Lidocaine Infusions

Do you have chronic pain that has failed many other treatments and medications? Intravenous lidocaine infusions are an option when traditional therapies have failed. We treat patients who suffer from chronic pain using Intravenous Lidocaine Infusions. If you have experienced this kind of pain in your lifetime, you know exactly how debilitating it can be.

Our treatments can offer some of that freedom back and make everyday activities more enjoyable once again. If you have tried other methods of pain relief to no avail, it is time to try a better alternative.

Who are Lidocaine infusions for?

  • Common diagnoses that are treated with Lidocaine Infusions are:
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Neuropathies (peripheral neuropathy, diabetic neuropathy, etc)
  • Headaches/migraines
  • Erythromelalgia
  • Trigeminal Neuralgia
  • Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
  • Chronic back pain
  • Trigeminal neuralgia
  • Facial Pain
  • Post-stroke pain

What is Lidocaine?

Lidocaine is a common local anesthetic or numbing medication used frequently to numb up your skin. Lidocaine acts on the nerves that cause the spread of pain signals within nerve fibers. It turns down the volume on the firing nerves to help reduce pain.

Benefits of Lidocaine Treatment

Lidocaine infusions can decrease your pain from severe to manageable after just one session. Some patients are even able to decrease their prescribed pain medication as a result. However, everyone’s experience is different as no one person is the same.

What are lidocaine infusions?

Lidocaine infusions are where an IV is placed and lidocaine is infused into your vein over 30 minutes for certain treatment resistant chronic pain diagnoses. During this time, your blood pressure, oxygen, and heart rhythm is monitored.

Contraindications to Lidocaine

Those with an allergy to lidocaine, heart arrythmia (ex. atrial fibrillation, tachycardias, etc), and seizures are not candidates for lidocaine infusions.

What to expect?

BEFORE:

Before an infusion, our doctors meet with you one on one to discuss your symptoms and get to know you as a person. We want to know more about you so we can use all of our knowledge to improve your quality of life.

DURING:

A Lidocaine Infusion takes approximately 60 minutes. Lidocaine is infused into your vein through an IV and enters the bloodstream where it begins to take effect. You may experience a slight “spicy” sensation when the lidocaine first enters your system which quickly goes away. As the lidocaine starts to circulate you may experience relaxation, light-headedness, nausea, and/or tingles throughout your body. During this time, your heart rate and blood pressure are monitored at all times by a trained anesthesia professional who is ACLS certified. Side effects or complications have been shown to be extremely rare and disappear once the infusion is completed.

AFTER:

Lidocaine can take up to several days to reach its peak effectiveness. Majority of patient’s repeat their infusion every 4 weeks.

How long do lidocaine infusions last?

Many patients ask how long they can expect to see results from a 30 minute infusion. Results vary from patient to patient but examples of pain relief seen are 80-90% pain relief for the 1st week, 70% the 2nd week, 50% the 3rd week, and a slow reduction back to baseline the 4th week. Others see 50% for 4 weeks with a quick decline towards the end of the 4th week, and even others see relief for longer than 4 weeks! In any of these cases, the results of pain relief are longer than how long the actual medication (i.e lidocaine) lasts in your system. Within hours, the lidocaine is metabolized by your body, but the pain-relieving effects are much longer lasting! This is why we refer to lidocaine infusions as the “ctrl-alt-delete”, “resetting”, or “rebooting” of your nervous system.

How do I Prepare for a Lidocaine Treatment Session?

  • Do not eat or drink liquids 8 hours prior to a session. You may drink CLEAR WATER up to 2 hours before
  • Inform your doctor of your medical history and if you have had recent problems with your brain (especially seizures), heart (especially arrythmias, palpitations, or any weird heart sensations) , liver or kidney.
  • If you are pregnant, we do not recommend this treatment.
  • You must arrange for someone to drive you home after the treatment is complete. You can resume normal activities the following day.
  • Continue any medications you are currently taking that have been prescribed by your doctor.
  • Schedule a follow up appointment to assess your pain levels after treatment.
  • We highly recommend keeping a log or journal to track your daily pain levels and durations and will offer one at your appointment.
  • If you suffer from any type of chronic pain and feel like other treatments have not worked, we recommend coming in for a consultation. Lidocaine may be the alternative you have been looking for. Our purpose is to treat your pain and improve your mental and physical health along the way. We want you to return to a pain free life and enjoy everyday activities the way you should.
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