Woman Details How Botox Left Her Paralyzed From "Rare Complication"
Originally appeared on E! Online
Botox isn't always worth giving a shot.
At least, that's been the case for author Alicia Hallock, who was hospitalized after a "scary" experience with the cosmetic injectable.
"I ended up having a rare complication from my Botox injections for my migraines," she revealed in a Feb. 17 Instagram. "It spread to muscles in my neck and now it's created many issues. My eyelids are droopy, causing a lot of pressure, blurry vision, and dizziness. The muscles in my neck are essentially paralyzed so I can't lift my own head."
The 35-year-old also developed dysphagia—a condition that makes it difficult or sometimes impossible to swallow, per Cleveland Clinic—which she said has been the most challenging side effect.
"I experienced a couple of days where I was choking on sips of water and even my own saliva," she continued her post. "I've had 6 tubes shoved down my throat to get up all the mucus that's stuck in my lungs and throat. I can barely talk."
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Botox, which is a form of botulinum toxin type A, is derived from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum—the same toxin that causes life-threatening food poisoning, per a study cited in the National Library of Medicine.
And although Botox is FDA-approved to treat chronic migraines (in addition to other medical conditions), the brand discloses on its website that potential side effects include blurred vision, drooping eyelids, loss of bladder control and difficulty swallowing, speaking and breathing.
While Hallock noted her doctors haven't seen this many adverse reactions to Botox in a person, the brand warns on its site that it may spread from the area it was originally administered.
According to a 2019 medical review, found in the National Library of Medicine archives, "Botulinum toxin can spread to a distance of 30–45 mm from the injected muscles to adjacent muscles. Paralysis of the wrong muscles leads to dysphonia, dysphagia or dystonia."
Hallock—who received the botulinum anti-toxin 10 days after the initial injection because she waited "so long" to get checked—explained that her symptoms might take months to subside.
"Unfortunately, no matter how much therapy and time I put into this recovery, a lot of my healing is simply going to come with time," she detailed on Instagram March 3. "Time for the Botox to fully wear off, and for things to become functional again. Only then can I learn to reuse and build those muscles."
Despite her long road ahead, the Beautifully Broken author celebrated a few milestones in her recovery. "My swallowing is getting better and better!!" she shared in the post. "I've been able to drink one Ensure Clear drink daily, which means instead of 5 tube feeds everyday, I'm only on 4!!"
Hallock is also more mobile, noting that she's able to do 10 minutes of exercise on a stationary bike, walk a quarter of a mile and walk up and down a row of stairs.
"I am stable enough to walk around my room and the hallways on my own, without the aid of a nurse or family member!!" she explained, before adding, "I can actually hold my own head up again without the c-collar on!! Only for a few minutes before it becomes too tiring and overwhelming, but it's a baby step in the right direction."
After nearly three weeks in the hospital, Hallock finally returned home and reunited with her loved ones.
"This is the most mentally taxing thing I've ever been through," she expressed, "even more so than my lung surgery I think. I feel devastated for myself and my family that all this happened, but I also feel incredibly blessed to be here still and so proud of myself for walking through this how I have."
While Hallock's situation isn't typically the norm, she isn't alone in sharing her experience with injectables. Keep reading to see what celebrities have said about their treatments.
<p>Martha Stewart</p>
After years of denying cosmetic procedures, the lifestyle expert recently confessed in the Feb. 8 episode of her eponymous podcast that she gets Botox, fillers and lasers to tighten her skin. "I don't think a lot about age," she explained, "but I don't want to look my age."
<p>Tori Spelling</p>
The Beverly Hills, 90210 star has spoken publicly about her nose job and her breast implants.
<p>Sharon Osbourne</p>
In addition to getting candid on using Ozempic for weight loss, the talk show host admitted that her 2021 facelift was "the worst thing that I ever did," explaining in December 2023, "I looked like Cyclops."
<p>Lady Gaga</p>
"I've never had any work-work done, but I went through a phase when I was smoking pot when I was really obsessed with getting facial injections," the "Born This Way" singer told radio host Howard Stern in 2013. "I was going to this strip mall in Chicago in the back…Everybody was like, 'You are a nut job.'...I'm telling you, I wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind, and I would smoke a bunch of joints and have some drinks and I would be like, 'Oh, let's go see my girl' and we would drive to this strip mall and I would get shot up with a bunch of whatever, Juvéderm, and then leave."
She continued, "Now all the stuff is gone. Before I shot the 'Applause' video, [a photographer friend] was like, 'Gaga, I love you but if you don't stop injecting s--t in your face I'm going to just kill you.'"
<p>Bethenny Frankel</p>
The Real Housewives of New York star got breast implants in 2005, but removed them in 2008.
"Now I feel comfortable," she told Life & Style. "If there's something you're not comfortable with and you can correct it, great."
<p>Olivia Colman</p>
The Crown star revealed that she's a fan of Botox. "I've had loads," the 50-year-old told BBC Radio 2.
<p>Julie Chen</p>
In 2013, The Talk co-host revealed on the show that she got plastic surgery at the beginning of her career in order to make her eyes look bigger.
"And after I had it done, the ball did roll for me," she said. "And I wondered, did I give in to the man?"
She added, "I have to live with every decision that I've made. And it got me to where we are today. And I'm not going to look back."
<p>Jamie Lee Curtis</p>
"I've done it all," the actress told The Telegraph in 2002. "I've had a little plastic surgery. I've had a little lipo. I've had a little Botox. And you know what? None of it works. None of it."
