Hi Ada,

I believe that Ketamine infusions could become an integral part of remission of RSD/CRPS in the US as it has become in Australia where it has been widely used as a treatment since the mid 90's.
It is hard to assess it's efficacy in a country which is still not using it to it's potential.
I will quote some statistics from Australia which are available for anyone who wishes to check them which say that in a control group there was complete relief for 76%, partial relief for 18% and no relief for 6%.
To me these are impressive results from a drug that has little in the way of side effects if used in a controlled, supervised system.The half life is quite short with the drug being excreted very quickly by our bodies so sustained hallucinations are very unlikely unless the level is too high and not being regulated to patient tolerance.
I attend a pain clinic which gives regular Ketamine Infusions for 5-7 days every 6 months , sometimes sooner if required to top up and whilst there have been just a handful of people who have been "cured" as in having no pain, there are several who find they can live a very acceptable existance with remarkably reduced pain. At 3 years 33% of patients remained pain free.
To me any time with less or reduced pain is a bonus. To be able to fall asleep and stay asleep for hours rather than minutes is something I always look forward to.
I haven't been cured as such but have now lost contact with many who have who no longer need to attend our clinic because they have been.

As a nurse we have been using Ketamine as an anaesthetic drug for over 30 years. It is still the anaesthetic of choice for many patients who need anaesthetising for short periods of time as it has a lower incidence of respiratory suppression and depression and there are few side effects after.

..Unfortunately the illicit use of Ketamine is around with some people liking the disassociative feeling they get. Somewhat similar to an "out of body" experience but this is a short lived experience unless your hit can be backed up with another .
I have had a general anaesthetic with Ketamine too and experienced what is known as the "k hole" and whilst it is a wild ride there is certainly nothing pleasant or euphoric about it.

I would love this treatment in combination with blocks, mirror and graded motor imagery to be available worldwide and for all the doctors of the world to be knowledgable enough to diagnose this condition and immediately refer people onto those Pain teams which can manage their pain.

Wishing you well
Love Taylla