Everything's Bigger in Texas

Back at the end of March, Mom and I road-tripped out to Dallas to visit Anodyne Headache and Pain Clinic. I came across Dr. Kruzs while researching out of the box pain management treatments. He has been published on many headache websites, is on multiple headache and pain management boards, and has published research on using Ketamine and Lidocaine infusions for chronic pain. No one in Alabama is using these medications for treatments, so we figured, why not?

We drove the 9.5 hours to Dallas and stayed for our entire Spring Break. I met Dr. Kruzs on Monday. He took one look at my files and list of medications and treatments I have tried and said he had some things to try. I was immediately hooked up to an IV with a Ketamine drip and Propofol as a sedative. Honestly, I got some good sleep, thanks to the Propofol, but didn't have any pain relief. Tuesday he upped the Ketamine dosage and then used Propofol and Versed to knock me out. Goodness at the Versed. I was out in seconds. Wednesday I was in the middle of a severe migraine. Level 10 (on a 1-10 pain scale), nausea, vomiting, the works. Of course, that was the day I was scheduled for an EEG. Needless to say, it came out abnormal. (Surprised?) So after tests, I was hooked back up to an IV and this time he added Lidocaine to the Ketamine. I was also given Nubain for the pain and finally had some relief. Of course, they knocked me out again. Dosage was upped and by Friday I could hardly go to the bathroom by myself. Unfortunately, pain level wasn't any better.

So...what did I get from this trip?

• I found out that I am deficient in several vitamins: D2, D3, DHEA, B12, Zinc. I'll be adding supplements for these.
• Lidocaine and Ketamine were not something that was beneficial at this point. However, Ketamine nasal spray works for migraine pain.
• Nubain injections are efficient for migraine pain. These I can do at home.
• Baclofen is a strong muscle relaxer and helps for the neck and shoulder pain that triggers some of my migraines. We added this to my daily meds. 

Although it wasn't the "miracle" so many had hoped for, we did return with some things to try. I have found that B12 has been helpful for daily energy. The others I will keep trying and hope that the benefits will be helpful.