Botox® for Chronic Migraines
What are Chronic Migraines? The following are criteria for chronic migraines:
- 15 or more headache days per month (at least 8 of which are associated with migraine)
- Headaches or migraines occur on at least half of the days per month
- Each headache day lasts 4 hours or longer
- Pain is often more severe
How Can Botox Help?
- Botox can prevent chronic migraines. The effects can last 3 months. It is covered by most insurances. It is currently the only FDA-approved medicine for preventing chronic migraine. People with the most frequent migraine appear to see the best results with Botox treatments. In clinical studies, Botox reduced headache days by 50% over 6 months for chronic migraine sufferers. It is not completely known how Botox reduces headache pain and stiffness. A potential reason might be that Botox blocks nerves that send pain messages to the brain and relaxes muscles so they are less sensitive to pain.