StrokeSurvivorBlog

Steve received his first Botox treatment for his spastic toe five days ago, and so far it has proved to be successful. The injection was administered in the muscle in his shin with a very fine needle. The doctor said the effects would peak in about 5 days and remain for about three months. He referred to Steve’s condition as “hitchhiker’s toe”, and said Botox is very effective for this type of condition.

There may be temporary localized pain, tenderness, and/or bruising associated with the injection. The neurotoxin stays in the muscle where it is injected and does not travel through the blood stream or other parts of the body. About four hours after Steve’s injection, he felt a burning pain go up and down his leg extending from the injection site up to the knee and down to the toe. The pain lasted about four or five hours, but when it subsided, he had some relief  from the “hitchhiker’s toe”.  Since then, he hasn’t had any cramping in his foot or leg which usually occurred when he was laying down in bed. Although the toe does still twitch occasionally, the pain it caused is gone.

The timing worked out great for this appointment. We had scheduled the neurology appointment five months before for a seizure follow-up, not knowing anything about the Botox treatment. Steve’s internist recommended it and contacted our neurologist to suggest it. He personally does not do Botox injections, but one of the other doctors in his office specializes in it. One day is set aside to conduct a Botox clinic, because once a bottle of Botox is opened, it has a shelf life of only 24 hours. So they schedule one day every couple of months where all patients needing the treatment come in. It just so happened that the next clinic was two days after our appointment, so they squeezed us in. Otherwise, we would have had to wait another two months.

The neurological use of Botox treats spasticity (uncontrollable muscle contractions), cervical dystonia (constant muscle tension in the neck area), strabismus (crossed eyes), and blepharospasm (eyelid spasms). It is also injected into the skin to treat the symptoms of severe underarm sweating (severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis). Botox has FDA approval for repeated injections for all of these conditions, and it is covered by Medicare.

It is a good alternative for localized pain relief with minimal side effects. For Steve, it is the perfect solution for the Hitchhiker’s Toe. We’re hoping all will go well, and we already made the appointment for the next injection three months from now.

How do you know that you are receiving Botox treatment and not a substitute product? Botox is a registered trademark of Allergan, Inc.  The Botox product is packaged in a glass vial with a purple lid labeled as BOTOX® and has an Allergan hologram on the side. If you are getting a Botox injection, you may want to ask your injector to see the vial to confirm that this is the product he or she is using for your treatment.