Botox: "I Thought I Was Going to Die"

My battle against Botox/dysport was the scariest thing I have ever been through. The first 2 visits with a board certified dermatologist went just fine, but the 3rd visit when I was overdosed at 260 units! (no idea why) and by the same board certified dermatologist... my life would never be the same. The first few nights were mostly head aches and stiffness, and pressure in my head. The 3rd day my heart started to race in a way that was not normal, as well as a feeling like bricks were on my chest. It was hard to breath and I felt very much like I was being smothered. I had anxiety through the roof, which I have never had. Not even when I would get on stage in front of hundreds or thousands of people. So, I went to the urgent care. Since I did not mention anything of my recent injections (because I didn't think it was related) they diagnosed me with asthma and gave me an inhaler. The inhaler is a stimulant, so it made my heart race more, and my anxiety heighten. I stopped using it immediately. The next days to come got worse and worse. I couldn't handle my own condition. I was trapped in a body full of constant anxiety, breathing issues, and sleeplessness. I had panic attacks, and it felt as though my throat was closing up. I hardly slept! I was terrified that if I even tried to sleep I would stop breathing in my sleep and die. About a week later, I was rushed to the ER because my heart was absolutely out of control as well as my breathing. They diagnosed me with extreme anxiety and a possible heart condition, and referred me to a cardiologist. No joke... it wasn't until doing all my research that I found it was actually the botox that did this to me. I am now about 10 months post and my life is still not the same. It's better, but it will never be normal. I have flair ups, and good days, and bad days...but it's always there. the littlest things take my breath away and so I have to work through it slow and steady until the attack passes. The botox botulism reaction has caused my body to be incredibly sensitive to all sorts of things so now I have to eat organic everything and be cautious of everything I consume. Basically I have learned to deal with it. It sucks. It has changed me, and I live in fear. I pray that someday, I will be back to my old self, but I don't think that will ever happen. I'm sorry for those also suffering. It's a long battle to get better, and sadly, better is the best you can hope for. This is life altering, forever :(

I had dysport put into my chin and above one eye about 6 weeks ago. It was all for vanity reasons no health concerns at all.
Two weeks passed with no problem and out of no where I collapsed with exhaustion.
Ive been sick for 4 weeks yet I did not make the connection until today when my blood work came up clear even though I had to come home from work yet again due to how sick I was feeling.
I looked up the side effects and realized that indeed I'm battling with a reaction to the injections.
My neck and back hurt,my muscles ache, I've got no energy and when I wake up in the morning I feel like a truck has run over me. I'm chronically exhausted and cant get enough sleep even with 11 hours a night three weeks in a row.
Now my neck is swollen; which is why I finally had blood drawn today.
I'm also having trouble getting normal words typed on pages for work and even right now.
I'm glad I've figured out what is happening but wow... This is definitely not worth the minimal differences I experienced in my face .
For all of you dealing with your side effects that are much stronger then what I am dealing with please know that you need to keep trying to get your experiences out.
I am going to do all I can to pass the word forward so others can make better choices.

I recently spent a week in the hospital with septic shock. I had been running high fevers (104 to 105 degrees), and I thought I had a bad flu. By the time my friend took me to the E.R., my blood pressure was 57/43. I had been suffering from rigor (SEVERE body shaking), and I could not walk. I was crawling on the floor at home. The E.R. had to rapid infuse saline, massive antibiotics, and vasopressors to save me. I was in the ICU for days, getting oxygen, breathing treatments, pain meds, and antibiotics. My whole body swelled up, I looked HUGE. I also developed pneumonia while in the hospital. I am lucky to be alive. When I first came home from the hospital, I was having trouble with my brain and my speech because I would talk and the word I was planning to say came out as a different word! Bizarre. But that went away quickly. I have been getting stronger every day, but they never did determine what caused my illness. I was discharged with a diagnosis of "Sepsis of Unknown Origin".

As I go back in time, I realized that I had gotten Botox injected a couple of weeks before. I wonder if that is what caused all of these bizarre symptoms? I just don't know. When I asked the doctors and nurses in the hospital if that might be the cause, they assured me that that was impossible. But now that I am reading about it, I wonder.

