I just received Botox Injections & Started Venlafaxine

Dont worry Kirsty it takes me that long to adjust after my Botox also…
Jo

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Thanks Jo! Today hasn’t been as bad as the last week or so! Praying for much of the same tomorrow :wink:

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Hi - has botox made a difference to the dizzy spells?

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Not as much as the Venlafaxine 75mg has. The Botox helps
massively with the face, ear & sinus pain element of MAV though. In a nutshell i need BOTH of these together to have around a 75% quality of life. I still have room for more improvement but i put myself in environments i shouldnt as in a big busy brightly lit office etc…so i may possibly feel even better if i didnt work
Jo

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So is the Jury still out on whether Botox will eventually (a) control the dizziness and/or (and I suspect more than a strong link here) ever build up in the system so that those spikes n troughs no longer occur. Helen

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An OH Dr told me it can take 18 months to build up in your system and he wrote that down on my report. I think Botox has made me feel better Helen in general because just as its hard to function with horrendous MAV symptoms dizziness, disorientation etc…so is trying to carry on with daily chronic head pain, so relieving that element alone bumps up your quality of life to a least move around more and compensate by doing ( or at least trying) to do everyday normal things
Does that make sense? Jo

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Makes perfect sense. I completely understand. The more individual elements under control the better quality of life one gets. I’m glad to hear the Botox should eventually build up in your system even if it’s a bit of a long wait. Guess it would help it do so alot better if the NHS could ‘remember’ to give you timely appointments rather than try to string them out over protracted periods as they have been doing. I feel MAV needs some stability on chosen drugs before the long established dizziness will really even begin to subside. Helen

Absolutely agree with you
Jo

Y’all are making me wish I stuck with Botox but after one treatment (my first neuro said get them every 12 weeks) and that after two times total we would know. My new neuro said no it would take three times total and he would do the Botox but he doesn’t recommend it given there’s one study proving it helped with migraines (not dizziness as he thinks my dizziness is not ENT or migraine related) and the study was by the company who makes Botox. He has me increasing lamictal until the end of May and maybe longer but if that doesn’t work he said “there’s always other options” and he won’t tell me what but I assume it’s other meds I haven’t tried or combos or going back on a med I didn’t get far enough on (I tried about 15 I think) and pushing thru side effects this time. Though, while I have insurance (it may run out in January) I kind of want to try Botox given how pricey it is but I guess I’ll see what his next attempt is after lamictal. It’s super annoying but they say he’s one of the best neurologists and a headache/migraine expert and my last neuro wasn’t. Though it seems like a lot of people at the migraine summit recommended Botox including people here (though it seems most people here and the main MAV doctors recommend other preventatives).

Don’t suppose he happened to mention where he does think it’s coming from then? Seems Botox is good for headaches but there’s not yet been enough MAVers trying it to prove whether it’ll control dizziness too. Helen

I think he just labeled it “dizziness” and says he doesn’t know where it’s from but I think he’s trying the things he knows from patients with dizziness &/or migraines as he thinks maybe helping my migraines will lessen that (as migraines trigger it). I also have a friend who’s a neurosurgeon who had dizziness similar to my sensations and treated it (and his patients’ migraines) with a shot of Steroid 4mg once month called dexabion and he puts b1 6 and 12 in the shot. He said try once a month for three months and he’ll give it to me for free. I’m sure my current Neuro will say its not worth the time but I guess if my current drug attempt fails (increasing lamictal), can’t hurt to try the steroid next

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Hey all, here’s a little Effexor + Botox Update

My Medication Situation:

  • I have been on my first round of Botox for 24 days
  • I have been on at least 37.5mg Effexor for 20 days
  • I have been on 75mg Effexor for 5 days

My Results Thus Far:

  • The severity of my headaches has reduced
  • The severity of my tinnitus has drastically reduced
  • The severity of my dizziness is about the same
  • The frequency of my symptoms is about the same (daily)
  • I would say overall my improvement has been about 10%. This is nowhere enough to be functional, but a good sign at the 3.5 week mark.

My Thoughts Going Forwards:

  • I really want to give the Botox and the Effexor a really good shot.
  • The Effexor has been very easy to take (the side effects have sometimes even been amusing), and so I am open to going to as a high a dose as I can tolerate
  • My plan is to do this, and give it at least a 6 month trial at the maximum dosages i can handle.

Hope all are well, I’ve been watching people’s Effexor experiences with great interest, and have been encouraged by stories of increasing benefits over the higher doses and the longer term. Thank you to all who have shared them: e.g. @Jojo65, @dizzy3, @GetBetter, @Mav, @nin, and everybody else in the Venlafaxine Crew.

Best wishes, D.

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Amazing to hear ! I am 3 days in to 37.5 do let us know how you continue to get on wishing you lots of success :slight_smile:

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Thanks, Amy - I’ll be watching your story as well! One thing i’ll say is don’t immediately panic if you get some bad side effects. I’ve had some very strange ones that came but only lasted a day or two and have completely disappeared.

Best wishes :),
D

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Really ? What were they? So far just felt super nauseous but determined to not give up

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Oh I’m sorry to hear about the nausea. I’ve read many times that side effects from anti-depressants tend to get better with time compared to other drugs, so definitely try stick it out!

The day before I was due to increase from 37.5mg to 75mg, all of a sudden my skin felt as if I had a bad case of sunburn, or like someone had rubbed icy hot (menthol) into my skin. Needless to say I was nervous about doubling the pill the next day, but I thought fuck it I’ll do it anyway. Well, by the next next day (and ever since) I’ve had the exact opposite effect: any contact on my skin (for instance clothing rubbing against my back, or holding hands with my girlfriend) feels incredibly nice! Very bizarre but at least it’s a happy ending :joy:

Other than that I’ve just had short bouts of wacky dreams, and gotten quite sweaty even in the middle of Winter (I’m in Aus) when I usually don’t sweat at all. These have all vanished over time, though too.

Sorry for the wall of text!
Tl;dr = loads of side effects passed for me and I’m confident yours will too.

Best wishes,
D

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Thanks so much for the reply

I am def pushing through :slight_smile: what dose are u on and how r u feeling ?

I never know how long it should take for these meds to kick in :grimacing::blush: I’m only on day 3 hopefully no odd side effects show up!

I do hope this is the one for you as know you’ve been battling a while this illness is bloody crazy!

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Thanks for the well wishes :slight_smile:

I’m at 75mg for about a week and feeling about 10% better (although I did also get Botox about 3.5 weeks ago also).

I always get really weird and obscure side effects so don’t let my experience put you off increasing!
Best, D

That’s so good to hear it really goes to show that even after so long things can still work. So far just waking up super early on it but that’s about it :slight_smile:

Keep me posted how you go and good luck!

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Good luck
Im on exactly the same treatment 75mg Venlafaxine + Botox…we can compare notes.
Jo