Innovative PTSD treatment for veterans now available in Alabama

A video screen grab shows a graphic to illustrate where the stellate ganglion block shot is administered. 

Local veterans suffering from the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder don’t have to travel out of town to receive a shot therapy that has transformed the lives of many who’ve already received it. Thanks to a local connection with a Birmingham-based physician, it’s a treatment that’s now available in Cullman.

The stellate ganglion block (SGB) shot, first administered in the early 2010s as an innovative treatment for PTSD, is given at the base of the neck — most commonly on the right side — and affects the patient’s central nervous system, in many cases alleviating PTSD symptoms including anxiety and sleeplessness.

Last year, Alabama Sen. Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) obtained funding for a state pilot program that set aside 163 SGB treatments for local veterans at no cost, with Cullman-based WellStone Behavioral Health serving as the local patient liaison.

Now Dr. Jeremy Barlow, a St. Vincent’s physician who lives locally, is administering shots through the pilot program each Friday out of a Cullman office, with hopes that the program’s results will lead to permanent state funding that would widen SGB treatment availability elsewhere.

“It’s typically an $800 shot, and we have this terrific opportunity through the pilot program to make it available to local veterans who need it,” said retired U.S. Air Force Col. Ken Brown, who’s been active in coordinating the program since the treatment first became available in Alabama. “Nationwide, we lose 22 veterans a day to suicide, and we’re losing people even locally — often, because veterans either still don’t know about this treatment or else they have an ‘I can overcome it myself’ type of outlook, even while they’re suffering.

“Even though we don’t bill the SGB shot as a cure-all, it is a treatment that a whole lot of veterans have found to be more effective than antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs that the VA is administering. We really want to reach out the community and let veterans and their families know that it’s never been more convenient to receive this treatment.”

U.S. Department of Defense studies have shown the SGB treatment to have a 90% rate of effectiveness; however, the Department of Veterans Affairs has not authorized its use for veterans.

The first step to getting the SGB shot is to get in touch with WellStone (256-734-4688) and schedule a consultation with Adult Outpatient Services manager Erin Dover. “She will give you a questionnaire and determine the level of PTSD that you have, send you to get the shot, and then do a followup interview a month or two later,” said Brown.

“If the shot initially does not work, you can go back within 48 to 72 hours and get another shot, this time on the left side, at no charge,” he added. “Everyone’s system is different, and it doesn’t always affect people the same on the first visit, but we’ve seen a very, very high success rate with those who have gone and gotten it, and followed through in those cases where a second shot is needed.”