<p>Jennifer Aniston</p>
"I had [a deviated septum] fixed–best thing I ever did," the actress told People in 2007. "I slept like a baby for the first time in years. As far as all the other [rumors], as boring as it sounds, it's still mine. All of it. Still mine."
<p>NeNe Leakes</p>
In 2010, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star revealed that she had had a nose job, a breast lift and liposuction.
"I'm very comfortable and confident in myself," she told People. "I just wanted a tune up."
<p>Kim Zolciak</p>
In 2015, the reality star called Dr. Lenny Hochstein her "boob God" doctor for giving her perky breasts. Of course, the reality TV personality has been an open book about her other procedures, including a tummy tuck and lip injections.
<p>Lisa Rinna</p>
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star had her lips injected with silicone at age 24. In 2010, she had some of the filler removed.
"I find it so interesting that it's become such a big thing because I can't tell you how many girls have done their lips. I feel like I'm a pioneer," she said on Today in 2013. "I was one of the first ones to ever do it and be honest about it."She also said, "I would do it again. I never had a career before I had the lips so my lips have had their own career!"
<p>Heidi Montag</p>
In 2009, at just 23 years old, the Hills star underwent a head-to-toe transformation, having 10 cosmetic procedures done in one day. In addition to Botox, chin reductions and a nose job, the reality star also got fat injections in her lips.
<p>Iggy Azalea</p>
The Aussie rapper said in the April 2015 issue of Vogue magazine that she got breast implants. "I did change something: Four months ago, I got bigger boobs! I'd thought about it my entire life," she revealed.
<p>Tyra Banks</p>
In her memoir, Perfect Is Boring, the supermodel revealed that she went under the knife early in her career. "I had bones in my nose that were growing and itching," she wrote in her book. "I could breathe fine, but I added cosmetic surgery. I admit it! Fake hair, and I did my nose."
<p>Kim Kardashian</p>
"I really, genuinely care about looking good," the SKKN founder told Allure for its August 2022 issue. "I probably care more than 90 percent of the people on this planet. It's not easy when you're a mom and you're exhausted at the end of the day or you're in school, and I'm all of the above. I do my beauty treatments usually late at night. After everyone's in bed, I'm doing laser treatments."
Kim revealed she's also gotten "a little bit of Botox," but hasn't dabbled with filler on her lips or cheeks, revealing, "No filler. Never filled either one, ever."
<p>Kristin Cavallari</p>
During an Instagram Stories Q&A on Aug. 23, the reality TV star didn't shy away from answering a fan's question about her boobs. "Gonna keep it real with y'all," Kristin began her response. "Got a lift after breast feeding all 3 kids."
While The Hills alum isn't opposed to cosmetic procedures, she admitted she's "never done" Botox.
"It's not for me. But I've seen it look amazing on some people," she wrote. "My concern is that we don't know the long term effects of it (and I don't mean 5-10 years, I mean like 20 years) and I think your face is muscle, so we need to work it out the same way we would any other muscle."
<p>John Stamos</p>
In his new memoir, If You Would Have Told Me, John opened up about feeling insecure with his appearance, which led him to get two nose jobs. "That nose," he wrote. "It bothers me."
"My nose looks kind of pushed up like Peter Pan or something," he shared of the initial procedure. "So on my next hiatus, I have it redone by Michael Jackson's plastic surgeon."
<p>Sia</p>
The singer recently revealed she got a facelift.
"I'm a pop star that normally hides my face and doesn't lie about s--t," she said at the 5th annual Daytime Beauty Awards in Los Angeles on Oct. 1.. "I got an amazing face lift from Dr. Ben Talei. He is incredible. And he is doing so much good work—and not just for the pop stars of the world."
<p>Nicki Minaj</p>
The rapper revealed she recent went under the knife. "I had to get a breast reduction," she told Vogue in a cover story published Nov. 9, "and actually I love it. I used to want a bigger butt, and now I look back and realize how silly that was."
Vanessa Williams
Vanessa recently shared the cosmetic treatments she gets, telling Page Six, "I'm due for Botox. I don't do filler and I have so much full movement that there is no Botox at all."
When asked if she's thought about going under the knife, she replied, "That would be the one thing that I would probably put off for the very last thing. The technology now for lifting, sculpting, tightening, is incredible. And there's a machine for anything. I just got a microcurrent thing for your neck, it was called Forma and it's like a total package facial."
Kim Cattrall
The Sex and the City alum opened up about why she receives cosmetic injectables.
"I'm in my 60s now and I'm all about battling aging in every way I can," Kim told The Sunday Times in an interview published June 4. "There are fillers, Botox, there's so many different things that you can investigate and try and see if it's for you. It's not just a vanity thing."
Blac Chyna
The reality star underwent several cosmetic procedures over the years. In March 2023, she underwent breast and butt reduction surgery and got her facial fillers dissolved. The following May, as she celebrated her 35th birthday, she reflected on her previous look on Instagram, saying in a video, "I was looking at old pictures, you guys. That face was looking crazy."
Genevieve Padalecki
In April 2023, The actress, wife of Supernatural alum Jared Padalecki, revealed on Kimberly Van Der Beek and Peggy Rometo's podcast Bathroom Chronicles that she got a breast augmentation a year and a half prior and then had her implants removed after she found she could not exercise as long as she used to and felt joint pain.
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