the best info on ketamine infusions that I can think of is on RSDSA.org (a wonderful resource for RSD). There is a search tool. If you type in "ketamine" a list of articles will come up. Robert Schwartzman from Drexel Univ in Philly, Philip Getson of Marlton, NJ (my doc), and Dr. Kirkpatrick of Tampa, Fl are all rather well known proponents of ketamine infusions for RSD.
My infusions take about 3-4 hours. Ketamine has given me my life back, I am off the heavy narcotics I needed to control my pain.
This is the info from Jim Broatch's list that I have for VT:
Rutland, VT Dr. Rob Giering Rutland Regional Med. Ctr.
802-775-7111 need a physician's referral
If you still have good days then you are truly fortunate!! That is awesome!! I hope that you are able to control your symptoms with meds forever. But if things change, and you need to pursue more aggressive treatments, then perhaps the info on the RSDSA website will be of interest to you. There is a ton of good stuff there.
XOXOX Sandy
Quote:
Originally Posted by pacugirl
Sandy thanks so much for the info. Rutland is probably 3 hrs from me- and I'll keep that doctor's name in mind for when I want to start ketamine. I've heard on here that people have ketamine injections too. How do they differ in the length of time that they work for you? For infusions-is it a couple of hours (infusion then being monitored)?
The only reason I hesitate at this point with SCS, implantable morphine pump, or ketamine -is that my CRPS sxs come and go -depending on my surroundings (temp), my activity level, if I miss a dose or am late with my meds, and my stress factors or emotions. If all those things are good, I can have good days and feel almost normal. People would think (and might) that I'm faking all of this if they didn't know the amt of meds I take to maintain normalcy.
Re:W/C they have given me the runaround frequently, most often by the looong delay in approving anything we request for treatment. Our adjustor there has a reputation for exactly that. Of course that doesn't help me with a disease that stresses prompt treatment in everything you read. 
The one blessing is that when I did the original injury to my shoulder (tearing the rotator cuff) I wrote up the incident report at work -so they know my crps is due to that injury and have taken responsibility for the cost of any treatment resulting from that injury and the crps now. The catch is that they have to have their IME examine me and approve of almost everything. I'm sure you know that runaround.
I appreciate the info Sandy. Everyone on here is so helpful!  |