Ketamine treatment

[Jimmy]

I am wondering if anyone can provide some insight on Ketamine treatment for PNE? I have heard of it mentioned on the message boards but I haven't necessarily seen it mentioned in the medical literature as a treatment for PNE. Any clarification and insight would be most appreciated.

Jimmy

[Faith]

There has been a good bit of talk lately on the forum about Ketamine. Here are a couple of the recent threads

http://www.pudendalhope.info/forum/view ... ine#p22303
http://www.pudendalhope.info/forum/view ... t=Ketamine

You can type Ketamine in the search box at the upper right hand corner of the screen and get more information.

[nyt]

Currently, there is NO published medical literature on the use of Ketamine for PN. I would imagine in 2-3 years Dr. Hibner will publish something or maybe Dr. Antolek since they are the only two PN physicians I know that use Ketamine but there may be others. Dr. Hibner uses Ketamine during surgery but they are going to be doing Ketamine infusions post-op on the regular nursing floors. I think the hope was it should have started last week if everything went as planned at St. Joseph's hospital. I'm not sure if all the post-op patients will get Ketamine infusions or just some. The idea is based on the fact that a portion of pain in patients with chronic pain is due to some type of spinal cord wind up and it doesn't matter what the source of the pain is as the changes in the spinal cord and brain are partly due to changes in the NMDA receptor and in some patients sodium channel. Ketamine works on the NMDA receptor. Ketamine has been around for a long time and is making a come back for use during surgery. It is used all the time in children during surgery.

[vbrunetto]

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[Faith]

Let me know what you find out from Hibner's office. I am also interested in the possibility of Ketamine without surgery. I think it is likely that they would do it, but I think it may be hard to get insurance to pay for it as I know they were trying to bill insurance post-op as 'uncontrolled pain' as the reason for Ketamine. You might have a better chance getting insurance to pay for it since you've already had multiple surgeries; I have not had any. Have you been diagnosed with CRPS?

[vbrunetto]

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[TCB]

I wanted to let you know that the combination of Ketamine and Lydocain has helped my PNE. I noticed significant improvement with severe left side PNE after my second week of infusions. John Claude Krusz PhD., MD. in Dallas Texas has extensive experience treating neuropathic pain of all types. The name of his clinic is Anodyne Headache & PainCare and the website is http://www.anodyneheadachepain.com At a time when I could not sit at all, and had to travel on my side in our Suburban, Dr. Krusz told me "were all in this together" and "lets get started today!" I'm so much better that I can drive myself some now and I can do activities that I could not do prior to my treatments. I sincerely hope that my experience can help others find pain relief for this disease that has a way of bringing you to your knees.

TCB

[Meliora]

Thank you for the information TCB! I hope you continue to improve!

[TCB]

Jimmy,

There may not be published data on Ketamine for PNE. However there is plenty that has been written on the subjects of Neuropathic Pain Syndromes and Chronic regional Pain Syndrome "CRPS" which is where some of us us PNE'rs can end up if we let this condition go untreated. I know that Dr. Hibner has written about the possibility that PNE can evolve into CRPS. John Claude Krusz PhD., MD has some video taped interviews on his web sight where he talks about treatment of neuropathic pain and other chronic pain conditions with IV Ketamine and Lydocain. I have had great results with IV Ketamine and Lydocain treatments with Dr. Krusz in Dallas, Texas and I have written about my experience in some detail here on the sight. My treatment is ongoing and I will be having booster infusions every 4-6 months or as needed.

Dr. Hibner and Dr. Castellanos kindly offered to do a decompression of my left pudendal nerve in 2012. I asked them if I could try Ketamine before decompression surgery. They agreed to let me try it if I could find a physician who would administer it. I got in to see Dr. Krusz right away and I found out that he combines Ketamine with Lydocain and other IV medications depending on your condition and what he thinks is appropriate under the circumstances. I have posted his website and contact information in another thread "IV Ketamine" so you can look at it and hopefully gain some insight into how these medications are being used for CRPS and neuropathic pain syndromes like PNE. I hope this helps you and anyone else that might be suffering from PNE or PN. I will keep writing on the subject because it has helped me and I don't mind being a case study. I will leave you with the words of Dr. Krusz on my first office visit June 25, 2012

"Were all in this together"

TCB

[helenlegs 11]

How wonderful TCB.
Quite apart from the beneficial treatment you have received, your Dr Krusz quote is so heartening. I suppose it is so far removed from much of my own experience, it really touched me.
Good for you becoming your own advocate throughout. I absolutely LOVE it when a patient is actually listened to. Good luck for the future too. Thanks for keeping us updated.
Take care,
Helen