Tennessee woman says she experienced health issues after Botox injections
“I was having twitches, twitches in my arm. I could feel the twitches in my stomach, in my legs. It felt like my throat was even twitching and I couldn’t swallow.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Health leaders nationwide are sounding the alarm about fake Botox.
In April, the Tennessee Department of Health reported four cases of botulism-like illness. TDH is part of a joint investigation along with the CDC, FDA and other states.
The concerns are over the use of counterfeit products or products with unclear origins administered in non-medical settings like homes or cosmetic spas.
Wendy Elmer said she thought she did everything right when she was injected with Botox, but somehow contracted botulism.
“I was going to a nurse practitioner who works under a dermatologist. It’s very well-known. This wasn’t done at a Botox party; this wasn’t done with $6 a unit.”
Elmer said she had been getting Botox for a year and a half until she experienced major health issues about 10 days after being injected.
“I suddenly could not feel my legs. I was probably back in the ER for the following four weeks, seven to eight times.”
Elmer said this went on for months and only got worse.
“I was having twitches, twitches in my arm. I could feel the twitches in my stomach, in my legs. It felt like my throat was even twitching and I couldn’t swallow.”
She said she got down to 98 pounds and experienced muscle weakness in her legs. Doctors told Elmer, they couldn’t find a reason why this was happening, but she said she eventually got an answer when she spoke to a vascular doctor.
“He talked me through how it all happened and looked at some of my symptoms and said that he was pretty solid, convinced that the only thing I had done differently was inject myself with Botox.”
Elmer said the doctor concluded it was botulism.
WSMV4 spoke with Dr. Jason Wendel, a board-certified plastic surgeon who also works with Botox.
While he did not work with Elmer, he did advise people to always ask questions.
“Before you have anybody approach you, putting a needle in your body ask the question, where’s this product from? It could be an FDA-approved product; it could be by a licensed provider; it could be in a license setting but they over-dilute it. So, you’re getting the botulinum toxin, you’re just not getting the dose that you think you’re getting. So, they’re watering it down to try and make it go further,” Wendel said.
Elmer said she spoke with the nurse practitioner who injected her after her diagnosis, and she said they could not explain why she experienced the health issues.
Two years later Elmer said that she is doing better but she still deals with some of those same health problems.
According to the CDC, botulinum anti-toxin can help stop the progression of botulism, but it does have to be administered as soon as possible.
Dr. Wendel suggests beyond having conversations with the person who injects you, verify information on those providers through TDH’s website.
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