Health5 min(s) read
Published 13:29 09 May 2026 GMT
Since being administered Botox injections to help treat the symptoms of a brain tumour, Andrea O’Brien has been diagnosed with eight different diseases and long-term health issues, which have led her to consider assisted dying.
Chronic fatigue, jaundice, spinal curvature, muscular atrophy, and suicidal thoughts are just some of the long-lasting side effects she has suffered in the nearly four and a half years since the injections.
O’Brien was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2017, and three years later, she was referred to a neurologist who prescribed Botox injections in her head, neck, shoulders, jaw, forehead, and temples to help treat the migraines and other symptoms she was experiencing.
Almost immediately, she began to feel severely unwell.
But what she did not realize was that she had been poisoned, and these symptoms would stay with her for the next four and a half years, and probably end her life.
O’Brien now has Latrogenic botulism, a rare but life-threatening condition caused by toxins sometimes contained in Botox used for medical or aesthetic purposes.
The 64-year-old Remedial Therapist’s initial symptoms were an elevated heart rate, breathlessness, partial paralysis, burning skin with a whole body rash, and jaundice.
Just hours after being administered the Botox injections by a neurologist that she thought she could trust, O’Brien began experiencing an alarming reaction.
“I couldn't breathe, I was writhing around like I'd been bitten by a poisonous fish,” she told VT.
Then an alarming rash appeared that left her so badly burnt she “looked like a zombie”.
Much like if she had been bitten by a poisonous sea creature, O’Brien needed an anti-toxin treatment within the first 48 hours of being injected to dilute the potency of the poison, allowing her immune system to recover.
Instead, she was sent home after being told it was a psychological issue, probably just bad anxiety, but this was only the beginning.
Over the next 12 months, O'Brien was admitted to the ER 17 times and continually gaslighted.
Despite receiving incremental treatment for the individual symptoms, they never tackled the problem or resolved any of the long-term issues.
The last effects of the Botox injections have left her in chronic pain daily, leaving her unable to get out of bed or eat for days at a time, and O’Brien no longer saw the point in living.
She claims that she has had suicidal thoughts since she was administered the injections four and a half years ago, but began considering travelling to Switzerland to receive Euthanasia around a year ago when she inherited a sum of money.
“I am very stoic and put on a brave face in public, but at home I am close to euthanasia,” O’Brien said.
Describing the pain, she told VT, “The physical anxiety symptoms were so bad I thought I was dying, I thought I was going to jump off a building in panic.
“I have a constant burning sensation in my head and spine, and the pressure and tenderness mean I can't even wash my hair properly. My muscles feel so damaged, muscle weakness still has a very long-term effect, and I'm chronically fatigued all the time.”
Although the tumour O’Brien was diagnosed with almost 10 years ago is non-cancerous, it still needs treatment, but because of the level of toxins in her blood, the anesthetic required to go under the knife could be fatal, essentially making her inoperable.
It was only when O’Brien was admitted to the hospital with difficulty breathing that the doctors finally began taking her pleas for help seriously.
Explaining this moment, O’Brien said, “I had evidence of scarring in my lungs, they thought it was asbestos, and then one doctor said no, that's Botox”.
However, it was too late as the damage had been done, and she was not administered an anti-toxin that could have prevented the now-lasting life-changing symptoms.
To make matters even worse, doctors now also suspect cancer elsewhere in her system, but because of the condition her health is already in, there is little they are willing to do to investigate it.
The grandmother of two said, “I've lost my health, I've lost height, and I've lost weight, and I've lost muscle, and they think I’ve got cancer, I'm quite scared, I don't know how long I've got.”
“I thought my condition would improve after Botox, but I came out a million times worse off”.
Thankfully, the arrival of her second grandchild last year has injected some joy into O’Brien’s life, and although she is not ruling out flying to Switzerland to end her life in the future, for now, she is enjoying time with them and campaigning tirelessly to prevent others from receiving the treatment she did.
Tragically, O’Brien said, "I don't want to continue suffering, I am only sticking around for my grandchildren.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
