ketamine Nasal Spray

Are you kidding me? 18 hours posted worldwide and not 1 response???

So nobody has experience with katamine nasal spray?

Or more likely nobody even reads these forums or cares. Whats the point of even coming here? Hardly any activity since I've joined.....

Hi 11:11,

I haven't tried ketamine personally, but I thought you might find the following articles helpful. The first discusses a study where intranasal ketamine was used as an acute treatment for migraine attacks. The second is a personal account of Katie's experience receiving ketamine IV infusions as an in-patient. There is also some further discussion in the comments beneath the articles.

https://migraine.com/blog/ketamine-for-management/
https://migraine.com/blog/headache-camp-round-2/

Ketamine nasal spray has also been discussed in the forum here:
https://migraine.com/topic/ketamine/

What kind of doctor do you see? A headache specialist may be more familiar with using ketamine for migraine, as it is not a first line treatment . You can find more information on headache specialists here:
https://migraine.com/blog/making-decision-see-headache-specialist/
https://migraine.com/blog/looking-for-a-migraine-specialist/

Please let us know how you get on.

Best wishes,

Gemma

11:11,
Sorry for the delayed response, but I wanted to see if you had any other questions after reading the info that Gemma sent you? I personally use the ketamine nasal spray. Like you said, it's just one of many medications in my toolbox. I do love that it is pretty fast-acting. Within 15 minutes, I can get relief. Taking too much can make you start to hallucinate and I only decide to use it at that level when I'm having an extremely bad attack.

Like any abortive medication out there, using the nasal spray is restricted to only a certain number of days. It doesn't surprise me that your doctors aren't willing to prescribe it. I'm not sure how widely it is used and accepted for Migraine patients. I'm lucky to go to the Jefferson Headache Clinic, who is pioneering research on ketamine for Migraineurs. There honestly haven't been too many studies published yet on the effects for Migraine patients, however Jefferson is planning to publish a paper in June.

Like Gemma said, the type of doctor you see for your Migraines makes a big difference in the type of care you receive. If you're not seeing a Headache Specialist (see the links from Gemma above), there are some pain management doctors and anesthesiologists who will prescribe ketamine.

I hope this information helps, let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to get back to you quickly!
-Katie
Migraine.com Moderator

I know I'm late to the party, but I also have experience with ketamine nasal spray. If I used it when my pain level was only about a 3, it would bring it down to about a 1 (sometimes). Sometimes (and always if the pain level were higher than that) it did nothing, and other times it actually made the pain worse. So if you are able to get it, just know that, like everything, it doesn't work for everyone.

My headache specialist has actually only been able to get clearance to use ketamine in our state within the past few months, so there may be issues beyond your doctors' control as well.