Will Ketamine Infusions Benefit You?

Chronic pain can make your life melt into one unceasing blur of discomfort and exhaustion. You may have tried over-the-counter medications, opioids, steroid injections, and other methods, but they all failed. What do you do when your pain still isn’t lessened and your quality of life is suffering?

At Regenerative MedSpa of Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia, our team of body wellness and anti-aging specialists provides ketamine infusions for a variety of conditions to help relieve chronic pain.

Ketamine for mental health issues and chronic pain

While ketamine has been used as an anesthetic for surgical use, doctors can prescribe it “off-label” for many other conditions. In low doses, ketamine helps manage many conditions, from treatment-resistant depression to anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

From there, more research began to reveal the pain-reducing qualities of ketamine. Studies of ketamine treatment for fibromyalgia patients who were experiencing insistent chronic pain showed consistently positive results. Even better, instead of having to have medication daily, ketamine infusions reduce or stop pain for up to several months after each infusion.

How ketamine works

How ketamine works to reduce pain is not yet fully understood, but studies suggest it helps dampen down pain signals sent to the brain by interacting with specific receptors responsible for transmission of those signals. 

The analgesic effect is almost immediate with a ketamine infusion, and it lasts for a long time before wearing off. Additionally, several treatments spaced out across the course of multiple months can result in even longer-term cessation of pain, and fewer treatments needed each year.

Figuring out if ketamine is right for you

You might benefit from ketamine if you suffer from any of the following conditions:

• Chronic pain from cancer  
• Chronic post-surgical or post-traumatic pain
• Complex regional pain syndrome
• Depression
• Diabetic neuropathy
• Fibromyalgia
• Migraine disease
• Phantom pain after amputation
• Postherpetic neuralgia
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
• Trigeminal neuralgia

All of these conditions cause chronic pain, either physical, mental, or both. Ketamine provides a treatment option that may work when others have failed.

Additional benefits of ketamine infusions

Three big benefits of ketamine over opioid prescriptions (a common solution for pain) are:

1. Low addictive nature

Addiction to the extremely low doses of ketamine administered months apart is highly unlikely. This can be a huge comfort for patients who have a history of addiction, either personally or in their immediate family. 

2. Typically doesn’t lose efficacy

Unlike opioids, which your body can build a resistance to with daily use, leading to lowered effectiveness, ketamine remains effective over long time spans. This means you don’t have to be anxious about needing a higher and higher dose.

3. Isn’t hard on your stomach

Daily over-the-counter pills or opioid use can slowly damage your gastrointestinal system. Ketamine infusions go straight into your bloodstream, bypassing the gut. This can help eliminate damage to your stomach or intestinal lining.

To learn more about ketamine therapy, schedule a consultation with Regenerative MedSpa of Buckhead by calling 470-670-0465, or request an appointment online.