Does ANYONE KNOW WHY IT TAKES SO LONG FOR BOTOX TO START WORKING?

**Kara29** · 03-06-2006, 09:06 AM

I've asked the questions about Botox but I don't feel like I am asking the right ones. I tried calling my Doctor today but the office is closed for reconstruction. My one major questions is WHY does it take so long for the Botox to work on urgency and frequency? Did anyone have thier doctor explain this to them? How long does it take and when do you know if has started to work or not? nHow do you know if you need it done again or that it did not work on you? Am I going to just wake up one day and notice that I feel better? I am so confused.

I just had Botox done on my urethra and bladder neck area. It is not working at all. Is it going to work? What is the reason it took so long to work for you? Did you just wake up one day and feel better all of a sudden?The Foley is still in because without it I have to pee every 10 minutes. I don't feel good about any of this. He wants to try Botox more than one time on me but I am already to give up and give in. At the rate we are going this Botox Experiment could take all the way to September depending on how many times he wants to try it on me. I don't know when to draw the line. My parents don't have the money for this either. WIth some diseases at least there is an end with this there is no end in site. Just suffering and more suffering. I am so sick of this!

DID YOU JUST WAKE UP ONE DAY WITH NO URGENCY AND FREQUENCY?

Thanks for your input. I'd like to know how long it took for it to work for you. Did it take days, weeks, months? How often do you have to have it done? How many times a year do you go? Are you still doing it or have you stopped? How do you pay for it?

Kara

**IcyAngel23** · 03-10-2006, 10:44 AM

I know you are frustrated but hanging there. I had extreme freq-urg when I woke up from the surgery. I never had a foley in but I did pee alot. I'm not sure why it takes so long to kick in but it isn't instant like whe it is used on the face. You will feel like **** for about two weeks but gradually you will see a difference. Your bladder is healing from the injections and trauma of the sugery. I was so mad just like you looking for answers and a timline but everyone is different. For me it took a good 2 weks for me to see results. You don't see a difference right when you wake up. Maybe your dr is new to botox. Mine told me it would take time and it did. Alot of drs are nowing doing botox with little info on the actual results of the drug. The good thing about that is botox is coming up the ladder as a new treatment. It is still experimental and each dr make up there own mapping of the injections in the bladder. So I guess i'm telling you that there is no standard use of botox. It depends on your dr. Some use alot or some use little to be conservative the first time. Please don't lose hope on botox. My advice stay in bed and rest. Pamper yourself. You already have a sick bladder and trauma to that area takes time to heal. My mistake at first was doing too much after the sugery. You need to slow down and relax. If you are tense about it, the botox can't help you. So I know you want to do your normal stuff but trust me the rest helps a whole lot !!! I had a bunch of TV shows on DVD and kept myself in bed and watched them. Botox is still a surgery so treat it that way. Most drs say you can go back to normal activity right away but it made mine worse. So relax take a bubble bath or hot bath and read. RELAX....... I hope this helps. I'm always here if you need anything else. Just let it work at its own pace.

**Kara29** · 03-10-2006, 04:13 PM

Thanks for all of your great advice. I have not moved from bed in months so that part is easy for me. I still have the foley catheter in because I can't take it out or I will be cathing every 10-20 minutes. The antibiotic I am taking Cephlex is killiing me. I know that is what is doing it b/c 20 minutes after I take it, my urethra goes insane. Thanks for answering my questions. I am pretty much ready to toss the Botox for many reasons. The cost, the fact that my doc has only done 6 patients that I know of, the severity of my urethra, and the quality of my life. As I get surgery dates which will take a few months in all, that should give us an idea if the Botox worked at all, so we did exaust all options.

Kara

**Daffie** · 03-11-2006, 12:33 PM

It seems like your doctor isn't really working with you. Only six patients isn't much experience. It takes anywhere up to a month to feel better after Botox. But if you are taking a drug that irritates you "How will you be able to tell if the Botox starts to work?".

**Kara29** · 03-11-2006, 02:31 PM

That is my thought exactly. If I am taking a drug that is irritating me how will we ever know that the Botox worked or not? Or you could say.....nothing would irritate me and cause urgency and frequency IF the Botox DID in fact work. I am so confused. Botox is supposed to help urgency and frequency no matter what meds you take.

Errrrrrrr....so lost here.

Kara