Hi Arlene,

I'm sorry to get in here so late, I just saw your posting now.

I agree with other posters here that there are no big dramatic side effects with Lidocaine. I get mine a little different than others who posted. I believe that Sandel gets the subcutaneous infusion. I tried that too but found that the IV infusion had better results for me.

I have 800mg over 2 hours as an intravenous infusion, I get 100 mg pushed as a bolus to start and the remainder of the dose is dripped through the IV bag. It makes my lips numb and you might hear a bit of a whoosh sound in your ears. Generally I feel a dizzy and just sleep through the whole infusion. It does make my blood pressure rise but returns to normal shortly after the infusion is stopped.

I too typically feel like wonder woman and have been known to hurt myself by overdoing it especially when bouncing up and down the stairs like I never had RSD. I take it easy on infusion days, sometimes I have a little headache after the infusion and need to drink lots of water. I always feel great on day 2 but we are all different.

Not only does this help my pain but I also find my that brain fog seems to clear up and I can think straight again. For me it seems to wears off like a battery wearing down. I'd like to have to it every 2 weeks but can only get it every 3.

The protocol my doctor follows is that a patient must be monitored on a heart monitor with the IV infusion. I have to go into a post op recovery area for the treatment because that is the only area where they have the equipment and trained nurses. That's one reason why many of the doctors switched most of their patients over to the subcutaneous infusion. They are able to get more patients treated for much less cost and the subcutaneous infusion seems to work just as well for most.

It sounds like your doctor is being quite conservative with your dose and that's probably a good thing to start with to see how you react.

I've been reluctant to try the ketamine because of the psychotropic side effects but I'm not ruling it out.

I'll see what my new doctors say once I get settled into my new home.

Good luck tomorrow.

MsL