Botox® Experiences - Ann Ehlen
I had HFS for a long time before I tried Botox®.
I believe my first injections were in May 2000. It took a few days for the effects of the shots to start, but they worked very well. It lasted maybe several months. My eyes were very blurry and face was droopy.
Sometimes the Botox® shots worked and sometimes they did not. I had a lot of eye problems as a result of the shots. Also weakness in face, drooping, drooling etc.
Sometimes I could tolerate getting the shots and sometimes I could not. Deadening cream was sometimes used at the site of injection but this did not seem to help. The doctor gave me Valium to take one hour before shots. This helped the first couple of times and then it did not work anymore. The last time I had the shots I had a severe anxiety attack and that is when my doctor and I decided this is enough. I continued to take the shots until March 2002 when I opted to have the MVD surgery. .
Even though the Botox® did not work as well as I wanted for me, it may have been helping more than I thought, as my spasms were pretty severe. I would hate to have gone a long time without the shots, once I started taking them. Once I went six (6) months and I was a total wreck from the spasms.
Botox® is not for every one and for some it works really well. It is a choice each of us has to make. I think it just masks the symptoms for a short while. A Band-Aid if you will, because the shots are not getting to the root of the problem, or the nerve of the problem in this case.
For details of my HFS experience see my Personal HFS History.
For details of my MVD see my MVD Diary.
Permission granted the HFSA to post Botox® Experience on website.
Ann Ehlen, August 27, 2003
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