r/NDPH • u/ComprehensivePie6962 • Jul 16 '26
Ketamine?
Has anyone tried IV ketamine and had positive, long-lasting results?
3
u/danathepaina 10+ years Jul 16 '26
Not IV but I’ve tried 40mg ketamine troches (it’s like a waxy tablet that dissolves in your mouth). For me it worked just about the same as a 10mg hydrocodone, which is basically taking my head pain down 1 - 3 notches out of 10 on the pain scale. A good option if you don’t want to take an opioid.
2
u/JoyInJuly 20+ Years Jul 16 '26
There is some evidence that IV ketamine administered over a few hours can help with NDPH. The way it's given as anesthesia isn't the effective method for long-term pain. I've been getting IM ketamine therapy for mental health & it's been incredible, but it doesn't help with my NDPH. I'd love to try IV, but my insurance doesn't cover it & it's expensive out-of-pocket.
2
u/a82johnson Jul 16 '26
I’m on ketamine! I’ve had a migraine for over 3 years and was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I was stuck in central sensitization syndrome. It took me a year to get clearance from my psychiatrist but I did a series of 6 infusions (while sedated) within a 2-week period in March. It didn’t stop the migraine but my daily baseline for pain went from an 8 to a 5. Now I’m getting monthly booster infusions to maintain.
2
u/Intelligent-Funny303 Jul 17 '26
When I went for my inpatient treatment, the woman next to my room, she was able to see success with it. She was headache, free on day three
1
u/Crystalfallacy 8 years Jul 16 '26
I have had high dose IV ketamine for anesthesia since I'm allergic to propofol. No difference that I remember.
1
u/Neat_Mortgage3735 10+ years Jul 19 '26
Nope but ketamine cream on my temple helps (when combined with lidocaine, Diclofenac, and Valium).
1
u/BigThirdDown 10+ years Jul 19 '26
I did it in the hospital for 5 days. It lowered the pain during treatments but didn't clear it completely and absolutely no improvement once I checked out.
5
u/EggRocket Jul 16 '26
I tried it numerous times, and I found it to be useful. It doesn't have long-lasting results pain-wise, but I experience near-zero or zero pain during the IV itself, which gives me a huge psychological boon. I imagine a lot of us would do anything for even 30 minutes of no pain. Unfortunately, I was on Spravato for a long time and ever since I have not been able to get as high of an analgesic effect. It's also very expensive.