Hi GoodNPlenty,
You seem to be in the same exact boot I am in now. I am on the waiting list for Dr. Schwartzman since Nov 06...when they told me they would call me and I would be in there in Jan 07 sometime. Well, around Jan 15th when I had not heard from them I called them to see my status and they had no idea who I was. I was furious and told them it was inhumane of them to tell me I had to wait two months for it and then come to find out now it will take anywhere from 6 -12 months to wait for the in-hospital Ketamine IV. I had the Lidocaine IV in June 06 and it was really rough for me. It did bring the pain down from a 10+/10 to an 8/10 so I would take any decrease at any time even now. So, I wait until then and pray it works for me. I guess it is very hard for them to tell each person it does work and then when it doesn't the patient would be devastated. I think it better they give us the scoop up front and that is one thing I really like about Dr. Schwartzman and his staff. They will lay it on the line and let you know either way what can and will happen so it prepared you mentally for it to go either way. With RSD Dr. S. knows how mentally broken we are as well as our bodies and he is genuinely concerned with each of his patients. I do have a next appt with him in August and probably will have my Ketamine done for a xmas present. Pretty crazy life we lead. I am thankful to see others going through what I go through. We are really survivors with all this mess that is for sure.

Dear Debbiehub,
I was at the Hospital for Special Services in Manhatten in Feb 2007 for a really specified MRI and they were really great there but I didn't realize they have the Ketamine there too.

I feel bad for those having to come into the area from California. I live 13 NE of Philly and would happy to look into hotels or anything anyone would need for this area or if anyone has any questions about the area that I could help out. Also, the hospital should be able to tell you what hotels are in the area. Just be careful around Hahneman Hospital because it is not the safest of neighborhoods. It is a shame there are no doctors in California that would do the Ketamine for each of you. From what I hear Dr. Schwartzman is the best! I love him because he has that dry sense of humor which I have too and he always makes me laugh. His staff is great too. Well, good luck everyone and let me know if I can help in any way. My private email is kdunn9951@aol.com...just write something in the subject line about RSD and that way I won't delete it thinking it is junk mail.
Thanks and best of luck to all,
kathy d