I am new to this group and so happy to find other people I can talk to. I am from a small town with no support. I travel over 1 hour to get to the hospital. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one going though this. I have been on ketamine for over 1 year for degenerative disc disease. My treatments consist of going in the hospital every 30 days for about 6 to 7 hours. I receive 75 mg of ketamine in a IV for over 6 hours. Pain relief last for about 4 weeks for the 1st 60 days and then it get to be shorter as time goes on until I have no pain relief. The Doctor then ups the dosage and I start all over again. I am afraid that I will use up the ketamine limit and I will have no pain relief.
How much ketamine can the body handle at one infusion?
- Asked
- 15 May 2010 by cherie1957
- Updated
- 23 October 2012
- Topics
- back pain, ketamine
Details:
Responses (6)
marjorie zych
15 May 2010
Welcome cherie1957. We are a good bunch here so feel free to talk about anything at all. Have you ever tried pain pills instead? Dilaudid and Oxycodone are pretty good but unfortunately can be addictive. I don't know a whole lot about Ketamine, what does it do for you? I am curious because I have had 5 back surgeries and 22 other surgeries as well as Fybromyalgia and am always in pain. Does it help alot with pain? Please advise. Thank you and hope I have helped too and again--- Welcome to our community.
christineATU
15 May 2010
Me too! Since we use the same avatar, I feel like I know you already. I'm curious about the treatment you get. On top of torn, leaking black disc @ L-4 L-5, I shattered 2 vertebrates @ L-1 and L-2. Now I'm having problems with the hardware and the bad disc was re-injured about 2 months ago. Been on and off opiates for years. The longest I went without them was 6 months. That was due to a procedure (Radio Frequency Thermocoagulation) that really numbed the area for a long time. I would LOVE to find pain relief that lasted 4 weeks! As to your concern, even if you do build a tolerance for the ketamine, other meds will work for you. Once your body adjusts being off the ketamine for a while, it should become effective again. There are so many good medications to help with chronic pain. Don't worry. Ask your doctor, they will be able to keep you as pain free as possible. It sounds as if you have a very caring doctor. Good luck to you and welcome to the forum!
Chris
cherie1957
17 May 2010
Thank you so much for your support. I feel a lot better now that I know I not in this alone.Thanks, Cherie
dalejrfan71
16 May 2010
Welcome cherie1957,
I know what you're going through with back pain. I've had bad back pain for 2 years now. I've tried percocet for pain relief, it worked for about a year and after that it started being less effective for pain. My doctor even tried me on oxycontin which had the same results. I am now on hydromorph contin 18mg and cesamet. The cesamet works really well for my pain relief.
cherie1957
16 May 2010
I just looked up to see what Cesamet and I was wondering do you put weight on with this? How long does it last for? Do they know what is wrong with your back and do you work? If you were going to rate you pain level before you took the Cesament what would it be and after you took Cesament what would it be? I am sorry for all the questions but I trying to figure out if it would be worth being it up to my doctor. Thank you so much for answering my question. Cherie
dalejrfan71
16 May 2010
Before my doctor put me on Cesamet, he referred me to a pain clinic. The doctor there tried 2 epidural back shots. The first one lasted 2 weeks, the second one lasted 6 days. After that I went to see my doctor because my back was killing me. Before I was prescribed Cesamet, my back pain on a given day was 8 out of 10. After taking the Cesamet my back pain is 2 out of 10. I would definitely ask your doctor for information about Cesamet, it has worked great for me plus it isn't addictive compared to opiate medication.
The thing that is wrong with my back is a condition called Spinal Stenosis. Basically my lower spinal cord is being compressed by the spinal canal in my lower back. Unfortunately they cannot operate due to the fact that if the surgeons hand slips, I could end up paralyzed.
cherie1957
16 May 2010
I have had 2 spinal fusions, 1 in 2002 and another in 2004 . Both of them failed. Since then I was in consent pain 24 hours a day. They tried so many drugs on me and none of them worked. I had to give up a job I loved and I had to give up driving. All day long I was in bed crying, finally in 2005 my primary doctor put me on Ocycodone 100mg and other drugs for breakthrough pain. I was still in pain and laid in bed all day. After about a year I started thinking about ending it all. All that medicine took away my life. My primary doctor finally told me that she couldn't do anything else for me. I went home and made a plan, wrote some letters to my children. As I was sitting at the table the local paper was on the table and I still don't know why I picked it up because I haven't read it in a year but when I opened it up there was a full page ad on a pain clinic about a hour away. That was my 1st glimmer of hope in 4 years. He is a wonderful doctor along with his staff.
dalejrfan71
16 May 2010
Hi Cherie,
Here is some information about Cesamet ok
Cesamet is used for:
Treating nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy in patients who have not responded to other medicine.
