The world of medicine is constantly changing and evolving. Drugs that were once thought to only be useful for one thing have been found to be effective in treating other ailments. One of those drugs that have been found to treat more ailments than the one they were originally created for is ketamine. Originally used as an anesthetic on battlefields and operating rooms, ketamine is now showing promise as a treatment for major depression, neuropathic pain from cancer treatment, and more. Let’s take a deeper look at how ketamine infusion treatments can help those struggling with mental health issues or chronic pain.
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What Ketamine Infusions Can Treat
The most common use of ketamine infusion treatments is with patients struggling with major depression and other mental health issues. Unlike traditional treatments for mental health that can take months to start to work, ketamine infusions are fast-acting. Many patients can feel their symptoms start to dissipate soon after the start of ketamine infusion treatments. Because of how quickly these treatments start to work, patients who are experiencing suicidal thoughts and severe depression are good candidates for ketamine infusions.
There are also several uses for patients struggling with chronic pain. Some of the types of pain that can be treated with ketamine infusion include:
- Neuropathic pains including
- Chemotherapy-induced
- Nerve-injury-induced (from surgery or an accident)
- Diabetic
- Chronic neck and back pain
- Severe fibromyalgia
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
- This type of pain is often felt after recovering from an injury
Benefits of Ketamine Infusion Treatment
The biggest benefit for most patients who use ketamine infusion is the reduction of their depression or chronic pain. Ketamine infusions are commonly used for patients that have found that other treatments and options have not worked for them. For some patients, ketamine infusion treatment can help them live a happy, pain-free, or pain-reduced life.
The treatment itself is almost painless for the patient compared to other pain management options. There is no surgery involved in the process. This can be great for patients who have tried medication, therapy, surgery with no success, or those who are uncomfortable with surgery.
Some other benefits include:
- Fast and effective results
- Approximately 70% of patients see results
- Side effects are uncommon and normally mild when they do occur
How it Works
The process of ketamine infusions is relatively simple for the patient. At a doctor’s office, the patient is connected to an IV. The IV has a mix of ketamine and saline. The patient has the IV in for an hour to a few hours, depending on the doctor’s office and dosage, while the ketamine infusion drips through the IV. After the infusion is finished the patient may then have a 30-minute recovery period while still in the doctor’s office. The patient must have someone to drive them home after the treatment since they may feel disoriented and tired after treatment. Patients typically feel the effects of the treatment with 1-3 sessions.
Possible Side Effects
Like many treatments, there are several side effects that are possible when receiving ketamine infusion therapy. Some side effects are:
- High blood pressure
- Nausea and vomiting
- Liver issues
- Perceptual disturbances
- Time could appear slow or speed up
- Certain colors, textures, and noises causing extra stimulation
- Blurry vision
- Dissociation or Out-of-Body experiences
Side effects typically do not last long after the infusions. Abuse of ketamine has been shown to have much more severe side effects so it should only be used under the advice and supervision of a medical professional.
Ketamine infusion therapy has had promising results for many patients that struggled to find relief from other treatment options. If you are wondering if ketamine infusion therapy might be right for you contact your doctor to see if you would qualify for the treatment.
Ketamine infusion therapy is just one of the many services offered by Cutting Edge Integrative Pain Center. If you or someone you know is suffering from chronic pain, contact us today to learn how Cutting Edge Integrative Pain Center can help!
