Edwardsville sits close to the I-270 corridor, which makes the crossing to the Missouri side and on to Woodson Road one of the more direct runs from Madison County.
The number that decides your options
More treatment decisions turn on headache days per month than on how severe the attacks are. Fifteen or more headache days a month, of which at least eight have migraine features, sustained beyond three months, is chronic migraine. Below that line it is episodic.
This is not bureaucratic hair-splitting. Botox is indicated for chronic migraine and not for episodic, because the trials in people below fifteen days did not demonstrate benefit. See chronic or episodic migraine.
Why people undercount and lose access
The count includes headache days of any type and any severity — not just the days you lost. The mild days you worked through, the ones you treated early and forgot about, the dull background ache on waking: all of them count. Undercounting is the single most common reason someone is told they do not qualify for a treatment they would in fact qualify for.
Bring a month of counted days rather than an estimate. A calendar with a mark on it beats a recollection every time. What the injection protocol actually involves is described in who qualifies for Botox.
If you are below the threshold
Then Botox is not indicated and we will say so rather than stretch the criteria. The conversation moves to acute treatment that works and to prevention appropriate for episodic migraine — see Botox for chronic migraine for the boundary, and headache prevention for what else is available.
Common questions
How long before I know whether Botox is working?
Plan on two to three cycles, roughly six months. Benefit accumulates rather than arriving at once, and judging it on a single round is the most common mistake. See who qualifies.
Is this the same as cosmetic Botox?
No — different injection sites, different dose, different purpose. A cosmetic pattern does not treat migraine. See Botox for chronic migraine.
Can I combine it with nerve blocks?
They are not mutually exclusive and do different jobs, one preventive and one often diagnostic. Which combination fits depends on your pattern — see occipital nerve block.