Cesamet is a cannabinoid. It works by affecting the actions of certain chemicals in the brain.
Do NOT use Cesamet if:
you are allergic to any ingredient in Cesamet or to other cannabinoids (eg, marijuana)
Contact your doctor or health care provider right away if any of these apply to you.
Before using Cesamet :
Some medical conditions may interact with Cesamet . Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have any medical conditions, especially if any of the following apply to you:
JessupEdward
3 Nov 2010
For years I've been on 350 Mikes Fentanyl /72 hrs; 60mg oxy BID/75 oxy for breakthru pain. with minimal success. Cervical stabilizations and lumbar
stabilizations. (3 of 7 surgeries in the last 10 years) Best temporary relief was with IV ket at .5mg/kg/.5hr. I feel so good I sometimes think a miracle has taken place. Other times I just have sex with my wife.
goldwingman
24 Oct 2012
G,Day I just had my Gall Bladder out as i have a cronic pain problem they put me on a Ketamine infushion for pain relief it helped but when i came home i had Lost my Smoking urge ,now it,s been 2months since i had a smoke Great stuff at $20 for 30 smokes im saving money i can use else where has any one else had this happen Thank You all .?
noggin 08
30 Mar 2012
hi.i have had nerve caughterisation twice now ,it worked the first time for six months .then had it done again and found no it hasnt worked.am on a number ov tablets inc morphine .diazepan.etc .constant pain all day and every day.now the pain managment team want to try ketamine on me.i have had all treatments done on me .all i want is to have a normal life.will ketamine work for me ? my pain out ov 0 to ten is ten.
cherie1957
31 Mar 2012
I have been on Ketamine for almost 5 years. I take 125mgs over a 5 hour period. It works about 2 - 3 weeks, sometimes more sometimes less. Sometimes I am pain free and other times the pain is there but I can live with it. From what I have been told it works differently on everyone. I have my treatment every 4 weeks and there are some that have it every 6 or 8 weeks. Some months it works better than other months. All I can tell you is you will have to try it for a few months and see what you think. Even though it doesn't work all the time for me, I wouldn't stop it because some relief is better then none at all. Good luck and if you decide to try it, let me know how it is working for you.
Further Information
- Ketamine Information for Consumers
- Ketamine Information for Healthcare Professionals (includes dosage details)
- Side Effects of Ketamine (detailed)
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I forgot to answer your ? about ketamine. It block the brain from receiving pain. It is a anesthesia, the same thing they give you during a operation. It does help me with my pain a lot. It is different for everybody. For me when it seems to keep me pain free ( I hope you understand this because it is hard to explain ) for 4 weeks when I get a new dosage.Here is a example: I was given 50 mg IV infusion over 6 hours - I would be pain free for about 4 weeks then when I went back in 30 days, I got 50 mg again and this would work for about the 1st 2 weeks and the pain would come back. The next month I go, I would still get 50 mg and I would be in pain all month. So the next time I go, my doctor would up the dosage to 65 mg and I am pain free again to start the cycle all over. I hope that helps. I am also on 2 Fentanyl 62 mcg which is a pain patch,every 48 hours and I can take 10 mg of Methadone every 6 - 8 hours. That combination of drugs right now works the best for me.
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I hope that this helps your understanding of Ketamine. If you look it up on line you can get a lot of information about the drug. Some good and a lot bad. I hope to talk again, Cherie
Thank you for explaining that to me. I may ask my doctor about that I am tired of being in pain all the time. I have had 5 fusions and also have fybromyalgia. Pain is not new to me. I also have a fractured L-3 vertabre because of a doctor messing with my meds I passed out and fractured the vertabre just above my fusions. You have helped alot. Thanks again