Chronic Pain and Depression often go hand in hand. Almost all patients with chronic pain will eventually suffer from depression as well, and we’ve found that treating one without treating the other is a no-win proposition. After all, when you wake up each day faced with debilitating pain, it’s no wonder that you might become less enthusiastic, down, and overwhelmed by hopelessness. And when you’re down and hopeless, your pain perception goes through the roof. We understand.

Advanced Practice Pain Management, in Henderson, Texas, serves the residents of East Texas and beyond. Dwight and his team take a compassionate, individualized approach to treating your chronic pain to help you improve your life. If you’ve tried a variety of treatments but continue to suffer, perhaps you should consider Ketamine Infusion Therapy. Please take a few minutes to learn about how this emerging therapy might help you manage your symptoms and enjoy a happier, more active lifestyle.

Ketamine Infusion Therapy

Ketamine has been used in anesthesia since the 1960’s and has been used to treat chronic pain and depression for more than 10 years. Using lower doses than are needed for anesthesia, ketamine infusions can ease pain and reduce feelings of depression, including severe depression. Although the exact way ketamine works is amazingly complex and remains poorly understood, it clearly affects the receptors in your brain that contribute to your feelings of pain and despair.

When ketamine binds to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in your brain, it causes the increase of a neurotransmitter called glutamate. Glutamate stimulates another brain receptor, which releases molecules that help neurons build new communication pathways in your brain. This process is called synaptogenesis, and it’s thought to positively affect your mood and thought patterns. Ketamine reduces signals in your brain that are connected to inflammation, which decreases your overall perception of pain. Recently, is has been discovered that ketamine can alter some processes that contribute to conditions of autoimmune disorders, their subsequent syndromes, and painful conditions. Ketamine has been demonstrated to positively affect the altered levels of good and bad gut bacteria in chronic painful conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease. Ultimately, ketamine works in several ways to simultaneously ease your level of pain, improve your mood, and alleviate depression and hopelessness.

Ketamine Infusion Therapy may provide relief when other medications don’t

Addictive opioid pain medications have become an epidemic in our society. If you’re looking to become less dependent on opioids, Ketamine Infusion Therapy may allow you to take less pain medication or eliminate it altogether, and provide lasting relief from chronic, debilitating pain.

Ketamine Infusion Therapy often works faster on pain and depression

When it comes to treating depression with traditional antidepressants, you need to take them for a month or more before they begin to take effect. In addition, you may need to trial multiple medications before finding one that works for you. This can take months.

With Ketamine Infusion Therapy, it’s possible to experience an improvement in your condition in hours or days rather than weeks or months. Studies indicate that completing the prescribed series of infusions and subsequent maintenance infusions has the best chance of providing protracted relief. We create a customized Ketamine Infusion Therapy plan based on your individual needs and your response to the Therapy. After the initial treatment, we’ll work together to determine if a schedule of regular maintenance treatments will help you maintain your positive results. We may also recommend Ketamine Infusion Therapy in combination with additional therapies and other treatments as a holistic approach to helping you manage your pain condition for the long term.

Even if you’ve tried other approaches to pain management without success and may have daily thoughts of despair, PLEASE DON’T LOSE HOPE. At Advanced Practice Pain Management, we will work with you to help you get your life back. Call us today. 903 655 4814.

Sundaram, S., & Govindarajan, A. S. (2021). Ketamine for Non-Neuropathic Pain. In N. Saiz-Sapena, & M. Granell-Gil (Eds.), Ketamine Revisited - New Insights into NMDA Inhibitors. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101665

Deka, B., Dash, B., Bharali, A., & Ahmed, A. (2021). Ketamine: More than Just NMDA Blocker. In N. Saiz-Sapena, & M. Granell-Gil (Eds.), Ketamine Revisited - New Insights into NMDA Inhibitors. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101113

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=Chronic+Pain&term=Ketamine+Infusion&cntry=US&state=&city=&dist=

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=&term=ketamine+infusions+for+depression&cntry=&state=&city=&dist=&recrs=e

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30579332/