Stellate ganglion blocks reduce the stress response of traumatic memories, but they do not alter your memories of your traumatic experiences.
Stellate ganglion blocks are a procedure that can provide relief from symptoms of PTSD or anxiety by reducing hypervigilance and ‘fight or flight’.
Some patients ask us whether losing their hypervigilance means they will also lose their memories of their trauma. Many patients want to lose the higher heart rates, stress response, sweating, panic, and hypervigilance that comes with trauma — but they don’t want to lose their vigilance entirely, or the wisdom they gained from their traumatic experience.
Stellate ganglion blocks reduce your physical stress response, but they do not alter your memories. Instead, they make these memories less accessible and less exciting to the body when they are accessed.
Following their SGB, patients have told us that they’re going out again, to restaurants or to social events, but they still sit with their back to the wall and make sure they know what’s in their environment. They are still more vigilant than someone who has not been through a traumatic experience, but they are not stuck in a hypervigilant state where they felt they needed to stay home, or that it was too uncomfortable to go out.
Patients can still do EMDR and other therapies that work through these traumatic memories, and may find these therapies more manageable following a stellate ganglion block.
Patients still remember what has happened to them and can work in therapy on these memories. However, those memories are no longer as bothersome, as exciting, or as stressful as they are before their stellate ganglion block.
About Us
Wells Medicine is a Houston-based practice designed to provide meaningful care for mental health. Providing targeted interventional treatments for Depression, Anxiety, OCD, PTSD and other conditions, with Ketamine Treatments, Stellate Ganglion Blocks, TMS, and Nitrous-Oxide Treatments. Focused on comprehensive care and integration with Psychiatry, Psychology, and Support Services. We are evidence-based, patient-focused and mission-driven.
The content here is for informational purposes and should not be relied upon for medical decisions. For the details of your specific medical conditions and treatments consult your doctors or other qualified healthcare professionals.
