Health Organization for Pudendal Education

I had Botox injections. They only worked for five weeks. Is this typical? I also had a bladder infection, a laceration in my vagina and bleeding. Has anybody else had these complications from Botox injections? Krisssy

Time frame for how long botox lasts does vary from person to person but it can wear off after 5 weeks. Most individuals do have some vaginal bleeding after botox that is a small amount for maybe one day. How do you define a laceration? How do you know it was a laceration versus bleeding from being poked by a needle. The other possibility is whoever did the injection maybe got a small blood vessel.

The Dr. who did the botox was out of town for me. So when I went to my own pelvic pain Dr., after bleeding for three weeks, he saw a vaginal laceration beginning to pertrude into my rectum. It was caught in time, packed and cauterized. Then the bleeding finally stopped. Because of this, I am afraid to have more botox injections although it did work for five weeks. My dr. said I have thin vaginal tissues????????????? Do you think Botox lasts longer the more you get injections? krisssy

Krissy, I'm glad you were able to get the bleeding controlled but wow, that sounds like it must not have been a fun experience! My understanding is that Botox is a temporary solution but I can see how it might be helpful over time to help reteach your muscles to rekax. If you have an entrapped nerve it might have to be released in order for Botox to have any permanent benefit.

Violet M

Since the botox worked for 5 weeks, I would do it again, but I am afraid of a worse laceration than the last time. Meanwhile, I am in soo much pain. I guess it must be muscle spasms or the botox wouldn't have even worked for five weeks. I read somewhere that muscle spasms can be caused by scar tissue which I have a lot of from three previous surgeries. I am very depressed , because after 4 years of suffering, there doesn't seem to be an answer. krisssy

Krisssy, is PNE surgery not an option for you or not recommended due to your previous pelvic surgeries? If Botox is your last and final option and it provides some relief then it sounds like it could be worth it if that is your only option but it's unfortunate that it did not last a bit longer. Are there any other options you can try that you haven't tried yet?

Hugs,

Violet

My dr. said the only other option is surgery. BUT if the botox worked, that leads me to believe it is muscle spasms, not a nerve problem. Krisssy

Krisssy, I'm not sure that pain relief from Botox has been shown to rule out a nerve compression/entrapment. You might be interested in reading this study:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/med ... n_patients
http://tinyurl.com/8nbguur

The physician who performed the study for a different illness said that Botox may help to relieve pain by reducing muscle spasms and impingement on the nerve but also by reducing the neurotransmitters that tell the brain the body is in pain.

Not that it makes your decision any easier, really. It's hard to know what treatments to pursue when you don't know for sure what's going on.

Violet

HI Krissy,
I just thought I'd put my two cents in since I have had botox intravaginally. I did not have any bleeding, thank God, and it wasn't done with any anethsesia. I'm sorry you had such a rough time.

The botox also only relaxed my pelvic muscles for a few weeks, not the promised few months! I think that it did not work for me as well because of the underlying orthopedic issues that I have.

I know you said you had some scar tissue that might be a problem. Since you live in New York, have you thought about going to see Dr. Andrew in Cornwall for ESWT? Some people have had good experiences with it for scar tissue. He's only about 6 hours from NYC. Just a thought.

I thought that botox was my last option too and one point, but there are always more things to try. Don't give up!

Hugs,
Jackie

Hi Krissy,
You are right that some continuing use of botox could have good long term effects, especially if it has worked initially. The theory being that the muscles 'learn' to relax and even when the procedure is stopped, the muscles continue in this relaxed state which after all is the normal situation for muscles to be when at rest.
I would hope that because you have had this dreadful reaction to the first injection that you would be properly monitored for any similar effects if you did decide to have more.
There are people who have been helped with this sort of approach.
I don't have tight pelvic floor muscles but do have tight piriformis muscles. That pain manifests itself more as a deep ache which is quite different to typical nerve pain which is burning, shooting, itching ( see home pages for more pain symptoms) and/or numbness. Of course it could be that tight pelvic floor muscles impinge the pudendal nerve as described above. Have you done PT to try and alleviate this problem btw?
Let us know what you decide to do.
take care,
Helen