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By Mayo Clinic staffBefore scheduling Botox injections, you need to meet with your doctor to discuss the factors that determine whether Botox is likely to work well for you. This meeting generally includes:
- Your medical history and physical exam. Your doctor asks questions about conditions you have or have had and conducts a physical exam.
- Medication use. Your doctor asks about medication use. You may need to stop using certain medications before your Botox procedure. These include blood-thinning medications, such as aspirin, aspirin-containing medications, clopidogrel (Plavix), warfarin (Coumadin) or heparin. Talk to your doctor before stopping these medications, as it may be best to continue these medications in people who have had blood clots, stroke, heart attack, angina or transient ischemic attacks. Also, let your doctor know if you've received any other Botox product before (especially in the last four months), recently received antibiotics by injection, or take muscle relaxants, allergy or cold medicines, or sleep medicine.
- A discussion of your expectations. You and your doctor talk about your motivations and expectations. He or she explains what Botox can and can't do for you and what your results might be.
- A discussion of costs. Botox injections can be expensive and they're not always covered by insurance. Make sure you know in advance how much the injections will cost and whether your insurance provider will cover them.
If you're being treated for excessive sweating
If you're being treated with Botox for excessive underarm sweating, your doctor may ask you to do the following before receiving injections:
- Shave your underarms.
- Avoid deodorant use for 24 hours before treatment.
- Avoid foods or activities that may make you sweat more, such as hot foods or exercise, for 30 minutes before the procedure.
- Botox medication guide. Food and Drug Administration. www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/UCM176360.pdf. Accessed May 3, 2010.
- OnabotulinumtoxinA: Drugdex evaluations. Micromedex Healthcare Series 2.0. http://www.micromedex.com. Accessed May 3, 2010.
- Botox (medical). The Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. http://www.eyecareamerica.org/eyecare/treatment/botox/. Accessed May 2, 2010.
- Carruthers J, et al. Consensus recommendations on the use of botulinum toxin type A in facial aesthetics. Plastic Reconstructive Surgery. 2004;114(suppl.):1S.
- Flynn TC. Update on botulinum toxin. Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery. 2006;25:115.
- Botulinum toxin. American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/cosmetic_botulinum.html. Accessed May 2, 2010.
- FDA approves Botox to treat chronic migraine. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm229782.htm. Accessed Oct. 23, 2010.
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