicine specialist Dr. Arnulfo Carrasco uses injections of Botox to help prevent chronic migraines. An electronic feedback system lets him know the needle is in the right place in the muscle to affect maximum relief. He shoots the drug into eight locations in the head and neck, creating three to six months worth of lasting relief.
“What I like about this is that because I can relieve their symptoms, they are significantly better and their quality of life improves for themselves and their families,” Carrasco noted.
Carlson had her Botox injections in June. She has fewer and much less intense headaches. “I’m not debilitated like I was,” she commented, “having to miss work.”
For patients who have had to rely on pills for headache relief, Botox offers an attractive alternative.
“If you can do something that’s going to last for three months,” Carrasco said, “it beats taking a pill every day.”
Now that the FDA has approved Botox for the treatment of chronic migraines, more insurance companies will start covering the cost of the procedure.
