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Discounted Botox for Migraine Pain Relief

Therapeutic Origins and Purposes of Botox

Most people think of Botox as a cosmetic vanity procedure to hide wrinkles.  But cosmetic uses came long after it was invented for therapeutic purposes.  In the 1970s, botulinum toxin (Botox) was used to weaken muscles that cause crossed eyes, as an alternative to surgery.  After positive outcomes, it started being used to prevent muscle spasms for people with other neuromuscular conditions.  In 2002, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a variation known as BOTOX ® Cosmetic for cosmetic use, almost 30 years after it started being used therapeutically.  In 2010, Onabotulinum toxin A (Botox) gained formal approval from the FDA to treat chronic migraine headaches. 

I share this history because it is important to understand that Botox is a legitimate medical treatment for many serious problems.  Botox is a big help with my chronic migraine pain as it partially numbs the areas where headaches are at their worst for months at a time.

Note: I do not receive compensation for discussing Botox nor have a relationship with the manufacturer beyond that of an ordinary patient and consumer.

What Botox Treatment is Like

Every 12 weeks I see a neurology specialist who gives me 30-40 injections in my forehead, scalp, neck and back using very small needles.  The procedure takes about 20 minutes, and the injections happen at a brisk poke, pause, poke, pause pace.  Each quick poke stings a little, and a few of the shots sting a lot, but the tiny needles hurt less than you might expect and the procedure is less traumatic than it sounds.  While I cannot say it is a fun time, I find it less bothersome than an allergy scratch test or invasive dentistry.

How Botox Helps Me Manage Migraines

About 10 days or so after my first injections, the chronic headache faded very slightly and I noticed that it became more difficult to wiggle my eyebrows or ears, as if someone rubbed a numbing cream into my forehead and scalp.  By my third such treatment (36 weeks later) this numbing sensation increased to the point where the migraine pain was lessened enough to matter.  Since this treatment is only blocking the sensory nerves that transmit the pain, the overall migraine complex is not “cured”, but the pain portion of the symptoms is better.  Nausea, light and sound sensitivity are still present, but the pain went from soul crushingly horrific to just pretty bad.  A side benefit of the process was that I also gained some of the cosmetic wrinkle removing benefits, though not as much as someone doing a cosmetic procedure since my shots were placed in pain centers instead of precisely targeting wrinkle muscles.

Costs of Botox for Migraines

Each treatment costs me between $1,200 and $2,300 with insurance, as the serum is expensive and there are charges for the medical facility and the specialist.  For some reason, the total cost of treatment seems to vary each time even though the quantity of serum stays the same.  When using Botox for pain, you must have it administered from a specialist as they use more serum and target different places than a cosmetic professional is allowed.  Injecting into the wrong place could weaken a muscle needed to support your head or open your eyes, so the necessary expertise costs more.  While a cosmetic specialist could perhaps take the edge off headaches concentrated in your forehead, they deliver only about half a dozen injections and cannot touch places where true migraines tend to reside.  

My health insurance of course tried to deny this treatment, but I won the appeals process by using documentation from my medical provider and by telling the review board that they could either pay for Botox every 12 weeks, or pay a similar cost every 4 weeks for emergency intravenous migraine cocktails at the hospital.

Botox Savings Program

The manufacturer has a discount program that covers the first $1,000 of the patient portion of each treatment for one year.  While the terms and conditions may have changed by the time you read this, this link has the details:
https://www.botoxsavingsprogram.com/

Logistics and Ease of Access

Since Botox is expensive and potentially dangerous, there is an intricate process to get it.  The vendor must ship it to the doctor shortly before the procedure, the insurance must tell the doctor they will cover it, the doctor must acknowledge receipt, the patient must authorize the specialty pharmacy to ship it…  Any snag in the process causes the treatment to be postponed at the last-minute adding weeks without pain relief.  I solved this by getting the insurance company to pre-authorize a full year’s worth of treatments, then booking a year’s worth of appointments with my provider and then notifying the specialty pharmacy of these arrangements.  This let them automatically ship the medication before each treatment without the frantic multi-party coordination and approvals.

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© 2023 All rights reserved. This blog reflects the personal experience and opinions of a long COVID and CFS survivor and is not qualified medical advice. Consult a doctor for your situation.


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