Podcast
Botox Injury Stories
Hosted by Megan McCue · EN
Botox Injury Stories is a podcast that features stories from people who have developed adverse effects after receiving botulinum toxin injections (including Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, Daxxify, and Jeuveau).
Join host and speech-language pathologist Megan McCue as she interviews fellow iatrogenic botulism sufferers from around the world.
For more information, visit www.iatrogenicbotulism.com
Find us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
22episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ali's Story
1w ago00:59:49Tap to summarizeAli joins us for episode 34 of the Botox injury stories podcast. Ali had received Botox injections for migraines for about 5 years before the toxin went systemic after her last injections in 2024. What unfolded in the days after her last injections is harrowing, and as her injector was trying to reassure her that her symptoms were not being caused by Botox, thankfully her husband and mom went out on their own and began researching iatrogenic botulism. Her husband called the CDC directly, and was told that Ali was a candidate for the antitoxin. Husband of the decade award! Ali received the antitoxin upon admission into the ICU, and she walks us through what that was like for her and her family, and how she healed once she was discharged. Ali’s new book about her botulism story, Beautifully Unravelled, can be found on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/0cLA2jYfVisit www.botoxtruths.com for more information.Follow us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
Transcribe →Sophie's Story
2w ago00:34:57Tap to summarizeSophie joins us for episode 33 of the Botox Injury Stories podcast. After routine injections in her forehead and masseter muscles, Sophie felt "off" almost immediately. She describes it as feeling like her "soul" had left her. She suffered from anxiety, insomnia, dissociation/derealization, heart palpitations, a chest infection, and difficulty breathing. Her symptoms evolved slowly but surely in the weeks and months after her injections. She tells the story of what happened as her symptoms unfolded, how her friends and even her mom initially didn't believe her, and how she has become an outspoken advocate for informed consent.Visit www.botoxtruths.com for more information.Follow us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
Transcribe →Michael's Story
3w ago00:39:15Tap to summarizeMichael joins us for episode 32 of the Botox Injury Stories podcast. He received Botox injections from his dentist for TMJ pain, and within an hour of the injections, his body began to shut down. He lost consciousness, his muscles became weak, and he was rushed to the emergency room.Once there, he could barely stay awake for ten minutes at a time. Nurses and doctors began doing sternal rubs that he wasn’t responding to, and doctors ran basically every test, and even drug tested him multiple times - they would not listen about the Botox.Fortunately, Michael’s wife, who was a nurse was able to advocate for him and help him back to health. Michael miraculously recovered within just a few weeks, and his story leaves behind huge questions.Why are emergency rooms not prepared for Botox complications? Why was no one taking him seriously about the injections? And what actually happened to Michael’s body? Was it a rare case of immediate botulism, or an extreme, systemic shock? MedWatch Online Voluntary Reporting FormVisit www.botoxtruths.com for more information.Follow us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
Transcribe →Lauren's Story
Apr 2900:41:05Tap to summarizeLauren joins us from the UK for episode 31 of the Botox Injury Stories podcast. She received a small amount of cosmetic Botox in her forehead and 11 lines for the first time in 2021. Immediately afterwards, she became fatigued and laid down to rest. This evolved into severe and persistent migraines and blurry vision for many months, in addition to all of the systemic autonomic nervous system disruption symptoms. Her intuition knew it was the Botox, but like so many of us she was gaslit and mostly ignored by her injector and many doctors. Lauren is a single mom, and somehow navigated this nightmare with minimal support from family and friends. In this episode we talk about how her symptoms unfolded, how her injector (and almost every other doctor) gaslit and ignored her, and how she is managing her symptoms today, more than 5 years out.Link for reporting Botox adverse effects in the UK: Yellow Card | Making medicines and medical devices saferVisit www.botoxtruths.com for more information.Follow us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
Transcribe →Joelle's Story
Apr 2200:32:15Tap to summarizeJoelle joins us for episode 30 of the Botox Injury Stories podcast. After her 5th round of cosmetic Botox, she suffered botulism symptoms including blurry vision, migraines, heart palpitations/panic episodes, and cognitive deficits. These evolved into MCAS within a month after poisoning. She did seek care at the emergency room, and even though the doctors acknowledged her symptoms were from Botox, they told her they couldn't help her because she was too far out for the antitoxin. Later, her injector tried to have her sign an NDA to never talk about her injury for a sum of $2,000. Joelle declined.In this episode we talk about how her symptoms unfolded, how she sought care from doctor after doctor, and how she finally sought out an alternative healing modality called AAT, which cleared up her chemical and food sensitivities.Learn more about AAT here: Home - Advanced Allergy TherapeuticsVisit www.botoxtruths.com for more information.Follow us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
