Ketamine for Chronic Pain
How Does Ketamine Help With Chronic Pain?
When our patients experience Ketamine therapy they can enjoy both immediate and direct pain relief, as well as long-term results in their chronic pain management. Additionally, individuals are able to dramatically lower the dosages of other medications, specifically narcotic-based, and nerve-related medications.
Through down-regulation of pain modulating receptors of the sympathetic nervous system, de-escalating the frequency of ion-gated Calcium channels in their synaptic firing of pain signals, and by promoting an improved production of our natural neural-repair enzymes (BDNF), many patients receive long-lasting results! During Ketamine infusion therapy, our patients experience a soothing, euphoric, warming relief, throughout their entire nervous systems.
Our specially trained Anesthesiologists MDs customize every single Ketamine infusion to each specific patient. This allows us to increase our dosing regimens, versus many other providers, to maximize each patient’s experience, and optimize results.
Our goal is to provide the maximum benefit from every single dose, while still maintaining the utmost in safety. Our patients rave about the relief that they receive and while there is never a guarantee of success, we are extremely excited with the results of Ketamine’s ability to treat chronic pain.
Ketamine Successfully Treats:
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS, also refereed to as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy)
- Stress-induced Arthritic pain
- Chronic back pain and neuropathy
- Diabetic Neuropathy
- Phantom limb pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Autoimmune inflammation
- Intestinal inflammations (Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis)
- Chronic neck/back pain and neuropathies
- Other neuropathies
How does Ketamine relieve chronic pain?
- With chronic pain, a phenomenon known as “central sensitization” is believed to intensify pain by increasing the number of NMDA receptors – this ends up amplifying the pain signal. Ketamine’s interference with the NMDA receptor helps block and “reset” pain signaling, providing relief where other treatments have failed. This allows for “rebooting” of central pain centers and desensitization to peripheral pain signals.
- Not a single other medication directly targets this mechanism. This NMDA antagonism attenuates, diminishes, and can shorten the pain experience for specific patients.
- By resetting the NMDA receptors, a patient’s nervous system can begin to revert back to its original state. This allows patients the ability to experience relief, as well as lower tolerance to other pain medications. Patients get a second chance! Imagine being able to remove or lower pain drug dosing, to a time before the body became physiologically dependent on narcotic drugs!
- Ketamine also down-regulates other pain modulating receptors of the sympathetic nervous system, including de-escalating the frequency of ion-gated Calcium channels in their synaptic firing of pain signals. This means that fewer peripheral pain signals will register or be experienced by the patient.
- Ketamine promotes an improved production of our natural neural-repair enzymes (BDNF). This enables our nervous system to heal, structurally, and remodel the nerves and pathways that have been causing excessive pain signaling. This restructuring can assist patients in receiving long-lasting results!
- Ketamine resets the “default mode network” in the brain. It is now believed that this area of the brain is responsible for part of what we refer to as the “mind-body connection.” Dysregulation of the default mode network can result in increased pain from increased emotional stress and increased emotional stress from each pain signal. This vicious cycle is one that individuals suffering with chronic pain are unfortunately very familiar with. When ketamine resets this process like a circuit breaker, it can significantly reverse this cycle back to a healthy and balanced relationship. Bottom line: Less pain, and a more optimistic, positive daily experience!
- **** There are no long-term negative side-effects from ketamine infusion therapy. It also has no physiologic dependency. With a 60-year safety profile, this is an extremely comforting record compared to many other treatment modalities
Through a euphoric, calm, and soothing experience, Ketamine actually reverses our body’s abnormal up-regulation of the pain process, and it can give long-lasting results!
The NeuroRelief™ Difference: Treating the Whole Individual
Pain is both a physical and emotional state of being. At NeuroRelief™ we have demonstrated that by addressing both the direct pain of the peripheral nervous system and the emotional results of living with such conditions, we achieve synergistic results in both areas. The Mind and Body connection is now very well documented, and the NeuroRelief™ care model heals both aspects, each of which can now positively remodel the other, leading to a reversal of negative cycles and optimization of the complete person.
At our state-of-the-art clinical facility, every NeuroRelief™ treatment plan for chronic pain includes multiple, integrated components. To assist our unique clients in achieving their personal growth and treatment goals Dr. Harris, and our clinical team, incorporate several, synergistic approaches to address different facets of each person’s needs. This detailed tailoring of treatment, coaching, and support allows clients to surpass even their own dreams of success and relief!
In addition to the direct neurological and pain relief benefits of our customized ketamine infusions, each treatment day consists of one-on-one emotional integration sessions, before and after each ketamine infusion. We incorporate cognitive behavior (CBT) learning and mindfulness training into every day of a client’s journey, to help them learn how to maintain the gains they achieve, for the long-term.
Every NeuroRelief™ ketamine infusion program includes five(5) 1-hour, one-on-one integration therapy sessions with your personal Certified Integration and Recovery Coach between treatment days.
Our Medical Director, Dr. Harris, is amazingly available. He is always accessible, 24/7, via text, email, and phone, to be contacted directly by each and every one of our clients. This unprecedented level of access to clinical and emotional support empowers our clients to maximize their successes and learn how to maintain them!
The Benefits Of Ketamine: Before & After
Before Ketamine
- Before Ketamine, a person suffering from chronic pain may feel trapped, unable to enjoy activities of daily living, living in a vicious cycle of pain, medications, low-energy, and depression
- The emotional toll of chronic pain can be equal to the pain itself. Patients may withdraw from relationships, family, and the other healthy activities that they theoretically might still be capable of
- Depression, anxiety, and hopelessness are common emotions attached with chronic pain
- Constantly increasing requirements for pain medicine, based on our bodies’ rising tolerance, drastically affects quality of life.
