'Desperate times call for Botox.' – not-so-ancient proverb

I've said before that I wouldn't use Botox for my migraines because I didn't like the idea of putting a neurotoxic protein into my body. Botulism is a horrible infection and it seemed ill-advised to tempt fate by introducing it deliberately.

However, that was before my current daily medication stopped working. I realised that I put a lot of literally mind-altering medications into my body. I also started getting a couple of migraines a week again so I got desperate. My neurologist suggested trying Botox injections because I had tried a lot of pharmaceutical medications and many hadn't worked for long.

I got 33 infections around my head, face and neck this week. The neurologist was excellent. Some of the sites hurt a lot, but she was very quick. For about 24 hours afterwards my head and forehead felt lumpy and tender. Three days later, that's all gone down now except one bump above my left eye, which I think is only noticeable by me.

It should take about a week to start to feel the effects of the Botox in terms of muscle relaxation and paralysis, and in term of migraine reduction. Often people need two rounds before seeing good results. That means it's about a four month process because you can't get a second set of injections for at least three months (those are the Medicare rules in Australia). 

As I write this, I'm (hopefully) recovering from this weekend's migraine and looking forward to this treatment having some effect. I'm also very grateful that I live in a country that approves and subsidises these kinds of treatments.

Image from: http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-and-let-botox-help-you.png

'Necessity is the mother of invention.' – Plato

This morning I created this migraine diary:

I probably could have downloaded one or found an app, but this one is tailored to my particular symptoms and treatments. It also has my favourite colour for the highlighted rows.

In the past when I've tried to use an app, I often forgot to log in everyday to track what was going on. Over the past few months I've been recording migraine occurrences on a paper calendar. I've got pretty good at remembering to make a note each day. Then for the past week I've been also using a form similar to the one I made that my new neurologist sent me. This is to give her an idea as to whether I qualify for botox injections or not.

Now that I'm in the habit and have a chart that I like, hopefully I'll keep using it. 

Let me know if you want a working copy of the migraine diary for yourself.