Your Nervous System Is Still in the Emergency. SGB, Ketamine, and the Future of Regenerative Medicine

Dr. John How spent more than 15 years in emergency medicine watching the same story play out. Someone comes in at their worst moment, gets stabilized, and goes home — carrying unresolved pain, trauma, and a nervous system that never got the memo that the emergency was over.He started asking different questions. And then he started becoming the patient himself.Back pain. PTSD. A search for something beyond what traditional medicine was offering. He found providers thinking outside the box, had results that changed his life, and built a clinic around the idea that the most powerful interventions available are often the last ones people are offered — not the first.In this conversation with Dr. Georgine Nanos, Dr. How breaks down the treatments most doctors don't talk about, why your nervous system is running the show whether you know it or not, and what's actually happening when someone gets a stellate ganglion block and their nightmares stop the same week.What you'll hear in this conversation:What 15 years in the ER taught Dr. How about everything medicine was missingThe stellate ganglion block explained — what it is, where it goes, and why a 100-year-old procedure is now changing outcomes for PTSD, anxiety, long COVID, and chronic painWhy the SGB works: the amygdala, the sympathetic chain, and what happens when you interrupt the signal between themA 91% response rate for PTSD — and how that compares to SSRIs, which land around 50% with significant side effect dropoutHow long results last, who it works best for, and why your job being your trauma changes the equationHow Dr. How decides between SGB and ketamine when a patient walks in with overlapping depression, anxiety, and PTSDRegenerative medicine vs. traditional orthopedic care — why "wait it out" fails a significant portion of patientsPRP, nerve hydrodissection, and the pain generator most providers completely missThe honest conversation about stem cells, peptides, and the Wild West of wellness products neither Dr. How nor Dr. Nanos is willing to pretend is settled scienceWhy chronic pain and mental health aren't two separate problems — and what happens neurologically when pain signals spill over into your sympathetic nervous systemThe population most resistant to asking for help — and why Dr. How keeps showing up for them anywayRapid fire: the one thing every patient should prioritize (spoiler: both doctors gave the same answer)On the stigma that's costing people years:Dr. How is direct about this. The people who could benefit most from these treatments — first responders, veterans, high-functioning professionals — are often the last to reach for them. Not because the tools aren't there. Because asking for help still feels like losing something. He's working on that.Connect with Dr. John How:How Clinic — https://thehowclinic.com/Subscribe to the Kind Revolution Podcast for conversations at the intersection of medicine, mental health, and the real lives of the people navigating both. Share this episode with someone who's been told to wait it out long enough.