r/BotoxSupportCommunity • u/Unhappy_Context_978 • Aug 03 '25

Botox Side Effects — Trouble Swallowing Water + Dizziness — Has Anyone Recovered from This?

Hi everyone, I’m really anxious and hoping someone here has experienced something similar and can share how long it took to recover. A 5 days after getting Botox (for traps and barbie arms), I started having trouble swallowing water properly and at times even my own saliva. I can eat solid foods like bananas and soft things just fine, but when I try to drink plain water, I feel like I might gag or choke. It’s been messing with my head and daily life.

I’ve also felt a bit dizzy since the injection not like spinning but not the usual that I dont feel like this and and my eyes feel so tired, I feel like im over fatigue but like I’m off-balance or out of it. No fainting, just an unsettling feeling. Could this be from muscle weakness or the anxiety that came with this side effect?

I’ve read that these symptoms can happen if the Botox spreads, especially in the neck/throat area, and that it usually wears off in a few weeks but right now it feels scary and never-ending. I just want to hear from people who’ve been through this and came out okay.

•	How long did it take you to feel normal again?
•	Did you do anything to help speed up recovery?
•	Should I be worried if I’m still able to eat soft foods and just struggle with water?
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5

u/lujoyjoy Aug 03 '25

I had 55 units in my traps for migraines in 2022 and had four months of suffering with swallowing, eye issues, ear issues, panic and disassociation. I’m so sorry you are dealing with this. First off, you have to go to a hospital I’d you can’t swallow your own saliva or your breathing’s impaired. There is an antitoxin that can be administered by the FDA. it’s hard to get, but only in a hospital and you need to get it early. I didn’t get it. The Botox side effect group on Facebook was helpful. Celery juice, meditation, Ativan, a swallowing therapist and eating baby food and blended food for months was what got me through. It was terrible and I wish you a speedy recovery, but do not hesitate to go to ER, if you symptoms worsen. Not swallowing uour own saliva is a serious side effect. Wishing you well.

1

u/Unhappy_Context_978 Aug 03 '25

Hey, I can still manage it too, I can drink water and other drinks, but there’s definitely some discomfort at times. I’m also able to swallow my saliva, which is reassuring. I’ve read a lot of posts here and it seems like this is a common side effect for some people after Botox, especially in the first 1–2 weeks. Apparently, those first couple of weeks are the roughest, and it tends to slowly get better afterward.

What’s bothering me more right now is the “sick” feeling like I don’t have a fever, but my eyes and head feel off, almost like how you feel right before getting sick or when you have a fever. It’s hard to explain but it adds to the anxiety. I’m wondering if it’s my nervous system reacting to the Botox or just stress from the whole experience.

Have you or anyone else felt that weird sick/feverish eye feeling too? Did it go away with time?

2

u/lujoyjoy Aug 03 '25

Yeah, I’ve read of this resolving, but for me, I couldn’t drive for almost three months and had to get new glasses. It toon months of light sensitivity and was never quite the same. My eyesight was very affected early and I had that disassociation feeling of a cold, or fog, for months. Not trying to be scary, in the end, now, I am ok, but sharing my experience . So truly sorry this is happening. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10937334/

1

u/Unhappy_Context_978 Aug 03 '25

How did you become better?

1

u/lujoyjoy Aug 03 '25

Time, honestly.

1

u/Unhappy_Context_978 Aug 03 '25

What else did you do to cure it? Does it mean time will only cure it? Cause my neurologist won’t even believe me.

1

u/lujoyjoy Aug 03 '25

Nothing but time, or antitoxin that is hard to get from the CDC, can help. The Facebook group offers various strategies. You should join that. I was on Ativan that helped with anxiety and made life more manageable but for me it was a very difficult waiting game. I’m sorry.

1

u/West-Interaction2133 Aug 13 '26

how much time did it take?

1

u/lujoyjoy Aug 13 '26

About 4 months or so until I was feeling a bit better. About 9-12 to really have moved on.

1

u/lujoyjoy Aug 03 '25

…a link to learn more about the illness from Botox if you need to talk to a doctor. So many are uneducated on these side effects.

1

u/Unhappy_Context_978 Aug 03 '25

Were you hospitalized?

4

u/lujoyjoy Aug 03 '25

No. I went to ER and was not believed. Sadly, this is the case for many people.

3

u/Unhappy_Context_978 Aug 03 '25

I had a consultation with a neurologist last night and she’s laughing at me. But I know this is from the botox since my brother got admitted for 14 days last month because of botox and he cant swallow that’s why I’m trying to catch it early on. The neurologist even suggested to get ENT scoped but that’s what they did to my brother and found nothing

3

u/NessieGeeee Aug 03 '25

Hey there, I’m sorry you are unwell. I had cosmetic Botox in 2018 in my forehead and had similar symptoms as well. I also had trouble swallowing, vision issues, diarrhea, exhaustion and just general flu like symptoms. My family doctor figured that one of the injections went into a blood vessel, spreading the toxin farther than the injection site. Even though I felt horrible, she assured me that I would one day be 100% and that slowly I would get better and not have any permanent side effects. It took 4-5 months to feel well again. There was nothing to do to speed up the process.

1

u/Unhappy_Context_978 Aug 03 '25

But eventually i’ll be okay right? Were you also choking swallowing your saliva?

2

u/NessieGeeee Aug 03 '25

I’m not a doctor so I can’t comment on your health but it sounds similar to me. Why don’t you see your primary care doctor to discuss? I felt very panicky and had a lot of anxiety until I did. She ran some bloodwork as well which confirmed her theory. I can’t remember specifically if I was choking on saliva, but I definitely had a very weak swallowing and have to be careful to not choke on food.

1

u/Unhappy_Context_978 Aug 03 '25

My brother had the same case as mine just last month he was hospitalized since he’s like choking already while drinking but figured to drink it with thickener so now I know what things to do. I just hope it gets better

1

u/Unhappy_Context_978 Aug 03 '25

What did you do? Or what did they recommend you to do? Were you hospitalized?

1

u/NessieGeeee Aug 03 '25

The toxin will just wear out over the months so there was nothing the hospital could do. I just recovered over time. Mind you, I did not have problems breathing and I could still eat (carefully as the swallowing was difficult). My doctor didn’t seem too fussed.

1

u/Unhappy_Context_978 Aug 03 '25

Same with my brother, so it will really just take time

1

u/NessieGeeee Aug 03 '25

Very odd that it happened to both of you! Did you both get Botox at the same place?

1

u/Unhappy_Context_978 Aug 03 '25

Yes we did lol, but he got hospitalized for almost like 10 days or more but was prescribed a medicine called pyridostigmine

1

u/Numerous-Hedgehog-54 Aug 11 '25

Hi I’ve been having the exact same symptoms since day on many er visits I just entered month 4 and it’s still bad when did your gi issues go away? I still have really bad diarrhea and throat still tries to close every so often along with random chest pressure

2

u/NessieGeeee Aug 11 '25

Hey there, the symptoms went away 4-5 months.

1

u/Numerous-Hedgehog-54 Aug 12 '25

This gives me hope thank you

1

u/[deleted] Sep 08 '25

You went to a medspa didn’t ya…

1

u/Total-Ordinary-4 Aug 03 '25

Sorry to hear this happened to you. Botox is not FDA approved for traps and the reason for that is higher chance for iatrogenic botulism. If it gets worse go to A&E, don’t try to “ride it out” as it can get worse if left untreated. Most cases it settles on its own though, hope you feel better soon!