I have a question and need advice for my wife who has suffered with RSD for 7 years. After years of searching for a pain specialist to treat her we finally found one a couple of years ago. She's been very good treating my wife's pain but we are a little puzzled on one procedure the doc insists on. A year ago she started giving my wife one shot of ketamine every two weeks in the arm. After several months she said she felt no relief from the shots and on top of that I had to carry her home because it threw her for a loop, very very stoned! The fact that she wasn't feeling any better the Dr. referred her to GW hospital for a ketamine infusion. The infusions lasted 4 days, 4-5 hours per day, outpatient. No relief was found and then a 1 day lidocaine infusion with no relief also. When we mentioned to the doctor at the hospital about my wife's biweekly shot of ketamine the doctor got a surprise look on her face and ask the wife did she handle it well and she responded that it didn't work and it made her very intoxicated. The doctor stated that the pain specialist is using a different form of kedamine and that this form of ketamine was not stripped of its most intoxicating effects. The distilled form is used for infusions.

The pain specialist knows the infusions did not work, of course, but is now insisting Suzy take the biweekly shot in which she does not want to do at all and feels no benefit but a hangover and another shot in the arm. The doctor is being forceful. What are your opinions on this and what would you do? Thanks for the responses!

Seeing as she is getting no benefit and it having that kind of effect on her, I'd stand my ground and keep saying no!! Why keep getting something if it's not helping anything? The doc's attitude toward this is baffling to me. I've never heard of this whole ketamine shot thing but why the heck is she wanting to do it, especially when it isn't helping? This sounds very suspicous to me, and smacks of your wife being used as some kind of guinea pig. Of course I'm only speculating here, I mean....come on.

I wish you so much luck in standing your ground. Maybe someone on here can suggest a doc in your area. Let us know how things go.

Hugs,

Karen

You and your wife have every right to refuse any treatment or procedure that you do not want. If something is not helping why keep doing it? The doctor is wrong to be forceful about this. Tell the doctor you want to see the studies that support this kind of therapy. If you don't want to be confrontational then just say the both of you have discussed it and don't want to continue with the injections due to the lack of improvement. Iwould seriously consider finding a new physician if she will not respect your decision. So many times patients do things they don't want to or are uncomfortable with because they feel obligated because the doctor said. You have to be your own advocate unfortunately. Sorry, I am in health care and it infuriates me to see the doctors/nurses and other staff push the patients around. Our job is to educate the patient to help them make the correct decision for themselves.

Best of luck to you and your wife.

Teresa

Sonds like my ordeal with the "doctor" yesterday. He keep pushing spinal injections, and spinal wires and didn't listen to one word my boyfriend kept saying. I am so very glad my bf and I are on the same wavelength and stand firm against this doctor.

I am going to search for a new doctor online later.

Thanks for the responses everyone! The reason I hesitate to change docs is because it took many doctors to find this one who has done a very good job finding that cocktail that helps her pain enormously. Also, it is this doctor submitting her records and comments to SS for SSDI. When I asked her about helping my wife receive her SSDI she seemed annoyed like many others did. The doctor is becoming short with her now and this injection business is part of it. I do like the advice that the doctor submit literature that this injection helps those with RSD because I certainly have not seen it anywhere. I am going to stand by my wife and fight this, but I dread the outcome.

There are so many different treatments for RSD, ranging from medication (anti convulsants, pain relief meds, calcitonine, pamidronate, ...) to all kinds of nerve blocks and ketamine infusions.

Ask your doctor about other forms of treatment.

Yes, she's had infusions of lidocaine and ketamine with no relief and many of the meds you've mentioned. Its this single shot of ketamine in her arm she wants no part of.

This is the absolute first time I've heard of single ketamine injections.

I have heard of the short ketamine treatment (infusion for a few hours, dayclinic) and the long ketamine treatment or coma treatment (done in Germany).

Maybe you could contact RSDhope or the RSDS national support group and try and find out what this treatment is all about. They know a lot about ketamine treatment.

It's odd, I think, this treatment... never heard of it. If the above groups haven't heard of it, I'd bring this up with the doctor.

Your wife should go with her gut feeling!

Hi JimKing,

I'm sure you have heard the expression "A doctor's practice" It's sounds like your wife's doctor may be doing just that with the single shot of ketamine. You and your wife have every right to ask questions and request to see information supporting the single shot.
Your are right about seeing so many doctors before you get the one you trust. We have all been through that and it's a tough and frustrating process.
Be a paticipant in you/your wife's care not a spectator. Finding the right cocktail of meds is as long and frustrating as finding the right doctors.
Ketamine is a very very strong drug. It's illegal street name is special K. I did 4 hour infusions 10 days a week. It was determined on the 4th day it wasn't helping and the infusions were stopped. I was offered the 5 day coma in Germany. When the 4 hour infusions were done I was given versaid (spelling?) to help with the side effects.
Ketamine is not a fix it puts some people in what is referred to as a stop. You have to get booster infusions from time to time depending on the person.

I commend you on being such a support to your wife. I know what it means to have your spouce be supportive.
I wish you the best of luck as you work toward relief.
Take care,
Sherrie

Apparently this doctor uses the ketamine injection on many of her non-RSD patients too. I talked to one fellow who has pain in his damaged eyeball who told me she gives him a shot of ketamine every two weeks. He does not like it and has to have someone come with him to take him home because he's blasted. He sees no benefit what so ever.