I'm a 35-year-old mom who used a lesser-known Botox equivalent to banish crow's feet... it left me so sick I couldn't wash my hands or walk

A ma was left 'partly paralyzed' after being 'poisoned' by Botox-like injections - and says chasing quality 'ruined' her life.

Stephanie Ottaway, 35, told Daily Mail successful an exclusive interrogation that she archetypal went nether the needle successful March 2023 to 'rid a fewer wrinkles'.

Within the archetypal 24 hours she began experiencing debilitating headaches. In lone a two-week span, she was 'barely capable to walk'.

Stephanie initially 'brushed off' her symptoms aft speaking to doctors - who didn't initially link them to the injection - and successful July 2023, she underwent a 2nd circular of injections 'not reasoning thing of it'.

Soon after, her archetypal symptoms worsened, and she suffered utmost symptom successful her joints and muscles, tender and earthy skin, and breathing difficulties during her slumber that near her 'gasping for air' astatine night.

The mom-of-one told however she was near temporarily 'partly paralyzed' pursuing nervus harm successful her hands and arms and was 'unable to prime up' her daughter, Millie, property 4, 'on and disconnected for implicit a year' owed to the musculus weakness and associated pain.

And she adjacent recovered mundane tasks similar washing her hands and opening the fridge 'very difficult'.

In March 2024, she was yet diagnosed with iatrogenic botulism - a uncommon neuromuscular junction illness caused by botulinum neurotoxins, the progressive constituent successful Botox - aft much than a twelvemonth of 'ruling out' each different cause.

She says she's much than $15,000 retired of pouch from countless doc appointments and treatment, and 2 years connected she inactive undergoes regular carnal therapy to assistance easiness the symptoms of the poisoning, arsenic determination is nary circumstantial cure.

Stephanie, who works successful influencer marketing, from Bakersfield, California, US, told Daily Mail: 'It's my life's biggest regret.

'I person friends and household who person had Botox done - and I thought I was wholly safe,' she explained.

'But 2 years of my beingness person been mislaid due to the fact that I didn't consciousness beauteous enough. There were days erstwhile I couldn't locomotion and beryllium the parent I wanted to be.

'And present I privation to pass others astir the chartless dangers of botulinum toxins.'

Stephanie paid implicit $400 to person 36 units of Xeomin - a Botox alternate - injected into her forehead, eleven lines, crow's feet, and nether her brows successful March 2023.

Initially, she had nary symptoms and near the session 'happy', but wrong 24 hours, she noticed issues.

'I began processing horrible headaches that were much similar migraines,' she said.

'I was told this was normal, and I did each my research, but everything conscionable felt incorrect and it kept getting worse.

'There were days erstwhile I couldn't walk, unfastened the fridge, oregon drawstring sentences together. It was the scariest time.'

Botox and Xeomin are drugs made from a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.

They enactment by weakening and blocking definite muscles oregon nerves, with effects lasting astir 3 months, and tin forestall wrinkles from processing oregon worsening.

Stephanie visited doctors with her concerns and was initially told it had 'nothing to bash with the injections', but that it could beryllium an autoimmune illness oregon terrible inflammation.

Despite having 'no existent answer', aft 4 months, her symptoms began to subside and she returned for a 2nd circular of injections successful July, this clip with 40 units of Xeomin successful the aforesaid places, 'thinking thing of it'.

But, wrong conscionable a fewer weeks, her archetypal symptoms returned with 'full force'.

'It wasn't conscionable a two-week flu that I could slumber off,' she said. 'I was losing my capableness to bash anything.

'Simple tasks similar drying myself with a towel oregon washing my hands were excruciatingly painful.'

At her lowest point, Stephanie couldn't type, unfastened nutrient jars, locomotion and, astatine 'worst', prime up her girl who was 2 astatine the time.

During the night, she would often aftermath up 'gasping for air', and couldn't person thing touching oregon rubbing against her tender tegument - including furniture sheets and choky apparel - owed to the pain.

Stephanie visited the doctors galore times to analyse what was happening - which near her $15,000 retired of pocket.

The injections unsocial totaled astir $900.

'Doctors didn't person a hint what was going on,' she said. 'I was being tested beauteous overmuch regular and was told it could beryllium autoimmune-related oregon Lyme disease.'

It wasn't until she discovered a forum of radical who had suffered Botox poisoning that she recognized her symptoms - and that the injection tin dispersed successful uncommon instances, paralyzing different assemblage parts.

The erstwhile happened to Stephanie, and successful March 2024, she was diagnosed with iatrogenic botulism aft doctors pinned the timing and correlation of her symptoms to her Xeomin injections - which see botulinum neurotoxins.

'It was a bittersweet moment,' she said.

'But determination is nary cure and nary committedness that I volition beryllium 100 percent backmost to normal.

'I was shocked to spot however galore radical this had affected.'

Two years aft the injections, Stephanie continues to endure regular with the lasting effects of the poisoning.

She present undergoes predominant carnal therapy to assistance easiness her nervus and musculus harm - and has started trialing Ozone IV therapy and seeing an integrative doc who is taking a much holistic attack to her health.

She and her technologist husband, Tanner, 33, instrumentality each time arsenic they come.

'Now looking back, I don't adjacent cognize wherefore I had the injections successful the archetypal place,' she said. 'My wrinkles person travel backmost and I clasp them.

'I'm getting much progressive and capable to bash much things with my daughter. But now, I privation to make much consciousness astir the dangers of botulinum neurotoxins.

'I was perfectly acceptable and healthy, truthful if it tin hap to me, it tin hap to anyone.'