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Talkin' Tox
a blog about all things botulinum toxin and iatrogenic botulism
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Botox Adverse Effects Q&A Tool
Try our NEW Q&A tool to get quick answers to your botulism questions. It's like ChatGPT… but actually trained on this . You can ask questions about Botox adverse effects and get answers based on real data, research, and the collective experiences in this community. Link here: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/e22e2ea8-aa7a-4911-8513-c96c5284d86f As always- this is NOT medical advice, it is a resource tool to help you navigate and understand Botox adverse effects and indi
Megan McCue
Mar 17


Analysis of Botox Survey Results
I’ve spent months collecting survey responses from individuals who experienced adverse effects after botulinum toxin injections. I wanted to walk through some of the most relevant findings from the data. (All identifying information has been removed. Data is self-reported.) 1. The Most Common Symptoms (And What They Suggest Neurologically) Top Reported Symptoms Symptom Approx % Anxiety / panic attacks ~90% Fatigue ~85% Brain fog / cognitive impairment ~85% Muscle weakness ~80
Megan McCue
Mar 16


Muscle Spasms, Tremors, and Twitches in Botulism
One of the most confusing things people report after botulinum toxin exposure is this: “If the toxin causes paralysis… why am I twitching, jerking, or having spastic movements?” At first glance it seems completely backwards. Botulinum toxin is famous for blocking nerve signals and causing weakness and paralysis. So why would something that shuts muscles down end up causing tremors, spasms, or twitching ? The short answer is this: the nervous system hates losing signals. When
Megan McCue
Mar 9


Getting Real About Life After Botox Poisoning
I want to get real about what life after Botox poisoning can look and feel like for many of us. No sugar coating, no filter. If you only know me virtually, you'd probably think I'm doing great. I'm writing books, running a support group, a website, and a podcast, and promoting a documentary. I talk loudly about what happened to us and why the world needs to pay attention. But I never want my loud and strong voice to fool anyone. It doesn't mean that I don't also struggle with
Megan McCue
Mar 3


Cognitive, Swallowing & Speech Problems After Botox
Botulinum toxin is familiar territory for many speech-language pathologists- it's a medical treatment we learn about in controlled clinical contexts. What we are far less trained to recognize are patients who later develop unexplained changes in cognition, swallowing, or speech that don’t fit neatly into established diagnoses. I became one of those patients in 2024 after receiving just 12 units of Xeomin cosmetically. Within weeks, I developed debilitating cognitive symptoms
Megan McCue
Feb 25


How Botulism Affects Hormones
Many people will notice hormone-related symptoms after botulinum toxin poisoning, even if their lab tests look “normal.” For some of us, it looks like an increase in symptoms around our period, or disrupted menstrual cycles, or even full-blown early onset menopause. This post will help explain what's going on with our hormones when we are poisoned. The big picture Botulism affects the nervous system first. Hormones are controlled by the nervous system. W hen nerve signaling
Megan McCue
Feb 4


Tips for Fight or Flight Episodes
Hi all. The past few months, I have been using AI as a tool to learn more about botulism and all of the ways it can disrupt the autonomic nervous system. As many of you know, this disruption can lead to the dreaded fight/flight episodes, heart palpitations, and/or "air hunger" sensations, even though our oxygen saturations are normal, and hospital testing tells us we're "fine". I had AI put together a short post (and I read through and edited as needed) about things that can
Megan McCue
Jan 31


Recovering From Botulism PDF
My new PDF "Recovering from Botulism" can be downloaded, printed and SHARED with friends, family, and medical professionals. The goal of this PDF is to serve as a well-organized, easy-to-read guide for learning more about botulism recovery - including possible symptoms, how the body heals from botulism, and strategies that may help manage symptoms. Most importantly, I want to emphasize that recovery from botulism depends on healing the whole body, not just treating isolated s
Megan McCue
Dec 22, 2025


