We often get asked if Ketamine can help with chronic pain, especially back pain. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions: 1. Is the Ketamine protocol the same for depression and for pain? While some pain conditions do respond to the Ketamine mood protocol, not all pain conditions will. This is especially true of back pain. Chronic back pain does require a much higher dosage which would be infused over multiple hours. For Depression it would be one hour at a lower dose. 2. If I suffer from depression or anxiety as well as chronic pain, would the pain protocol help with my mood? The pain protocol can help with depression, but it is not ideal because higher doses of ketamine require some sedation to be tolerated. And there is the possibility that sedation can impede in the dissociative aspect of Ketamine which can have a therapeutic effect. That being said, I have many patients whose depression is lifted with a high dose pain protocol. 3. If I am taking daily opiates for my pain, how does ketamine therapy work in conjunction with opiates? We ask that opiates not be taken on the morning of an infusion. Eventually, patients whose pain has responded to Ketamine significantly decrease or stop using their opiates. This in turn has led many to see a lifting in their depression and greater daily productivity. 4. Can ketamine help with opiate withdrawal symptoms? Ketamine can help with opiate withdrawal that is mild to moderate. Ketamine can also reduce opiate requirements for pain. However, weaning off opiates should always be done under the guidance of the prescribing physician so as to not elicit dangerous withdrawal symptoms. 5. What's the long-term approach for using ketamine to manage chronic pain? How about chronic back pain? Ketamine is not considered a permanent cure; but it is a highly effective alternative with minimal if any side effects. Some patients come back once every 4 months for continued relief, others once every 8 weeks, and some once a month. Everyone is different and there is no way to knowvuntil the treatment is tried. However, many patients have felt relief for many months. #backpain #backpainrelief #backsurgery #pain (at Ketamine Healing Clinic of Los Angeles) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLXqRAPlYjM/?igshid=nd4olnbophnx
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