Chronic pain can make life feel like a nightmare, not just because you are likely to experience those dreadful dreams. It can make it hardly possible to go about your routine. If you can’t accomplish activities of daily living with ease, your stress levels rise, especially if you have to rely on relatives or friends, since you can feel like a burden to others. Therefore, pain management can’t take the backseat. When you visit the best pain management specialist Charlotte, NC, you may be advised to consider ketamine infusion therapy.
Ketamine has come a long way, from being used primarily as an anesthetic during surgeries to touching more fields, including chronic pain and depression management, to mention a few fields. The FDA-approved drug features analgesic, sedative, and amnesic properties.
The analgesic or pain-relieving property works by acting against N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). NMDA is a chemical receptor that impacts pain modulation. Ketamine can be recommended to a patient struggling with chronic pain that does not respond to other treatment options. It can also help patients with chronic pain planning to have surgery. Among the top advantages of ketamine infusion therapy in pain management includes:
Faster pain relief
Ketamine works fast, meaning you will enjoy effective pain relief within a short period after the session. Besides being fast, the results last longer, allowing you to enjoy a more active, happier, and painless life or with significantly relieved pain levels.
Non-invasive
You may be thinking about surgery if you have tried traditional medication and therapy with little or no success. The thing with surgery is that it is invasive. The incisions come with their pain, recovery process, and period. This means you must also manage the consequential pan and take some time off to facilitate a smooth recovery. Moreover, surgery means you are exposed to many risks and complications, including bleeding and infection. With ketamine infusion therapy, you can avoid such invasive pain treatments. The process is painless and convenient.
Higher success rate
Ketamine infusion therapy continues to deliver a more promising success rate. Approximately 70% of chronic pain patients enjoy favorable results. The best part is that such a success rate is in many instances. This includes concerns like:
- Neuropathic pain
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
- Cancer and its treatment procedures
- Traumatic spinal injury
- Phantom pain
- Postherpetic neuralgia
- Fibromyalgia, to mention a few
Few side effects
Ketamine infusion therapy has few side effects; when present, they are mild and quickly subside. This is unlike pain medications such as over-the-counter or prescription opioid/non-opioids, whose use causes concerns like developing dependence, overdose, and health complications. Under professional care, ketamine infusion is a safe and effective chronic pain management solution. Nonetheless, you may experience side effects such as:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Dissociation
- Perceptual disturbances like blurry vision, a sense of time lapsing slowly or very fast, extra stimulation from noises, colors, or textures
- Liver problems
- High blood pressure
The potential side effects are among the reasons you should not abuse ketamine. Instead, only use it through professional supervision for optimum results and safety.
Ketamine infusion can help you manage chronic pain and improve the quality of your life. Contact or visit Charlotte Ketamine Center today to learn more about the treatment and if or how it can help in your situation.