A-Z Symptom Helper
Click on a symptom below to see what practices/supplements/drugs helped relieve that symptom for fellow sufferers. This list was created via the input of members in our Facebook support group . Please note that none of this is medical advice . ALWAYS work closely with a trusted healthcare provider before beginning or discontinuing ANY supplements or medications. **What works for one person, can cause a worsening of symptoms for others, so please use your common sense, do your
Megan McCue
Dec 13, 2025


Guest Post: Healing MCAS After Botulism by Joelle Murray
Joelle developed MCAS after Botox in 2024 When I developed botulism from cosmetic Botox, it sent my entire body into a meltdown I didn’t know was possible. My mast cells became hyperreactive, my breathing felt suffocated, my nervous system was stuck in fight or flight, and the simplest things—walking, eating, smelling perfume—suddenly became threats. The Study That Haunted Me and the Turning Point That Saved Me Somewhere in those early months when my body felt like it was unr
Megan McCue
Dec 1, 2025


Side Effect Screening for BoNT patients
Below is a printable PDF that providers can use to screen patients receiving BoNT injections. Ideally, this would be given to patients at every single visit, to identify patients who are potentially experiencing symptoms of toxin spread. Feel free to download and edit as needed.
Megan McCue
Nov 5, 2025


Key Takeaways from my Chat with Brenda Wilson, PhD.
I wanted to share some key takeaways from a Zoom call I had with Dr. Brenda Wilson, a microbiologist and professor at the University of...
Megan McCue
Jun 30, 2025


Hospitals and Clinicians Familiar with Iatrogenic Botulism
Here is a growing list of hospitals and/or physicians that are familiar with the signs/symptoms of iatrogenic botulism and have treated IB patients: (Please email metoxpretty@gmail.com to add a hospital/clinician to this list) USA California Monterey - CHOMP (Dr. Hage) Monterey/Salinas - Dr. Steven Regwan (DO, cardiologist) Sacramento - UC Davis Sacramento - Sutter Downtown Temecula - Temecula Center for Integrative Medicine Oregon Gresham - Legacy Mt. Hood Hospital Texas Da
Megan McCue
Jun 18, 2025


Survey Results
Here are screenshots of the survey results so far. Email me at metoxpretty@gmail.com if you want to see the results for a specific question not listed here. LAST UPDATED 3/11/2026
Megan McCue
May 23, 2025


Important Considerations for Botulism Patients
The following is a list of important considerations for physicians who are caring for those with iatrogenic botulism. Here is a full list...
Megan McCue
Apr 27, 2025


Research Hub
***THIS SECTION IS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS. PLEASE BE PATIENT*** The following is a growing list of medical research related to iatrogenic botulism. **HINT: It is important to always look for the funding source when looking at any research pertaining to botulinum toxin injections. This is a powerful, $11 billion dollar industry, and thus much of the research is industry-funded. Companies that make BoNT products (and fund a lot of the research for new uses of these products) inc
Megan McCue
Apr 27, 2025


Sample ER Protocol for Identifying Iatrogenic Botulism
Created by Megan McCue: www.iatrogenicbotulism.com ***THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE; IT IS A SAMPLE PROTOCOL THAT HOSPITALS CAN USE/EDIT IN...
Megan McCue
Apr 26, 2025


Botulinum Toxin Product Inserts
The following is a list of the current botulinum toxin product inserts and safety information. If you inject patients with these...
Megan McCue
Apr 26, 2025


Botulism and MCAS
Grass-fed steak is an MCAS-friendly superfood I wanted to put together some information about MCAS and histamine intolerances that can often be triggered by iatrogenic botulism. In one study, 62% of iatrogenic botulism suffered from NEW onsets of food and product intolerances (histamine reactions) in the months after poisoning. In my own Facebook Group Botox Adverse Effects Survey, about 52% of people surveyed reported suffering from a new onset of MCAS and/or histamine intol
Megan McCue
Apr 24, 2025


Surprising Botox Adverse Effects
I wanted to share just a few of the most surprising adverse effects I've uncovered while reading through the package inserts for all...
Megan McCue
Mar 16, 2025
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