Ketamine for Pain - which pharmacy?
 

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum and am joining for a somewhat unusual reason...

I have heard that Ketamine is a very effective pain treatment. My dog has been diagnosed with bone cancer - a very aggressive cancer that gets more painful by the week. I would like to try Ketamine and have finally convinced my vet to try it.

I read some older posts on this site (2006 - 2008) that dealt with members talking about using prescription Ketamine. Not sure if any of you reading this have experience with it - but my challenge is to find a pharmacy that carries it.


Do you have any suggestions?

Many thanks for any thoughts on this!!

Fireweeds


Where do those of you

Ketamine is an effective pain killer, however, it can be tricky to properly administer since over-dosing can easily happen. In recent years, ketamine has also been used for mood disorder, particularly as an immediate short-term treatment for severe depression to stabilize the patient. This does mean that it may be more readily available. It's meant for short-term usage since long-term usage is not recommended because a) there aren't many long-term studies and b) from what is known and from case studies, chronic use can result in altered enzymatic processes in the liver, so you'd need to regularly monitor them. Ketamine is also used at high enough concentrations to euthanize or put an animal "to sleep", so I would recommend asking your vet where to get prescribed ketamine.

Yes, we have the dosage to use for Ketamine. And I would start very low to see how it affects my dog. Ketamine is primarily used in cats as a pre-anesthetic, so it's a bit trial and error (okay, NO error here :) on dogs. My vet has not found the pill form among his suppliers, so I thought I'd check and see if anyone has gotten it from a pharmacy. It normally comes in liquid form for vets but in pill form for people. Yes, it is an interesting drug! I heard of it being effective for severe depression - but didn't know that it creates changes in the liver. Thanks much for your informative note!

Ketamine is typically available at compounding pharmacies to be incorporated into transdermal gels for pain.

It is a common ingredient in mixtures, and we've seen some of the recipes on RSD here.

Patches? The technology to release the drug properly in a patch is pretty complex. I'd be interested if some compounding places have that ability.

For a dog, you could get the transdermal gel and rub it into the ear. I am giving Oreo her chemo this way. (I mix it myself, because I know how) Many pet meds can be done at any compounding pharmacy this way. They put it into a syringe with a given concentration so all you do is measure out a tenth cc per dose. If the dog has short fur like a doberman, you might be able to apply directly over the area where the pain is. Or you might shave that spot for longer haired breeds.

Ketamine
 

Hi there! Thanks for your post!! I did talk to a compounding pharmacy today and they told me what you said - that they could formulate a cream to be applied to the skin, and also that they usually mix another med into it.

I am interested in some of the recipes that have been discussed.... I will likely talk to my vet about which of my dog's current meds to mix into it - but my concern is what if I have to discontinue any of the meds mixed into the ketamine? I'd be stuck with it until I am done with that tube of gel.

Still, I'd be glad to hear of some of the combinations.

fireweeds

I don't know what they do for dogs besides the ketamine.
Perhaps buprenorphine too? Dogs use different NSAIDs than people sometimes.

For humans for RSD and neuropathy pain control these ingredients may be in a mixture:
clonidine -- affects nerve transmission
amitriptyline-- may help nerve restoration from damage
gabapentin-- blocks pain signals
ketamine-- anesthetic
lidocaine-- numbing agent
diclofenac (an NSAID)

Your vet would be your best resource. He/she can write an RX or call the compounding pharmacy.

Ketamine
 

Thanks for your note! Yes, there are many pain medication options I am realizing
but when it comes to the pain of bone cancer - at some point none seem to be strong enough. It just breaks my heart. I have not been able to try the ketamine for my dog but am working on it!

fireweeds

[You might also check into using the nasal k...it is faster acting.

good luck