I am still running a low grade fever 24/7, between 99.2 and 99.9 all the time. I don't understand why I still have fever.

Hello Everyone. 33 days ago I received a toxic injection. This is some of my story.... I was taken to the ER straight from the doctor’s office following the injection. I was admitted to the ICU and ultimately hospitalized 14 days with iatrogenic botulism. This is an illness that causes many different issues and can be life threatening. It doesn’t seem real and I keep waiting to wake up from a bad dream. Some of the symptoms I experience are numbness, weakness, difficulty walking, discoordination, tremors, slurred speech, difficulty communicating what I was thinking, problems swallowing, tachycardia into the 170’s, bradycardia into the 30’s, irregular heart rhythms, chest pain, electrical shooting pains, difficulty breathing and oxygen saturation problems. The nervous systems and muscles in my body were effected and it caused absolute chaos, the toxin was working hard to paralyze me. It got bad and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue breathing through some of the surges. I never knew what the next symptom was going to be or how much worse it was going to get, and it is the scariest thing I have ever experienced in my life. Through it all, I continue to pray to God and remain thankful for the life that I have.
Now that I am back home I have been receiving care from various home health services, taking medications to help with my symptoms, on home oxygen, following up with my doctors and just taking it day by day. At one point in the hospital I couldn’t even sit up in bed without major issues, now my goal is to be able to get down my front stairs and take a walk! smile emoticon I am dying to take a walk by myself and with my dog! So I am improving, just at a slow pace because that's how the toxicity works. They say the first two weeks are the worst, the first month is tough, 1-3 months is the bulk of it, and hopefully I don’t have any permanent issues. I just keep praying and trying my best to stay positive and motivated, it gets very hard at times but I try to remember there is a purpose to all of this. I just don’t exactly know what it is yet.

The injection was Botox...it was a series of injections for a wrinkle treatment. I have to admit that every day I look in the mirror and I get mad, I get mad at myself for thinking I even needed Botox. I was getting Botox for wrinkles and wrinkle prevention, why did I think I needed that? Antiaging is big business $$ and I think we as a society have a skewed vision of aging and pressure to look a certain way. All of this has definitely caused me to reevaluate things and to accept myself for who I am, and to encourage others to do the same. I would choose a wrinkle ANY day over what I am going through now. I wish I would have thought twice and done my research before choosing this treatment. I wish I would have known more about what Botox really is, more about the facility I chose, more about who was injecting me, more about the qualifications and training to inject, more about possible outcomes, more about the people who have died from this…I just wish I would have known more! I also wish I wouldn’t have gotten the treatment that day, but I did and it went wrong, it went severely wrong so hearing it’s rare doesn’t matter because it happened and it is REAL and it is MY LIFE. I ask that you not judge me for the decision I made but that you support me for what I am going through.
Most are extremely supportive of my situation and I thank you, but I know some people for various reasons are in opposition that I posted this, which really hurts because this is my LIFE. I am a living example sitting here telling you my experience. It is my opinion that many people are afraid to speak out about it because of the stigma or probably agreed to sign gag orders as part of a settlement or something. Many people have private messaged me about this now, saying they want to talk about it but they don't want people to know they get botox...I get it, it took me 33 days to decide to share what I had injected, it needs to be talked about. Poison control, FDA, dept's of health, government agencies, private agencies, case studies, MD's who have treated patients and those who are going through what I went through all know...it happens. There are just many factors regarding how, who and if it's even reported. Drugs can and do get taken off the market after so many people become ill or die. Stricter regulations can and do get placed on the production, distribution, consent, use and administration of drugs as well as who qualifies to give and receive the drug, how counseling on risks must be provided, required training and so on and so on and so on, so to me it is important to speak up or nothing will ever change! I'm not a botox expert but I know my life was in jeopardy so if I can save even ONE person from going through what I went through, I have done the right thing.

