Botox injections in calves tomorrow

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dkcarl62

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DX UMND/PLS
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The doc determined that the cause of my curly toes is tight calf muscles. The injections will hopefully relax my toes and improve my ability walk. I'm having anxiety about the procedure, tho. Has anyone had this done? Does it hurt? I seemed to have misplaced my big-girl panties. :-|
 
>I seemed to have misplaced my big-girl panties

:)
 
Good Lord, Deb, I am so naive when it comes to the crunch with PLS...so no, sorry, can't help with any of your questions.
I'm a pretty big chickie babe, and I have bl@@dy huge Knicky noos I would gladly lend you if it would limit your anxiety!
Have you kids? I always think it can't be as bad as labour when they want to attack me with something! (Not that I can complain about labour. Carrah 3hrs, Connor 53mins!)
Just think about how jealous all those Kardashians will be of your slinky calf!
Seriously Deb...I will be thinking of you heaps. Prayers for limited pain and improvement with your toes.
God bless, Janelle x
 
Suzannah had it done I know. Maybe drop her a pm? I am sure she would be glad to help
 
Hi Deb,

Nikki's right, I have had a couple of rounds of Botox injections. I'm not gonna lie - they did hurt. BUT ... I think I had several extenuating circumstances that you hopefully won't have. I had a LOT of injections - about eight, I think, in six different muscles, including two in the bottom of my foot. And I have such high tone that it made it difficult to do the injections. The foot injections were the ones that sent me over the edge. But as I recall, the calf ones really weren't that bad.

Just FYI, they often use an EMG needle to guide where to put the injection. That's really the part that hurts - the injection itself isn't that bad.

The second round of injections went much better than the first because I knew what to expect, and I took some ativan before and a friend with me to hold my hand :) Do you have someone to go with you?

I think you will be fine. Be prepared for it to hurt, some, but I think just the calf injections will be manageable. It should be a pretty quick procedure. I have had really good results from it, and do recommend trying it. I am going back for round 3 in two weeks.

Good luck! If you have any more questions, let me know. And let us know how it goes!

Sincerely,
--Suzannah
 
I had it done last year in my thighs and calf muscles. They had special needles that had a wire coming out of it so only one needle not two. It was a very thin needle. The doctor that did knew what she was doing. Maybe she took 5 minutes on my calf muscles. It hurt a little but was over quick and after 10 minutes I was back to normal. I tilted back my PWC and she did it while I was seated. It takes about a week for full effect but I noticed results after 2 days. It lasts about 90 days. It helped reduce night time cramping. I didn't get it done again since I don't feel I got the value for what it cost.
 
Yes, that's a good point about it being expensive. My first round of treatment was billed out at $4000 and the second at $6000. The insurance-adjusted rate was about half of that for each. If you do end up with a large out of pocket expense, there is a Botox Savings Card program that will reimburse you up to $500 per treatment for out of pocket costs. You can find the site by searching for that exact phrase. I just filed my first claim and got a good chunk of change back, which was nice.

When is your appointment?
 
Hi Deb,

I've had three rounds of botox injections and in my case, the physical pain was minimal. What really hurt was the shot to my vanity when I had to roll over and expose the back of my thighs to my beloved doctor and his resident! Oh the agony! You're a lucky girl; no hamstring injections!

Hang in there and good luck! :)
 
Thanks all, for the time and interest of your replies!

Phew! Intense experience. You're right, it does hurt! The combo of EMG-like muscle invoking needle and the injection is a double whammy. I had one injection along my shin bone - that was the most painful, then 2 each injections in both calves. I'm not sure I will want to go thru that again. It depends on if I can dance the jig again in 3 - 7 days.....I'll keep ya'll posted. Right now however, I deserve that second glass of wine as compensation for my trials. :)

Deb
 
Second...I think at least a third is in order!
I commend you Deb...sometimes I feel like saying STOP halfway through an EMG...if it was worse...well I for one definitely hope you can jig all night long...
God bless, Janelle x

How'd you go with the floaty?
 
Thanks Janelle! You are so sweet for remembering my floaty issues! No, I haven't found the perfect solution yet, but I really appreciate all the suggestions I've gotten. This site is amazing, btw. One of my blessings to have stumbled across it and found this wealth of knowledge and support. <3

Deb
 
Deb, it can take up to about two full weeks before it hits its peak, so don't feel discouraged if it takes a little while.

My first experience was so awful that I hoped it wouldn't work so I wouldn't have to go through it again, but then it did. So I did :) It was much better when I knew what was going to happen.

Hope you get some relief.
 
Thanks Suzannah. As the days pass since the procedure, I see the toes loosening up a bit, but my balance seems to be worse and it seems like the stiffness is more noticeable in my hamstrings now. Trying to stay positive......

Deb
 
It's like robbing Peter to pay Paul...
Deb hopefully the Botox is still trying to work it's magic. Did they tell you to expect this? Hopefully Suzannah or traveler could shed some light...
God bless, Janelle x
 
Hi Deb,

Glad you are starting to get some relief in your toes. It does makes sense that your balance feels worse, because you just partially paralyzed the muscles you have probably been over-relying on to walk with. That's the big challenge with botox - relax the muscles enough to find some relief, but not so much that you lose function. Did they give you exercises and/or PT to do? That's a really important part of having Botox done - it gives you the chance to build up weaker muscles that are usually overpowered by the spastic ones.

The same thing happened with my hamstrings, which I wasn't expecting, but also makes sense. My extensor muscles are so strong/spastic that my hamstrings had just been hanging out and not doing anything. Once I had the Botox, they suddenly had to start working. I suspect that you are starting to use your muscles differently, which can cause stiffness and pain. I think I'm going to get some injections in my hamstrings when I go back in a couple of weeks.

Green Queen is exactly right - it really is robbing Peter to pay Paul. The trick is to decide what you can live with (I'm still working on that one myself!)

Suzannah
 
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