Botox shots with pregnancy

May 13, 2008 7:15 PM

Botox and early pregnancy? What are the possible consequences and side-effects?

(Posting for a colleague, 1 week wait time is too long).

I do not know where to start.

I am a 36 y.o. white male living in Tokyo Japan. My wife is a 34 y.o. Japanese female.

We have a 6 year old son who is the love of my life.

3 weeks ago my wife found out she was 6 weeks pregnant. 4 1/2 weeks ago she had botox injections under her arms for severe sweating. OBVIOUSLY she did not know she was pregnant when she got the shots.

Can some one help me with the following 3 questions.

1. Has anyone received this treatment before or administered it, and can they give me a idea of about the size and dose of the shots and where they are administered.

2. Has anyone had botox treatment while pregnant, and what were the side affects if any?

3. Can a medical professional help me to understand the consequences? I mean I am pretty good at internet research, but there really seems to be nothing out there..... rooted in actual facts or at least personal experience.

Our current doctor...is Japanese and just listens and occasionally sighs or says hmmmm when I ask these questions. Which in most cases would be comical, just not this time.

I have read many the things about low birth weight and deformity's in rabbits and mice. The problem with these is that they are giving a potentially 4-6 pound (around 2-3 kilo) rabbit, 17 mg shots continuously (the duration was unspecified). I am not a rocket scientist but that sounds like a pretty high dose for such a small specimen.

Now we are not sure what to do. I have wanted another child since our son was 2, but we are scared. Not that our child will not be loved, but will not be healthy and have a very painful life both physically and emotionally.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, any help will be appreciated.

Regards,

E./

posted by lundman to health (9 comments total)

I'm sorry you're in such a stressful situation. You could try contacting Drs. Alastair and Jean Carruthers. They discovered Botox and, about 7 years ago, someone I know very well participated in their clinic's first trial for using Botox for hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating). So they would be the experts on the use of Botox. If you call their office, they may be able to put you in touch with someone who can counsel you on this particular instance. It doesn't sound like anyone has done research about pregnant humans, but they might be able to give you some guidelines. I would think it would be hard to reach the actual doctors, but someone at their office might have some sympathy. If anyone is going to know to whom you should speak, it's going to be someone at that office.
posted by acoutu at 7:54 PM on May 13

I'm not a medical professional, but a quick search of PubMed comes up with several case studies that report women who were in a similar situation to your wife, and carried healthy babies to term.

If you can't access the articles that come up in the search, feel free to message me.
posted by minus zero at 8:04 PM on May 13

I'm so sorry you are in such a tough situation. I can't speak to the medical effects, but this is concerning: Our current doctor...is Japanese and just listens and occasionally sighs or says hmmmm when I ask these questions. Which in most cases would be comical, just not this time.

Please find a doctor who you are comfortable with and who will listen to you. You should always be able to ask questions, large and small, and get good, thoughtful answers... and most especially with a pregnancy. Best of luck to you and your wife.
posted by juliplease at 8:05 PM on May 13

Look, I'm not an expert on Botox, but people often do all kinds of harmful things to their bodies before they find out they're pregnant. I'm inclined to say that getting whipped up into a frenzy of stress is just as harmful as anything your wife put in her body a month into the pregnancy.

A cursory google search shows a LOT of people have the same question as you and most of the results seem to simply say, "We don't really know, but avoid." This is what they say for any drug that hasn't been tested specifically on pregnant women. I think you should proceed with the usual pregnancy health care, mention it to the doctor, and try not to get too stressed about what you can't change now.
posted by loiseau at 9:14 PM on May 13

There was a study published recently that indicated that Botox injected does not just stay where it's injected, and neurotoxic effects were noted elsewhere in the body.

Seems like a pretty stupid thing to do even if you're not pregnant. If you are then it is also reasonable to conclude that you may end up with a mildly Botox-infused baby - because it can cross the blood/brain barrier, it can probably cross the placenta and have neurotoxic effects on the baby. Probably not the best idea during early development...
posted by polyglot at 11:36 PM on May 13

(and on re-reading your question, I only now realise you're asking in a past-tense kind of way. I didn't mean to try to freak you out - could well be that the result will be nothing of importance at all. IANAD)
posted by polyglot at 11:42 PM on May 13

polyglot your answer is basically just wrong. As minus zero points out there are lots of case reports of both inadvertent and planned Botox during pregnancy, with no apparent side effects. You should not be speculating based on one animal study, even if reported in Newsweek, that Botox can cross the placenta. That isn't even remotely biologically plausible.

This is not the kind of medical problem where we are ever going to have good data to show that Botox is definitively safe in pregnancy, but based on current evidence there is no evidence of harm. The OP needs to try and relax, and seek the advice of a good obstetrician who can offer further reassurance.
posted by roofus at 1:53 AM on May 14 [1 favorite]

Couldn't you, or perhaps better your wife, just ask the doctor nicely to find out more about it? Being Japanese, his shaking his head and saying hmmmm would just mean he's not sure, which is (imo) a better answer than if he just gave you some answer off the top of his head. Or maybe your wife should ask the person(s) who gave her the Botox shots? It just feels like a case of miscommunication compounded by panic brought on by being in a place where you're not sure you're getting your point across. (I've been there, so I understand). In any case I feel that your wife may be the best person, not you, to get the necessary information.
posted by thread_makimaki at 3:59 AM on May 14

call your doctor.

for waht it's worth, here in the u.s., if i've ever undergone a medical procedure that might damage a developing fetus, they don't take your word about not being pregnant--they make you take a pregnancy test before proceeding.

so i'm thinking that if it was dangerous, they would have required your wife to take a pregnancy test.
posted by thinkingwoman at 4:31 AM on May 14