Has anyone tried Ketamine for severe pain management?

Hi Sherri @fanning, While you wait for others to respond, you might want to scan through these 2 older discussions that mention Ketamine to learn what they have shared.
-- Ketamine for chronic pain: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/ketamine-for-chronic-pain/
-- Infusions for widespread, intense nerve pain, probably due to MS: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/infusions-for-widespread-intense-nerve-pain-probably-due-to-ms-1/

Here are a couple of additional references if you haven't already done any research on Ketamine.
-- Ketamine in Acute and Chronic Pain Management:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539824/
-- What to Know About Ketamine Therapy for Pain Management:
https://www.healthline.com/health/ketamine-therapy-for-pain-management

I used Ketamine nasal spray for my persistent headache but it did nothing but really clear out my sinuses. Ha!

Hi. I tried the lidocaine infusion which is similar. It only lasted a few hours and was meant to qualify me for Mexilitine-a medication. If this doesn’t work they’re going to try the ketamine but that’s also only just supposed to last a few hours and just to qualify me for a medication.

I had two Ketamine infusions and one Lidocaine. Neither of them eased my pain.

I tried ketamine injections for chronic back pain. I just had some minor hallucinations and found it to be relaxing. It did nothing to ease my chronic back pain. According to my wife at the time, I freaked out and was uncontrollable that night. I don't remember a thing about it. I have had a few since without the bad reaction. But, once again, I did not get any pain relief.

Ketamine has not been approved by FDA as yet for chronic pain due to lack of research for this purpose. Some people obtain relief but not long term while many do not. Here is some more info to help you decide. Hope you find relief but consider other long term pain relievers too. I’ve given you an article on Ketamine and buprenorphine for pain relief. I’ve been using buprenorphine for 3 years without any issues, it works very well for me. Good luck.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4014022/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4675640/

Thank you!

I tried ketamine infusions for chronic daily migraine about 5 years ago. I also have chronic neck and back pain. I had zero relief after 3 indistinguishable over three weeks, but the tripping was fun...octopi were playing a football game against 2 rival college football teams!

I had a 20 hrs Ketamine IV drip that was ever increasing dosages of Ketamine. I got nothing, except it reached a point where my face went numb, I started slurring my words and ask to throw up & oxygen! I had no clue why or what they expected to accomplish. My left brain is analytical and confirms the concern, then diagnose the root cause then repair that! Yes, I repaired auto’s and was damn good at it and still am. But, it is supposed to trick brain receptors into forgetting pain signals, it is extremely temporary at best! Everyone is different, yet start by asking!
DK, Omaha

Yes I have had it and it work for me for a while, morphine sulfate muscle relaxer, gabapentin.