Uncommon miracle? Really? Is there such a thing as a "common miracle"? I hope not. For me, anyway, the miracle in my life is from an unlikely source. Botox. That's right. You read it. Botox.
For years, honestly, at least 6 or 7, I suffered with chronic migraines and headaches. Imagine waking up every morning and your the first thought is "does my head hurt today?" And then multiply that one morning times 365 times 6. That's how many mornings I had that thought, until about a year ago.
On August 31, 2011, I had my first botox injections for migraines. And guess what? It triggered the mother of all migraines! I couldn't believe I had voluntarily allowed a neurologist to inject me with 100 units of botox to help with my migraines just to end up in the emergency room one week later with the worst migraine of my life. I left the hospital still in pain, but the next day, oh mommy. The next day was the best day I had had in years. Granted it took me several days to detox from the amazing IV cocktail they whipped up for me, but I felt like a new woman.
That feeling lasted about 10 weeks. Ten weeks of having maybe one headache a week. One! And the migraine meds I used to stop the pain actually worked. I had my next set of injections in December, and the results just weren't the same. No migraine from hell, but the results were a flop. I had two or three headaches every week and the migraine meds just didn't cut the pain. That old nagging question every morning started happening again. The answer to that question determined the medications I would take with my morning coffee.
This went on another four months until I had my third set of injections. We bumped it up to 150 units. Now, keep in mind, if you were having botox injected for just cosmetic reasons you would have between 25 and 30 units. I was up to 150 units being injected in my neck, shoulders, scalp, forehead and jaw. That's when the miracle began to really happen. I went several months having only one or two headaches a month. Really! This was what it was like to NOT have a life with migraines? I had forgotten what it was like. It lasted about three months and then the pain. Agh! I'd actually forgotten how bad it was to have pain every-darn-day until about three weeks ago. Oh how I'd taken for granted a pain free life.
Then, last week, on August 22, 2012, I had my fourth set of injections. This time it was 200 units. And today, voila, a morning with no pain. The goal, ultimately, is to space the injections out to only twice a year. The magic dose to make that happen seems to be between 150 and 200 units. So, we'll see what happens. When I talk to people about the treatment I get for migraines, they immediately consider it a nice side affect of the botox, thinking the real reason is the cosmetic affect. They couldn't be more wrong. The reason for the injections is to stop the pain. The cosmetic change, well, that just happens to be a very nice side affect of being pain free.
