Woman receives 700 Botox injections in six years to relieve ‘crippling’ migraine pain
A woman who has suffered from "crippling" migraines every day for 20 years has finally found peace after receiving more than 700 Botox injections to relieve the pain.
Rosehannah Jeffrey, 41, has been suffering from chronic cluster migraines since she was 13 years old, but was told at the time they were hormonal and she would “grow out of it”.
She had given up on living a “normal life” until six years ago when the NHS offered her treatment with botulinum toxin type A, which is prescribed as a last resort for migraine sufferers.
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Jeffrey, who is from from Elloughton, East Yorkshire, said: “Experiencing migraines every single day from when I was just 13 was a crippling feeling.
“It was a struggle because I couldn’t function and I was in constant pain.
"I was quite shocked they suggested Botox as I thought it was normally done cosmetically. But I was willing to try anything.”
Due to her condition, Jeffrey was spending days at a time in bed with pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sounds.
Since her first prescription, mum-of-two Jeffrey has been getting 31 injections in her forehead, the back of her head, neck and top of her shoulders at the Spire Hospital in Hull every 12 weeks.
“I can’t believe it worked. I feel so much better now. And the relief is almost instant,” Jeffrey said.
“I can spend time with my kids now which is the most important thing. I feel like I’m a new person.”
Since starting the treatment six years ago, Jeffrey said that she’s had at least 744 injections and now only suffers from five to eight migraines a month, down from roughly 30, and has the added bonus of having a “wrinkle-free” forehead.
“One bonus is I’m not just getting better, but I'm also getting younger,” Jeffrey said.
“The pain from the injections is well worth it. It’s like a wasp sting. The more I have, the more painful it gets, but it’s worth it.”
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As a teenager, Jeffrey missed school "a lot" and was forced into isolation due to the severity of her condition.
At one point she was taking six tablets and painkillers a day, and eventually even had nerve blocking injections put straight into her head.
“It was tough to deal with that growing up because I couldn’t understand why this was happening to me, and no one could explain it to me,” she said.
Botulinum toxin type A is thought to help ease chronic migraines by relaxing muscles and blocking the pain signals which are involved in the development of a migraine.
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These actions may have the effect of stopping a migraine headache from being triggered.
The treatment was first recommended by the National Institute for Healthcare and Excellence (NICE) in 2021 as botulinum toxin type A can paralyse muscles.
“NICE recommends that this treatment can be considered as an option for people who have chronic migraine (headaches on at least 15 days of every month, at least eight days of which are migraine) that's not responded to at least three previous preventative medical treatments,” the NHS said.
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Jeffrey added that her relationships and mental health have seen rapid improvements since she began the treatments.
To find out more about migraine prevention, visit the NHS website.
Additional reporting by SWNS.
