About a year ago I was frustrated, overweight, suffering from headaches that kept me in bed, and experiencing pain from my neck/shoulders. I started showing signs of depression and held a lot of anger toward myself for not being the best Mom, Wife, coworker and friend that I could be. One night while crying I decided enough was enough. If I wanted things to be better, it was on me. It was on me to pray, do my own research, and start calling doctors to seek answers. This journey led me to Airosti, Chiropractors, Thai massages, too many muscle/pain creams to count, and a LOT of oral medications (OTC, pain relievers, muscle relaxers, nerve relaxers, and more). I decided to try going to our PCP to see what could be done about the headaches first and then I would figure out the pain from my neck/shoulders. Truthfully, I believed my neck and shoulder pain would result in needing a surgery, which I was not willing to do because that is how I lost my Daddy. I am so grateful for the day I walked into Dr. Gilmore's office. He took one look at me and said my alignment was off, I looked in pain, and "I bet you have some gnarly headaches as well." He asked a zillion questions and I tried my best not to cry in frustration. He explained that he believed my trap muscles on both sides were causing all my problems and everything was related. I thought he was nuts at first, but then he began to explain how the trap muscle works, where it is located (much bigger than I thought), and how it affected all my symptoms. He put in orders for me to get an X-ray and Cat Scan first, then gave me a referral for a Neurologist. I remember him looking at me and saying, "you are going to try a lot of things first, but I am advising you to get to a point where your insurance can pay for a Neurologist to give you botox injections in your head, neck and shoulders." I was confused what botox had to do with it and had never heard of botox for headaches. I completed the Xrays and scans (which confirmed exactly what Dr. Gilmore was saying) and took those to a Neurologist, Dr. Pamela Blake. Meeting Dr. Blake was yet again another miracle. Our first appointment was 1.5 hours in length and she explained everything to me. She agreed with Dr. Gilmore and smiled while stating more than once, "I know I can help you and am confident in my diagnosis." She wanted to try Trigger Point Injections while the insurance approved the botox, so we started them that day. I did 3 round of TPI's, each 3 weeks apart. I was thankful to be able to get an average of 1 week of relief for each set of TPI's, but held out hope for the botox injections. Finally, at the beginning of September, I had my first round of Botox injections which included 37 shots around the frame of my face, between eyebrows, jaw, temples, behind ears, base of skull, neck, shoulders and upper back. Most of the shots felt like bee stings, but were doable with steady breathing. Even though I did have side effects (stiffness, swollen throat, nerve pain, and headaches) for the first few weeks after...I finally found relief! In fact, I had very few headaches that could not be treated with OTC meds for the next 10 weeks. At the 10 week mark, I could feel the pain creeping back. Today, I was able to get the second round of 37 shots and I am hopeful that everything continues to improve. Research shows that the more consistent you are with treatment, the longer you have positive results. Since I responded so well to the first round of Botox, I am hopeful that things will only get better from here. Looking back on this last year, I see God's little blessings along the way and am grateful for the relief, additional time with my family, and being able to lose weight. What a ride it has been, but I am stronger for it.
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