I try not to be so angry about it so something I have done to help cope with everything is I have created a private support group. I am here to talk about my personal experience with those who want to talk about it, to connect with and support people from all over who have had or are still going through a similar experience and to provide support for families who have lost a loved one.
(The amount of messages I have received since posting this, from people who get or are considering getting Botox, let's me know sharing my experience was the right thing to do. Thank you for reaching out. )

This has been life changing and I am still figuring out how to deal. The physical and emotional toll it has taken on me has been very trying and I truly, greatly, appreciate everyone’s support. The calls, messages, cards, flowers, gifts, etc., you have NO IDEA how much you all have meant. Everyone’s lives continue on while my life has been on a complete pause and I am so appreciative of those who have understood that and are helping me through all of this.

If you ask me , I think Botox is so dangerous so is dysport, Who really knows how many people have died from Botox, it is botulism a poison. the body puffs up from a toxic response! I wonder if someone has died if the link was ever made. I think when an actress or some public figure gets botox and it goes awry well that will wake women up Seriously. I went to a clinic here in Portland and they were really trying to get me try dysport and I was soooooooo terrified , they kept assuring me it was safe. Since I DO NOT just believe a medical professional they only tell you what they have heard at the medical lecture and that is not enough. Finally I told them I wanted them to do a test sensitivity test that so the nurse injected the smallest amount at no charge.... I was so sick the next day I thought I was going to die, I went to Emergency dept and I believe I probably would died if I would of allowed them to inject me with syringes of that stuff. When the time comes I will just get a face lift then ever use any fillers at all ever.

I was injected with the variety of Botox known as Dysport for overactive bladder in 2008. Within 4 days I developed severe retention, and had to self-catheterise. It's 2015, I have permanent paralysis and still retain original overactivity whilst still having to use catheters many times a day. Total destruction of my marriage, and career due to part poisoning by this substance. Life is a never ending hell due to the discomfort I suffer. Unfortunately I live in the UK.

UPDATED I'm 53,,,, I posted 2 months ago on March 25,2015 It's been 5 months since being injected with 100 units of Botox in my Pelvic muscles,

I'm still not normal, I am seeing a heart doctor and I had to see an allergist because of my symptoms, My heart is still racing , my blood pressure is high, and can't breath well. I'm very short of breath, also I have a rash all over my arms, legs, under my arms going down the sides of my stomach, I'm still getting the chills, my stomach is still feeling week , yet it's not as bad, I had been sweating excessively for months, then I stopped salt and it's a better, though I also had to stop allot of foods, steak is causing my blood pressure to rise, and given me more breathing problems,

none of my Doctors are admitting the Botox is causing my reactions, I feel I'm allergic to the Botox ,,,,,, I tried to warn my Doctor before he injected me, he assured me that there not having any problems with the Botox, I feel so stupid for I believed him ...... I don't think I'll ever be normal again,

The Botox seemed to react to pain med's ... allergy med's my lidocaine patches I used for back pain, I couldn't take anything ... I am only taking a heart pill and inhalers to breath, I am so angry with Allergan who makes the Botox, they make so much money they don't care about a few law Suites, most lawyers will not deal with Botox problems either, Shame on these drug companies,

I was worried to have Botox Injected in my Pelvic Muscles and questioned my Doctor before agreeing, I told him I am very sensitive to Foods and allot of Medications, Many foods and Med's cause my heart to race and I am out of Breathe, My doctor assured me they are having no problems or side affects from this procedure, so I was desperate to get out of Pain and on Dec 15th 2014 he did the Injections, He also told me it could take up to 4 weeks to work, instead 3 weeks later I started to notice my Heart pounding and I could not walk or even comb my Granddaughters hair without getting out of breathe, I was also sweating horribly under my arms for over 2 months now then my body started to smell like a chemical, including under my arms, I have constant loose stools my stomach feels like it's on an roller coaster, it's very week, I'm having headaches and a itchy rash under my arms, even though I can no longer use deodorant, I also got a rash all over my arms and it's been over 3 months I also feel like my insides are burned, when I eat food its getting stuck half way down, my back hurts when I sleep and my skin is looking very ruff and dry lately. I now have to take a heart pill 2xs a day to slow my heart rate, I always had a very low blood pressure, like 87/54 and since getting the Botox if I'm sitting down for over 10 minutes my pressure is 148/ 90 I've been to my primary care and had lots of tests and nothing is abnormal, even the ER didn't take me seriously and sent me home, I think there is a medication that would have stopped alot of these symptoms from getting worse if my doctor listened to me back when my heart started to race and I told him I was out of breathe all day he just told me don't worry it will wear off within 3 to 6 months, I am so much sicker now, it's March 25,2015 I can't even wash my dishes unless I sit on a stoll and slowly try and clean them otherwise I have not done a think since Jan ,,,, I just lay around and hope to feel better I even called Allergan who makes the Botox and they told me it must wear off. they did tell me the side affects and I seem to have most of them,

