A normal scan doesn’t mean nothing is wrong. It means we need a better explanation for the pain.
09.03.2026 16:10
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A normal scan doesn’t mean nothing is wrong. It means we need a better explanation for the pain.
5. Key Takeaways
•IV ketamine can help people with refractory headaches in the hospital.
•It is safe when monitored carefully but can cause side effects even at low doses.
•Only experienced doctors should give ketamine, and monitoring equipment must always be ready.
•Medicines like clonidine or low-dose benzodiazepines can help reduce hallucinations and anxiety.
•Patients must be monitored for heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing during the infusion.
4. Side Effects and Safety
•Common side effects: nausea, vomiting, blurry vision, hallucinations, anxiety, high blood pressure, and fast heart rate.
•Ketamine can affect the liver, so blood tests are needed before and after treatment.
3. Who It Helps
•Patients with headaches that do not get better with usual treatments.
•Studies show that ketamine can reduce pain by half in some patients during the hospital stay.
•It is mainly used for severe migraines and other intractable headache types.
2. How It’s Given
•Ketamine is given through an IV in the hospital.
•Infusion rates usually stay below 1 mg per kg per hour outside of intensive care.
•The infusion can last several days, depending on the patient’s response.
1. How It Works
Ketamine is a medicine that can reduce pain even when other treatments don’t work. It acts on several parts of the brain and nerves to calm pain signals and reduce inflammation.
5 Things to Know About IV Ketamine for Severe Headaches
When people hear “pain psychology,” they often think...
• “Are you saying it’s all in my head?”
• “So this is just stress?”
• “Does this mean my pain isn’t real?”
The science says the opposite. Learn why: https://stanford.io/4ss25FN
Our upcoming Pain Science Lecture on March 2 will focus on exercise and pain. What should we make sure to cover?
Share your questions/suggestions below.
Learn more: stan.md/40ocXYU
4. Postdrome – fatigue, brain fog, and weakness that can last for days.
3. Headache phase – throbbing pain, often with nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.
2. Aura – visual changes, numbness, tingling, or trouble speaking (in about 30% of people).
Four phases of migraine people often experience:
1. Prodrome – hours or days before the headache: changes in mood, light sensitivity, yawning, food cravings, or neck pain.
Chronic pain is on the rise because people are living longer and surviving injuries and illnesses that once would have been fatal. But survival often comes with new challenges: pain that won’t go away.
What’s something people say about pain that feels dismissive—even if they mean well?
Being believed is part of good pain care.
Love does more than make Valentine’s Day cards sentimental.
Brain imaging studies show that thinking about someone you love can reduce how strongly pain is felt, by activating the brain’s reward and safety systems. It’s a reminder that connection isn’t just emotional—it’s biological.
Chronic pain is on the rise because people are living longer and surviving injuries and illnesses that once would have been fatal. But survival often comes with new challenges: pain that won’t go away.
If pain research focused more on one thing patients care about, what should it be?
As Dr. Sean Mackey notes: “It became the moral and regulatory safe harbor for clinicians under pressure to treat pain while cutting back on opioids.”
A new WSJ report explores why use grew so quickly and where the evidence is strongest (and weakest). The piece also covers what patients should know about side effects, interactions, and tapering.
Gabapentin has been an effective medication for many people living with pain. It is particularly helpful for neuropathic pain when used thoughtfully.
One pain advocate in the room can change an entire conversation.
They catch the language doctors miss, flag barriers we don’t see, and remind us where care breaks down in real life.
Pain patients and advocates deserve a permanent seat in the national pain conversation.
We’re looking to follow more creators focused on chronic pain, chronic illness, and disability. Who should we be learning from?
Treatment often includes physical therapy, psychological support, and neuromodulation.
The goal is not to ignore pain. It is to help quiet pain signals when they no longer serve a protective role.
In chronic pain, this filtering system may not work as well. Pain signals can stay loud, even after the body has healed.
This pain is real. It comes from changes in the nervous system, not from your imagination.
Pain works in a similar way. Under normal conditions, pain signals are filtered as they move through the nervous system, including the spinal cord and brain. This helps protect us without overwhelming us.
