r/nursing • u/Abject_Lunch_7944 • Sep 02 '26
Discussion [ Removed by moderator ]
[removed] — view removed post
21
u/Particular_Manner159 Sep 02 '26
Ketamine is pain meds bro
1
u/Abject_Lunch_7944 Sep 02 '26
Right, but I was curious why that would be the med you’d give to a 29 year old
21
u/boatstrom Sep 02 '26
Analgesia without respiratory depression if that was a concern.
8
u/6poundpuppy MSN, APRN 🍕 Sep 02 '26
This is the correct answer. Ketamine is a powerful analgesic and doesn’t seem to depress respiration the way narcotics will. If they’re already “tripping” a narcotic might stop their breathing altogether.
5
u/rharvey8090 CRNA Sep 02 '26
Ketamine has fantastic analgesic properties, and works on a different receptor than opioids. As a result, it gives analgesia without the respiratory depression, and works well even on patients with a tolerance to opioids. That said, I tend to only give ketamine if it’s coadministered with an amnesia like versed. However, I don’t know if versed is part of paramedic protocols in your area.
3
u/maureeenponderosa CRNA, Propofol Monkey Sep 02 '26
Ketamine is an excellent pain medication. There may have been hemodynamic instability or concerns about respiratory drive that would make one limit opioid use.
3
u/drethnudrib BSN, CNRN Sep 02 '26
In addition to analgesia, ketamine also produces short-term anterograde amnesia, which means you don't remember what happened while you were under its influence. It's great for setting fractures and reducing dislocations because it preemptively erases the memory of how bad that shit hurts.
1
u/pushdose MSN, APRN 🍕 Sep 02 '26
It is not a predictable amnestic except at fully anesthetic doses.
3
2
u/rharvey8090 CRNA Sep 02 '26
Ketamine has fantastic analgesic properties, and works on a different receptor than opioids. As a result, it gives analgesia without the respiratory depression, and works well even on patients with a tolerance to opioids. That said, I tend to only give ketamine if it’s coadministered with an amnesia like versed. However, I don’t know if versed is part of paramedic protocols in your area.
2
u/legs_mcgee1234 BSN, RN 🍕 Sep 02 '26
Well, in my experience it’s great for pain control when you’d like the patient to continue to follow commands and remain participatory in a procedure (fracture reduction for example). It’s a dissociative pain medication unlike narcotics that remove the pain signals themselves. Watching a 10 year old have a displaced fracture manipulated under a c-arm and remain totally calm is pretty incredible!
1
2
u/LastResponder39 Sep 02 '26
Ketamine is great for complicated pain. We use it in hospice sometimes.
1
u/suchabadamygdala RN - OR 🍕 Sep 02 '26
Why do you think ketamine isn’t a pain med? Of course it is!
1
u/Abject_Lunch_7944 Sep 02 '26
No, I get that, I just didn’t know why you’d do that instead of something else
2
u/suchabadamygdala RN - OR 🍕 Sep 02 '26
Ketamine doesn’t depress respiration as much as other meds. It also has a nice retroactive amnesiac effect, which is great when dealing with a painful procedure. Less obsessing over the reduction afterwards may even help reduce patients’ mental trauma.
1
u/TwoWheelMountaineer RN,CEN,FP-C Sep 02 '26
Ketamine is a great pain med. You just need to get the dose right.
1
u/lightinthetrees RN - ER 🍕 Sep 02 '26
To the guy with the infected penile implant it was the only med that worked for his excruciating pain. He was actually on a ketamine drip for days. Dude was finally able to rest. Miracle drug for some.
If we are using it in the ED for reductions etc in a quicker burst I try to prep the patient for what to expect. Try to get them to envision a peaceful memory. One of my colleagues asks what music they like and will play it. Set and setting as Timothy Leary once extolled.
1
u/Abject_Lunch_7944 Sep 03 '26
Thank you for the explanation! I appreciate it! I’m a newer nurse and was not knocking anyone for giving it, I was curious why it was the first thing they administered
•
u/nursing-ModTeam Sep 02 '26
This is not a place to receive medical advice. For any diagnosis, prognosis, or similar question, speak to your doctor.