I got botox these is my 3rd time And realized that my throat feels like it wants to close,and I had bad panic attacks.I just did my 3time on 3_4_2015..and goggle symptoms. And realized that its has happen every time I have done it.waking up at night like I can't breath I am scare to sleep.and not wake up.I been Todd with panic attacks,what can I do to ware it off,

This is horrible!!! I went through very similar symptoms after being told how it was safe!! I only had one injection and stopped the procedure. .Still, I was rushed to the hospital because my throat closed and was given steroids and epinephrine. After that incident, my life was a constant battle. I lived on Clariton and benadryl for 6 months. I couldn't sleep, breath or function. After a few more hospital visits, tons of meds, sleep less nights and many other unexplained side effects, I'm felling better. DEFINITELY NOT 100% You feel like you are going to die!!!! Any doctor you speak to thinks you're crazy and is completely uneducated in botix and clueless...so they say!! I REALLY HOPE THAT ONE DAY A DOCTOR WITH A CONSCIOUS STEPS UP TO THE PLATE AND TAKES A STAND ON THIS.

Wow, your stories sound familiar. I had several injections of Botox for a voice disorder. The Botox was used to relax the vocal cords so I could speak. I did Ok with the first few injections, but then, after about my 6th time, I became deathly ill. My heart raced so fast, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I experienced such total body weakness/paralysis, that I could only crawl to the bathroom and back for several weeks. I wound up hospitalized, but they insisted it couldn't be the Botox. So, I believed them, and went back 6 months later to have my voice treated again, and it happened all over again ... racing heart, full body weakness/paralysis, difficulty breathing. It took about 6 weeks until I gradually got better. Never getting Botox again!

Can you tell me the what the medication was that helped you when you were in the hospital. My story is long and I don't have the strength right now to explain. Botox for 4 years and gradually going down hill. Last one on 8/13/13 am really sick. Haven't gone to the doctor he says its not the Botox. Going tomorrow but should go to ER. I'll explain more later but would like to know about the medication.
Thanks, Lynda

My story is a long one. I got Botox 14 years ago. There was not any harmful side effects listed when I chose to get it. I passed out in the doctors office before I left. I had two small chdten to care for at the time. The next morning I woke up to a racing heart and horrible neck and head pains level 7 pains. I called my doctor. They hasn't heard of anything happening like this before. By the following day I was in level 10 pains with constant panic attacks. I suffered on many pain medications and shots to dull pains till I couldn't take it and after 3 years I went to a mental clinic where I was placed on medication that saved my life. The medication makes you tired and causes weight gain but it helps. I still get flair ups here and there. I ended up divorced over the situation. There wasn't proper warnings 14 years ago. Best of luck everyone.

I was treated for chronic migrraine with BOTOX injections, It nearly killed me, after the first time the ER doctor said it was just an asthma attack, second time to the ER after the second set of injections three months later the ER doctor called it an adverse acute reaction to BOTOX. I have not been able to recover from broncial & lung infections, the doctors have treated with antibiotics, steroids & nebulizer treatments daily for months.Along with breathing difficulties & irritable stomach my skin is covered in rash and I have had inflamation inside & out throughout my entire body. I wonder how long this will last. I am not able to do much without inflamation & difficulty with my breathing. It has made me anxious as well.