Chronic pain is a common occurrence, as many adults live with it today. This may be because pain management techniques like physical therapy and oral medication have proven inadequate. Recent times have seen the development of modern innovative methods of pain management Midtown. These methods include the newly developed ketamine infusion treatment. This treatment and how it works are discussed in vivid detail below.
What is Ketamine treatment?
Ketamine is a drug that physicians commonly use as an anesthetic to trigger loss of consciousness. Other effects felt include a reduced sensation of pain and sedation.
This drug is approved to be used as a general anesthetic only. However, some doctors prescribe it for other uses like depression.
Ketamine has hallucinogenic properties, making it incapacitate, sedate, and cause short-term memory loss. This makes people use it as a date-rape drug.
Recreational use of ketamine can be hazardous as it is only used in controlled medical settings.
Ketamine induces general anesthesia due to its dissociative anesthetic properties for operations that do not need muscle relaxation. The sleep-like state denoted by the general anesthesia is combined with the effect of the disconnected feeling.
Various off-label uses for ketamine include:
Treating Pain
Ketamine in low doses without the dissociation effect can relieve severe pain from conditions like:
· Fractures
· Trauma
· Leg or arm pain
· Abdominal pain
· Lower back pain
Inducing general anesthesia
Ketamine alone or combined with other general anesthetics like nitrous oxide induce anesthesia. Its use in the emergency room provides short-term sedation when:
· Treating joint dislocations
· Reducing fractures
· Repairing wounds in uncooperative children
Treating Depression
Depression patients who are not responsive to other treatments can get relief from ketamine. However, the data on ketamine use is limited, with several unknown risks. Ketamine is thus used when other traditional methods have failed.
Treating Status Epilepticus
Status epilepticus condition involves you having a seizure that lasts for longer than six minutes. Refractory status epilepticus typically does not respond to standard antiseizure drugs and thus is severe enough to cause brain damage or death. There have been several positive results when using ketamine to treat RSE.
Treating Anxiety
People with a social anxiety disorder may find relief through ketamine use as they can confront their marked fear of social situations. However, its use should be limited as further research into the subject is conducted.
Common side effects of ketamine use, even at prescribed doses, include:
· Double vision
· Drowsiness
· Nausea
· Confusion
· Dizziness
· Vomiting
· Feeling of unease
Other risks involved with ketamine use include:
· Respiratory depression due to overdose or rapid administration
· Instability of blood vessels and heart function
· Increase in intracranial pressure
· Emergence reactions like agitation or confusion when recovering
· Thinking or cognitive deficits, especially in children
· Liver dysfunction due to ketamine administration
Ketamine use in the medical industry has not been looked into exhaustively to determine its expected effects on various conditions. However, some institutions have advanced knowledge on its use in multiple situations. Check us out online or call our offices in Midtown, NY.