Clinical Treatment

Botox® for Chronic Migraine

An FDA-approved preventive for chronic migraine — a 15-minute in-clinic visit every 12 weeks, performed by our migraine providers.

Understanding Chronic Migraine

When headache days won't let up — and preventives aren't enough

Chronic migraine is defined as 15 or more headache days per month — half of your life spent with headache. It is a specific diagnosis, distinct from episodic migraine, and it often develops after years of progressively more frequent attacks.

Most patients arrive having already tried the standard step: daily oral preventive medications. When those fail — or stop helping, or cause side effects you can't live with — many people are told there is nothing left to try. That is exactly where interventional treatment begins.

  • 15+ headache days per month, for at least 3 months
  • Inadequate relief from daily oral preventive medications
  • Headache that is starting to dictate work, family, and daily life
A clinician reviewing treatment options during a consultation
Last reviewed: October 2026
What Botox® Treatment Is

An FDA-approved preventive, delivered in a 15-minute office visit

Botox® (onabotulinumtoxinA) is an FDA-approved preventive treatment — approved specifically for chronic migraine, not episodic migraine, and it is not a rescue medicine for an active headache. It works by reducing the activity of the nerves involved in migraine, and its effect builds across treatment cycles.

Using a very fine needle, our migraine providers place a series of small injections around the head and neck — the forehead, temples, back of the head, neck, and shoulders. There is no sedation and no downtime. Most patients return to their normal day immediately.

~15-minute visit
A quick in-clinic appointment — no sedation, no recovery period, no downtime afterward.
Small injections
A series of tiny injections around the forehead, temples, back of the head, neck, and shoulders, using a fine needle.
Preventive, not rescue
It reduces headache days over time. It is not a medicine you take for an active attack.
FDA-approved for chronic migraine
An established preventive specifically for patients with 15+ headache days per month.
Who It Is For

Chronic migraine, and preventives that haven't done enough

You have a chronic migraine diagnosis
15 or more headache days per month. Episodic migraine — fewer than 15 headache days — is treated differently, and Botox® is not approved for it.
Oral preventives haven't given you adequate relief
You've taken the daily medications, and the headache days still won't come down — or the side effects outweigh the benefit.
Not sure whether you qualify?
At your consultation, our migraine providers review your headache history and confirms the diagnosis. If Botox® isn't the right fit — or isn't enough on its own — the rest of the interventional pathway is already here.
What to Expect

A provider you'll see every 12 weeks

Your first step is a consultation with one of our migraine providers. They review your migraine history, what you've tried, and your headache frequency — and confirm whether Botox® is the right preventive for you.

1
Consultation with our migraine providers
A detailed review of your headache history and prior treatments. If Botox® is appropriate, it is scheduled from there.
2
Your first treatment — about 15 minutes
A series of small injections around the head and neck. No sedation, no downtime — you return to your day right after.
3
Every 12 weeks
The treatment repeats on a 12-week cycle for as long as it continues to help.
4
Response tracked over the first cycles
Some patients notice improvement within the first couple of weeks; the full effect is assessed over the first two treatment cycles.
A clinician speaking with a patient in the exam room
The Cortex Pathway

One pathway. Every rung, in the same building.

Most practices offer one rung and send you elsewhere for the rest. At Cortex Migraine, the whole interventional ladder lives here — so if one step doesn't deliver enough relief, the next one doesn't require starting over.

01
Medications
Oral preventives are the standard first step. For many patients they help; for others they aren't enough or the side effects are limiting.
02
Botox®You are here
An FDA-approved interventional preventive delivered in the clinic — a 15-minute visit every 12 weeks, led by our migraine providers.
03
The lidocaine test
A predictive test that shows — before any permanent decision — whether the target pathway is driving your migraines.
04
TEMMA®
The single embolization procedure that closes the pathway for good. Test-first, 40 minutes, home the same day.
If Botox® alone is not enough
The next steps don't require going anywhere else. Your history, imaging, and specialist are already here — your history, your imaging, and your specialist are already here.
Your Providers

Care from our migraine providers

Every provider at Cortex Migraine treats one condition: migraine. Our migraine providers lead comprehensive evaluation, Botox® treatment for chronic migraine, and structured follow-up across our clinics — the same coordinated team from your first consultation through every treatment cycle.
Insurance & Coverage

Typically covered for chronic migraine

An established indication
Botox® for chronic migraine is typically covered by insurance when the diagnosis is documented — it is an established, FDA-approved indication, not an experimental one.
We handle the paperwork
Our team verifies your benefits before treatment and handles the documentation your insurer requires — you focus on the treatment, not the forms.
Botox® for Chronic Migraine

Common questions

Ready to address your headache days?

Meet with our migraine providers and find out whether Botox® is the right preventive for you.

Request a ConsultationCall (833) 4-CORTEX