Ketamine Therapy Chronic Pain
Ketamine is becoming a new accepted treatment for chronic pain patients. This new treatment shows promise and is being used by the pain specialist. Many pain specialists who treat conditions such as Fibromyalgia, CRPS/RSD and the like become frustrated as do their patients. Previously these conditions were very refractory to traditional pain medications over the long term. In many of these cases, there is simply no cure. Now with Ketamine, there is some light appearing in this dark tunnel!
Ketamine Infusion Therapy for Chronic Pain
Pain syndromes, RSD, CRPS, Fibromyalgia, these type of pains may no longer respond to traditional treatments but may respond well to Ketamine infusions. This offers some hope to many who have suffered, without the risk of being addicted to narcotics.
How does Ketamine work for pain?
The scientific studies are small and it is not standard therapy. Exactly, how this success occurs is speculative. Ketamine chronic pain therapy appears to reset the pain receptors and changing some of the neurochemistry on a long-term basis.
Glutamine, an amino acid is found in “connections” between the brain cells. These brain cells are called neurons. The connection between these cells is called a synapse. These synapses are responsible for transmitting signals and they can become rather “out of kilter” or the wires are crossed in chronic pain and depression syndromes. This mixes up, at that cell level may cause a person to be in pain for no apparent reason long after the source was identified and cured. In other words, chronic pain patients may have their “wires” crossed so to speak. The brain may recognize this as a normal state so does nothing to change. Yet, ask any chronic pain patient if they like this “normal”. There is nothing normal about chronic pain.
What Ketamine will do is block some of the neurochemicals such as NMDA receptors found in the synaptic connecting elements. Thus, by blocking NMDA, another neurotransmitter may be increased to a higher level available to the brain tissues. This increase in neuro-active substances or decrease may be at the heart of pain and reversal of pain. This is very complex, but we can visualize it as an orchestra with many different instruments all playing out of order. In turn, Ketamine may eliminate pain and depression by properly arranging the orchestra instruments.
There is yet another theory which accounts for the long-term pain-relieving effects of Ketamine. Although speculative at this point, Ketamine may reset these pain receptors meaning it changes them on a more long-term basis instead of just during the time of the Ketamine infusion. That means once your unplugged and are no longer receiving the infusion, the relief may continue for days, weeks or perhaps months. Once the wires are uncrossed so the speak, the patient feels relief on a long-term basis. So, indeed Ketamine may uncross the wires!
Contact us, if you are interested in Ketamine Therapy
If your traditional treatment has failed for pain syndromes, call our office to set up an appointment. We are located in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Water Front Plaza, formally known as Restaurant Row.
The FDA has not approved Ketamine as an approved treatment for chronic pain. It is an off-label use at this time. However, Ketamine is approved by the FDA for anesthetic purposes and acute pain.