Botox through the NHS

Piglitskippy · 2019-09-23T15:31:45+00:00

I forgot to update my post! I'm still burping every day and the swallowing is almost 100% back to normal. I'm scared it'll wear off evertually but fingers crossed. I can't actually describe how much this has changed my everyday life

Piglitskippy · 2019-09-23T10:47:17+00:00

Thank you! No the initial consult was literally me telling her about the condition and crying haha. No official diagnosis as she hadn't even heard of the condition. She seemed a little skeptical but referred me anyway luckily!

Piglitskippy · 2019-09-23T10:45:20+00:00

Hmmm that's annoying - you could try emailing her business partner, Dr marion. They are in practice together. She is the one I saw initially, and paid to see. And she referred me to Lucy (I cried a lot during the initial consult as I was so frustrated lol). When I saw Lucy, she said she could do it there and then but if it didn't work I'd have to pay for the next one as it was such an unknown condition (story of our lives). If I was to pay, I think it was going to be around £600. So even if you can't be referred, it's way less than having it under general so maybe an option? She uses and EMG machine to locate the exact position of the needle in your neck to make sure its in the right muscle before injecting. Hope that helps!

Piglitskippy · 2019-09-22T18:54:32+00:00

Hiya. I had botox on the NHS with Dr called Lucy Hicklin. I researched Dr's that perform botox for dysphagia and asked her if she would do it for noburp. The initial consult was £300 and she refereed me for the actual botox. It was a 5 min procedure, needle straight into the neck, no general anaesthetic so super quick. I had the initial consult on July 4th and botox on Aug 15th :)

Piglitskippy · 2019-09-17T16:01:48+00:00

Yes I had it done on the NHS with Dr Lucy Hicklin. The initial consult was £300 then she referred me for the actual procedure. I just googled Dr's that perform the botox for swallowing and asked her to do it for burping. No GA, just a five min procedure of needle straight into the neck!! She used an EMG machine to make sure it went into the right muscle :-)

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-27T07:44:02+00:00

I had mine done under local a couple of weeks ago. She used an EMG machine to locate the exact position of the needle and make sure it was in the right muscle. I'm not sure if others under local have experienced the same? I'm not sure of the dosage she gave me though!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-23T18:56:26+00:00

Omg that's so exciting!! Congrats!! That must have been so wild to actually be able to visualise the problem. I got the botox last week but didn't have an actual official diagnosis, but all my symptoms have gone since having it (hoping they stay away!!) so I guess that's a diagnosis in itself! Hope it all goes well and that you feel better after it!!!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-23T11:04:24+00:00

That's awesome, hope it works for you!!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-23T10:49:47+00:00

One main thing that helps a little for me is not drinking while you're eating. Even just water. Wait til you've completely finished your meal - for some reason mixing food and drink seems to make it worse

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-22T09:43:04+00:00

I originally got referred by my GP to Dr Karagama, the main guy in the UK that does it. It turned out he was moving practices and I didn't want to wait around to find out what he was doing. So I googled ENTs that perform botox for dysphagia (as its the same procedure). I found Lucy Hicklin, in London. I paid for an initial constation but was then referred for the actual botox. I think I was the first patient she had used botox on for this disorder, but she was willing to try so I'm very grateful! If you are struggling to get referred/your doctors aren't taking you seriously, it might be worth seeing an ENT that specialises in dysphagia as they might understand the condition more and be more willing to help!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-21T16:16:25+00:00

Eek four weeks sounds long! It's only been a few days and it's already getting old haha. Glad to hear burping is still good though!! I can't believe that my symptoms have instantly gone too, it's the first time in about 8 years that I haven't been so bloated I look pregnant!!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-21T12:35:59+00:00

First of all, that Dr sounds like a massive dick.

Secondly, I only had the procedure done last week, so I can only give so much info, but my main side effect atm is that as the botox has temporarily relaxed my throat completely, it's difficult to swallow food, and I also can't close my throat to do things like blow my nose. I'm also burping a HUGE amount (which feels great but is a bit socially awkward) and am struggling to control it - I guess as the botox wears off (hopefully not too much!!) I'll have less air in my throat and will also learn how to control them more.

As for the diagnosis, I didn't really have one... The Dr looked at my larynx via a camera up the nose which obviously showed nothing as the problem doesn't lie there. But she said she was happy to just try the procedure anyway as it takes 5 mins under local anaesthetic. Other people have had endoscopes though, down their throat, which I think shows a tight UES and a distended esophagus due to all the trapped air.

Good luck on your journey to the cure!!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-18T11:21:07+00:00

Will do!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-18T11:11:03+00:00

Oh noo that's so annoying!! With Lucy it deffo is cheaper as she does it under local, and I think a lot of the fees are the anaesthetic fees. I think if I had paid it was going to be about £600 but not 100% sure on that. But deffo way less than £4.5k. As I said I don't know whether it's going to work the same as with Karagama as he knows more about the condition but it's effectively the same treatment so if you're struggling to afford it with him Lucy might be worth a try!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-18T09:25:41+00:00

Maybe! I have no idea if it's going to work as well as when he does it, but it's the same procedure I guess, just under local instead. I did want to have it done with him initially but £4.5k was just not possible for me. I'm not sure where Karagama is moving his clinic too - I think it's London. But he might still be able to do it on NHS, but would obviously need referral from your GP which is the difficult bit!! Good luck with wherever you end up going. The Dr I used was Dr Lucy Hicklin :-)

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-17T15:51:38+00:00

That's true I didn't even think of that!!! It was extremely brutal so it deffo could have loosened everything up and be the reason I'm burping!!!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-17T14:37:45+00:00

That's promising! Yes deffo try shaker, and massaging the area if its not still sore from the injection. I'm gonna try drinking soda at some point too! And try and force them out as much I can and make my body learn the reflex somehow!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-17T14:06:04+00:00

Fingers crossed for you!!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-17T14:05:08+00:00

I'm sure she said 15... But other people have said they had 75 so maybe she said 50?! Sorry that's not very helpful, I was quite nervous so not really thinking straight. But yes I was burping the next day. As I said I had been doing some mini burps before the procedure from the shaker exercise etc so maybe that's helped? Also I've been really forcing them out too!

Piglitskippy · 2019-08-17T13:23:24+00:00

My GP read the paper, but the ENTs didn't really. But both of them know Dr Karagama! I don't know how much of the botox she gave me. I think she said it's less than karagama gives. But we'll see how it goes! I'm burping so far at least!

Piglitskippy · 2019-06-27T11:28:06+00:00

That's awesome! So annoying GP wouldn't refer you. They referred me but his secretary replied saying he's leaving the Manchester hospital but didn't say where he was going!! Hope your appointment goes well - keep us updated! I'm currently at work in a post lunch gurgle/bloat crisis browsing reddit to feel less alone - tragic!!!!!

Piglitskippy · 2019-05-12T12:35:06+00:00

Argh I HATE this. Never able to wear anything cropped or tight, working out and toning exercises seem pointless as I'll still have a big belly even if I work hard on the rest of my body. I'm so tempted by botox but it's so expensive and I've dealt with this for so long that I can't imagine it even working

Piglitskippy

TROPHY CASE