Botox for Parkinson

I was initially diagnosed with PD about 4 months ago. For the last 3 1/2 years, I've had tardive dyskensia, and in the process or trying to deal with that, I went to a movement disorder specialist (neurologist sub specialty) who enventually diagnosed me with PD after about 18 months of treating me. I take Botox shots in my jaws (6), temples (6), and between my eyes (3) each quarter. The Botox takes away the strength of the muscles. As a result, I'm not breaking off my teeth due to involuntary grinding, and the 3:00PM headaches have stopped. I'm not sure about the eyelids. My muscles tense up and I bite very hard, breaking teeth, biting though my tongue and jaw flesh on occasion. My face is in some kind of constant motion. I cannot control the movements. The ENT doctor who does my injections told me that it doesn't stop the "firing signal", it just makes the muscle unable to respond and it wears off after 3 months or so. One neurologist told me he didn't think it was PD related. The movement disorder specialist thinks it is PD related. I have seen many neurologists. I'm convinced that the Drs with education the the movement disorder subspecialty are the way to go. If you are in the midwest, I have a list of movement disorder doctors. Email me at clarence at wallis insurance dot com.

I was diagnosed 2 years ago. I've had very stiff neck muscles and a lot of head pressure, where it felt like my head was going to crack open. My neurologist, who is a movement disorder specialist, attributed this pressure to the stiff muscles. I tried botox injections once. They were quite uncomfortable, which would have been tolerable had it worked. However, it made my neck muscles so weak that I literally had to hold my head up for several weaks while sitting at my desk at work or rest my head against the back of my chair. It was quite uncomfortable. It did little or nothing for the head pressure, which I've found recently is more likely migraine related. It's also quite expensive. My out of pocket cost was $650+ and that's in spite of it being pre-approved and after it was submitted to my primary and secondary insurances. I will not get it again. It may be necessary under some circumcstances, like if you're breaking teeth or biting your tongue or causing harm, but the medication I'm taking for migrain prevention is actually helping my stiffness and pressure better than the botox. That's just my experience. Everyone is different.

I wish everyone luck.

Poetrygirl