Transcribe →Amanda's Story
Apr 1300:36:05Tap to summarizeAmanda joins us for episode 29 of the Botox Injury Stories podcast. She received 33 units of Botox on her 45th birthday, and suffered horrific adverse effects, including paralyzed bowels and MCAS.In this episode we talk about how her symptoms unfolded, how her injector blocked her when she reached out for help, and how she is managing her symptoms today, almost 3 years out.Visit www.botoxtruths.com for more information.Follow us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
Transcribe →Tiffany's Story
Mar 2500:57:21Tap to summarizeTiffany joins us for episode 28 of the Botox Injury Stories podcast. She had been receiving botulinum toxin injections for 15 years before developing full blown botulism and MCAS symptoms. In this episode we talk about how her symptoms unfolded, a tried (and failed) immune system injection, and the ripple effects this illness has had on her career and family life. Tiffany is almost a year out from her injections, and while she is doing much better, she still suffers from MCAS, which has significantly altered what she can eat and be exposed to.Visit www.botoxtruths.com for more information.Follow us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
Transcribe →Brittany's Story
Mar 1800:41:04Tap to summarizeBrittany joins us for episode 27 of the Botox Injury Stories podcast. She developed serious neurological symptoms after receiving Dysport cosmetically for the first time. She was given about 70 units, and what followed was months of symptoms including severe anxiety and panic, muscle weakness, joint pain, and more. Like so many people who experience these reactions, the physical symptoms were only one part of the story. The mental and emotional toll of this illness was enormous.In this episode we talk about how the experience affected every part of her life, including the ripple effects it had on her family. At one point, Brittany’s husband even lost a significant amount of weight simply from the stress of supporting her through such a frightening and uncertain time.The good news is that Brittany is now about 20 months out from her injections, and she is doing much better. She talks about the changes she made to her diet, and how she used nervous system regulation modalities to help heal. Visit www.botoxtruths.com for more information.Follow us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
Transcribe →Bridget's Story
Mar 1100:41:01Tap to summarizeBridget joins us for episode 26 of the Botox Injury Stories podcast. Bridget had been doing Botox for 10 years, and looking back, she had been experiencing subtle signs of nervous system disruption like nerve pain and chronic inflammation, but at the time she never connected those symptoms to the injections.It wasn’t until she began receiving masseter Botox for jaw pain that her symptoms escalated dramatically. After her final appointment, where she received injections across her full face both cosmetically and for TMJ, Bridget developed botulism symptoms.She experienced severe nerve pain throughout her entire body, along with significant muscle weakness in her legs, symptoms that completely changed the course of her health and daily life.In this conversation, Bridget shares her story and also discusses some of the healing modalities she explored early in her recovery, including things like peptides, sauna therapy, and coffee enemas. Interestingly, coffee enemas were mentioned in Dr. Hristova’s research as practices that certain patients have reported trying during early recovery.I am not personally recommending any of these treatments, and they are not approaches I would personally choose, as I tend to be fairly risk-averse when it comes to experimental therapies. However, I strongly believe that people should be allowed to share their full medical journeys and experiences, and that open conversations are important when we’re trying to understand a condition that is still poorly recognized.Visit www.botoxtruths.com for more information.Follow us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
Transcribe →Jessica's Story
Mar 400:51:41Tap to summarizeJessica joins us for episode 25 of the Botox Injury Stories podcast. Jessica is a former nurse injector who began experiencing serious neurological symptoms while she was still actively injecting patients. She struggled with breathing issues, brain fog, racing heart, panic attacks, memory problems, and overwhelming fatigue after injections, but of course she didn’t put two and two together at first, because she hadn’t been trained to recognize these as symptoms of toxin spread.It took months for her to connect the dots. And when she did, she made a life-changing decision: she stopped injecting altogether.It takes real courage and moral character to reflect on this experience, and I’m so grateful Jessica was willing to come on the show.Visit www.botoxtruths.com for more information.Follow us on Instagram @botoxinjurystories and @botoxtruths
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