Posted by KaraS on April 18, 2005, at 15:44:57
In reply to Re: Ketamine and Lidocaine IV's... » KaraS, posted by franco neuro on April 18, 2005, at 14:51:32
> Hi,
>
> The lidocaine and ketamine IV's are used as a test to see which oral meds you would most likely respond to. They can also be a treatment in and of themselves. Lidocaine predominantly suppresses glutamate release. Whereas ketamine is an NMDA receptor antagonist. If you find that the lidocaine relieves some or all of your symptoms than you should probably try a drug like Lamictal or Parafon Forte which suppress glutamate release. If, on the other hand, the ketamine helps more, than a drug like amantadine, memantine, etc. may be the place to start. Both ketamine and lidocaine are available in a pill form but they are not as effective and have potentially more side effects. The IV's also don't require weeks or months of taking before you feel an effect. You should know with the initial IV if it's going to help or not. It's all about saving time and not having to spend months or years popping meds haphazardly until you come up with a winning combo.Thanks for the explanation. I can see why you would want to have this done. Not only would you save time, but it seems that if you guess wrong on this, you could make yourself a lot worse.
> I just did a google search for "ketamine IV" and came across a site for RSD (regional sympathetic dystrophy). This Arizone doc is using an in patient 5 day course of ketamine. Not what I want or need. Here is the link:
>
> http://www.rsdhope.org/ShowPage.asp?PAGE_ID=82
>
> There's also a doc in Philadelphia doing the same thing. They are trying to claim it's a "new protocol" that they discovered. Of course Dr. Goldstein has been using IV ketamine and IV lidocaine for pain for years. God the egos in the medical profession are ridiculous. I've contacted a couple of RSD support groups in the area and am trying to get some more info. I think I can get the lidocaine IV as part of a vitamin IV from an alternative doc I have gone to before. I'd rather just get the lidocaine but what can you do. By the way I wish I lived in San Diego. It's supposed to be a nice place.Philadelphia is at least closer to you than San Diego. (I'm actually in LA but San Diego IS very nice.) I suppose if that doctor is willing to do what you're looking for, then it's worth it to put up with the ego issue. It's almost impossible to avoid unfortunately.
> > I felt very sexually hypersensitive when I stopped Zoloft. Someone here suggested that it was because of dopamine surging back.
>
> I believe that's it exactly. While some SSRI's may increase dopmine with chronic long term use they usually supress DA in the short term.I've never heard of SSRIs increasing DA in the long-term. I thought that they decreased it and that if anything, it got worse with time. If more DA were made available in time, then the SSRI apathy that so many people experience, would tend to go away eventually - which I've never heard of.
> "SSRI's, acting through the 5-HT2C receptor, increase extracellular 5-HT which acts acutely on 5-HT1 receptors of several types in the VTA to inhibit DA secretion." "Tuning the Brain"> You know too much serotonin can be a problem. Particularly when it's high in comparison to DA. Most people, including most doctors, are completely unaware of this do to the glorification of the SSRI.
Unfortunately most doctors never bother to do any research once out of medical school. They only know what the drug reps tell them and the drug reps sure don't tell them about SSRIs' potential effect on dopamine.
> > I hadn't heard of Amerge. I'll have to check it out. Another med that came to my mind when reading your last paragraph is tianeptine. Have you considered that one?
>
> Amerge (naratriptan) is usually used to treat migraines. It blocks the 5-ht1b receptor which should lower serotonin levels. I'm going to try and stick with Goldstein's heavy hitters. At least initially. I just wish I could find a doc to help me with this. Darn it's frustrating!I pretty sure that in my case, I'm low in serotonin as well dopamine so that wouldn't be a solution for me. I can imagine this is all very frustrating for you. It's hard to do so much research and start figuring out these things that are far ahead of where most of the medical community is at. I guess the only answer is to continue to persevere until you find a doctor who is willing and able to help you.
If you're at all still interested in rEEG, here is an interesting post by someone here on the Newbie Board:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/newbs/20041227/msgs/484207.html
I've asked him or her to repost that on the main board so I (and anyone else interested) could ask questions.
Take care.
Kara
poster:KaraS
thread:473033
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050418/msgs/486056.html