Ketamine for Chronic Pain

Ketamine Shown To Help Sufferers Of Chronic Pain

Ketamine is an artificial compound that is not opiate-based. It was discovered in the 1960s and used extensively in the Vietnam War. It was designed as an anesthetic, but has also been proven effective at reducing pain and helping with some psychological issues such as depression.

Ketamine also has an unfortunate reputation as a recreational drug that is open to abuse, as it can cause feelings of euphoria and an altered state of consciousness. When administered under proper medical conditions though, in small doses, it is perfectly safe.

In recent studies, ketamine has been shown to be very effective in providing pain relief. In many study cases, controlled groups of pain sufferers have reported a significant reduction in the feelings of pain that they routinely experience, after being administered safe levels of ketamine.

Additionally, ketamine has proven itself useful as an additional painkiller alongside other, opiate-based medicines such as morphine. This has allowed for the reduction in doses of opiate-based painkillers, with ketamine, in effect, ‘taking up the slack’. As mentioned above, opiate-based medicines can be highly addictive, so anything that reduces the reliance on them for pain relief can only be regarded as a good thing.

The use of ketamine for pain relief can cause a small number of side effects, which are all entirely tolerable and easy to manage.

Living daily with chronic pain is a nightmare. Everyone has experienced pain at some time in their lives, but one aspect of pain is that, eventually, it goes away. If you suffer a major injury, then pain can take weeks or even months to subside. For some people, pain develops slowly and gradually until it becomes unbearable, with no end in sight.

Chronic pain can cause significant psychological problems. Sufferers find it hard to function normally, which can cause stress, anxiety and depression. The feeling that the pain is endless and that a pain free future does not seem possible is something that’s hard to live with on a daily basis.

Why do we Feel Pain Anyway?

Pain developed as a way of protecting our own bodies. If we are doing something and experience pain, then our brain is telling us to stop doing it. If we touch something that is too hot, for example, then the pain we feel tells us to move our hand away before real damage is done. The more likely or more devastating the damage, the greater the pain.

Unfortunately our brain is not too selective when it comes to pain. We also feel pain when something happens that we have no direct control over – like if we break a bone or cut our skin. We cannot immediately cure ourselves and stop hurting. In such cases pain it’s just our brain’s way of telling us that we need to do something to stop the pain.

Sometimes there are injuries, ailments and circumstances that we cannot do anything about, which means the pain does not go away. In such cases the pain has to be managed instead.

How do we Feel Pain?

The transmission of pain is one of the body’s most effective – and swiftest – systems. If you cut yourself, you feel pain almost instantaneously. The brain understands that damage to the body needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible. If it is not dealt with, then the damage will likely worsen.

When we are injured or if something goes wrong with us physically, then our body’s system will release chemicals from the point of the appropriate area. These chemicals travel to the spinal cord and are then sent to the brain. The brain acknowledges the arrival of these chemicals by making us experience sensations of pain. In this regard the brain is exceptionally clever – it knows precisely where the chemicals have originated from and signals to us the damaged area, so we know which part of us needs to be dealt with.

Everyone feels pain differently. Some people have high pain thresholds and can be quite tolerant to pain, and others have low pain thresholds and experience pain more acutely. One person may brush off a stubbed toe instantly, while another may find it excruciating.

Some people – and indeed those who have suffered from a great deal of pain – become increasingly intolerant to painful sensations. The brain becomes ‘hard-wired’ over time and is over-stimulated when something ‘painful’ happens, turning minor pain into major. In some cases, people can even feel pain when nothing has actually happened to cause even minor discomfort.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

This syndrome which is also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is a disorder that usually starts with painful sensations in one limb that can spread throughout the entire body. A sufferer experiences sensations of pain where there is no apparent injury or ailment, or where an injury has occurred but has been taken care of. These individuals also typically experience swelling and changes to the skin and bones.

It is thought that CRPS or RSD occurs when the brain overreacts to an issue and ‘sends too much pain’ in response. Eventually the brain still sends pain signals even when the issue has abated. The signals can increase until they become acute, or spread to other areas of the body.

Cruelly CRPS can cause psychological stress, which in turn causes a vicious circle as increased levels of CRPS are experienced as a result. Both CRPS and RSD can be cured by using a combination of treatments, including systems for pain management, but recovery is seldom swift.

How do we Manage Pain?

Most people will have painkillers in their homes. The most common painkiller is acetaminophen (i.e.; Tylenol®), which has been around since the late 1870s. It’s purely a man-made substance and does not occur in nature. It’s not actually understood how acetaminophen works, but it is thought it reduces the intensity of pain signals that travel to and from the brain. Acetaminophen is used for mild-to-medium levels of pain.

Greater levels of pain need tougher ways of dealing with them. Intense pain — such as the pain experienced when awakening from surgery or while undergoing some kinds of dental treatment – need more effective methods of painkilling, such as the administration of morphine. Morphine is an opiate found in some plants and animals. It is highly effective against even acute pain – it begins to work within twenty minutes of being administered and its effects can last up to six hours.

Unfortunately there are a number of side issues with morphine and other opiate-based medicines that are used to combat chronic pain. For a start, they are all highly addictive – as highly addictive as heroin. Painkillers cause euphoric sensations which people find highly enjoyable. The downside is that opiates can also cause itching, nausea, constipation and drowsiness. It is impossible to function normally while influenced by the effects of opiates, and if abused in the longer term, they cause countless psychological issues.

Opiate based painkillers such as morphine are absolutely fine and safe in the short term for pain relief under controlled conditions, but they are not at all suitable for either long term use or for self-administration.

How the Ketamine Institute of Michigan can Help You

If you are finding your day-to-day activities inhibited by chronic pain, and/or your current pain management plan is not working, then our team here at the Ketamine Institute of Michigan may be able to ease your suffering. Our team – led by Dr. Julia Aharonov – is at your service for the safe and carefully controlled administration of ketamine for pain relief.

You need to understand that we cannot guarantee to accept every applicant as being suitable for a ketamine treatment plan. Each person that applies to our program is carefully assessed to make sure we feel that our services are suitable for them. Though proven to be effective in a high number of cases, ketamine is not suitable for every single possible application.

Our general policy is to accept suitable patients that live within a one hundred mile radius of our clinic. We accept patients from major population centers such as Chicago, Fort Wayne, Milwaukee and Detroit. We may also consider applications from people in Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin and places close to the state border in Canada, such as Hamilton and Toronto. That being said, if you fit our criteria, we won’t let distance get in the way of effective treatment.

You should only apply for treatment if you can provide your own transportation to our clinic that does not include driving yourself. It is not permitted for you to be in control of a vehicle immediately after treatment. You must also have a valid photo ID.

Please refer to our site for our Ketamine infusion pricing as well as certain financing options that may be available to you depending on your circumstances.

The Ketamine Institute Of Michigan

The Ketamine Institute Of Michigan offers supervised IV Ketamine infusions. After a cleared medical history, you can begin treatment sessions right away. You will be under the care of Dr. Julia Aharonov, a Board Certified Anesthesiologist and her capable and experienced medical team. Each session should be less than a few hours. IV Ketamine therapy has no addictive properties.

Learn how Ketamine Infusion Therapy is being used to help treat depression and chronic pain.