After Ketamine
- Ketamine directly treats pain, re-wires the nervous system to down-regulate future pain signaling, and resets these pathways to healthy, lower thresholds
- Additionally, Ketamine treats the emotional components of pain. Our patients feel empowered to calmly and objectively, process information and thoughts, without the rush of secondary anxieties, negative ruminations, or doubt.
- Ketamine dramatically reverses our bodies’ tolerance to pain medicines, making them more effective, and giving the opportunity to lower dosages and regain control of one’s life!
- The Ketamine experience gives each individual, in addition to significant pain relief, the opportunity to self-examine in a euphoric, safe place; to re-work their thought processes in a space that is filled with calm, wellbeing and relief.
You Are NOT Alone
- Over 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than six months.
- These symptoms can be moderate or excruciating, infrequent or constant, mildly inconvenient or totally incapacitating.
- When chronic pain develops, signals of pain continue to transmit through nervous system for months or even years.
- The emotional toll of chronic pain also can create a feedback loop that makes pain worse. Anxiety, stress, depression, anger, and fatigue interact in complex ways with chronic pain and may decrease the body’s production of natural painkillers, as well as up-regulate pain inducing neurotransmission.
- The socioeconomic burden due to chronic pain is enormous and cannot be overestimated.
At NeuroRelief™, we use evidence-based approaches to patient care. Our clients achieve amazing results, gaining newfound relief, confidence and empowerment. We work closely with each person’s existing pain management professional to become an important tool in a multi-faceted treatment approach. We can also assist in arranging referrals to one of our amazing colleagues. We look forward to providing the highest level of service to our clients.
Additional Patient Information
We do NOT provide long term pain management counseling and recommend that patients with chronic pain conditions be seen before and after ketamine therapy with their own pain management specialists. Continued follow-up with those professionals is vital to allow our therapy to synergize with a patients existing diagnosis and treatment regimen, to promote safe and optimal outcomes for each individual.Customized Protocols for Each Individual Client
1.5 to 2-hour one-on-on, pre-treatment consultation with the physician. (On your first treatment day). This is a wonderful opportunity for the physician that is leading your care to learn more about your individual needs and goals. This valuable time let’s your doctor learn how to best tailor the therapeutic approach to you, specifically, and to be the best guide possible through your journey of growth and healing
– Pre-treatment coaching/integration session
– 120 minutes customized ketamine infusion (adjusted in real-time to optimize each client’s experience to their unique neurology, psychology, personality, physiology, and tolerance levels
– Recovery time (varies per client but every client is welcomed to stay in their relaxing treatment suite for as long as they like – you will NEVER be asked to leave to make room for another patient)
– Post-infusion integration session
– CBT (cognitive behavior technique) and Mindfulness training on how to increase the client’s benefit though at-home daily exercises.
– 24/7 direct contact via text/phone/email to your treating physician.
**** Emotional Coaching is provided, in the clinic, and also via 5 hours of live Zoom sessions with your personal Integration Coach.
1.5 to 2-hour one-on-on, pre-treatment consultation with the physician. This is a wonderful opportunity for the physician that is leading your care to learn more about your individual needs and goals. This valuable time let’s your doctor learn how to best tailor the therapeutic approach to you, specifically, and to be the best guide possible through your journey of growth and healing
– Pre-treatment coaching/integration session
– 240 minutes customized ketamine infusion (adjusted in real-time to optimize each client’s experience to their unique neurology, psychology, personality, physiology, and tolerance levels
– Recovery time (varies per client but every client is welcomed to stay in their relaxing treatment suite for as long as they like – you will NEVER be asked to leave to make room for another patient)
– Post-infusion integration session
– CBT (cognitive behavior technique) and Mindfulness training on how to increase the client’s benefit though at-home daily exercises.
– 24/7 direct contact via text/phone/email to your treating physician.
**** Emotional Coaching is provided, in the clinic, and also via 5 hours of live Zoom sessions with your personal Integration Coach.
Also known as the “Schwartzman protocol”, this method is the gold standard for treating severe chronic pain.
– This intense protocol acts like a “circuit breaker,” to reset severe central pain sensitization back to standard and levels(like cardioversion of an abnormal heart rhythm back to normal sinus rhythm)
– Many clients can achieve previously impossible remission of their severe pain syndromes
***Based on clinical experience
2-hour PAIN protocol (moderate pain)protocol:
- Pain scores <7
- Where the pain is a major factor in their normal experience, but does NOT create disability in performing functional tasks of daily life
4-hour PAIN protocol (severe pain) or Substance abuse recovery protocol:
- Pain scores 7 or greater
- Where the pain is THE major factor in their normal experience, and DOES create significant disability in performing functional tasks of daily life
Can I Afford Ketamine Infusion Therapy?
Ketamine treatment plans are very individualized and there are several different protocols, just for depression. Through detailed phone consultation and intake with Dr. Harris, we support each client in making the choice of protocol that is perfect for them. We can share the differences in pricing of these different protocols during our first phone consultation.
At NeuroRelief™, the initial treatment plan we recommend for new clients is to come in for 6 treatment days over a 2-3 week period of time. This is the latest medical consensus of best initial practices for best initial results, called the Stabilization Protocol.
Please see our Affordability page for detailed information on our 15-month interest-free financing program and our robust superbill reimbursement services.
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