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Treating chronic pain with ketamine

Chronic pain affects about 20 percent of the American population. That’s millions of people experiencing bothersome, intrusive, or even downright debilitating pain on the regular. But it doesn’t have to be a life sentence.With ketamine, you can beat chronic pain and get back to living your best life.


Watch a success story from CNN
What is ketamine?
Ketamine is a medication that helps alleviate acute and chronic pain—both physically and mentally. Best of all, ketamine works quickly and effectively, so you don’t have to wait weeks or even months to find relief from symptoms as is the case with most antidepressants.
When was ketamine created?
Ketamine has a long history as a pain reliever.Developed in 1962, ketamine was initially used as an anesthetic on battlefields, in operating rooms, and in pediatric medicine for minor procedures. Beginning in the 1970s, ketamine gained the unfortunate reputation as a club drug as it became a popular substance of abuse among partygoers and later rave culture.Ketamine’s notoriety took a positive turn in1990s when the Yale School of Medicine began researching ketamine therapy as a potential treatment for depression. They found that ketamine can provide significant relief of depression symptoms when administered in a clinical setting and at the right dosage.Further studies have shown similar results, with significant positive outcomes for ketamine among patients with severe treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation.“The rapid therapeutic response of ketamine in treatment-resistant patients is the biggest breakthrough in depression research in a half century,” said Ronald Duman, the Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Neurobiology, Yale School of Medicine.
   How does ketamine help
   with chronic pain?

Ketamine has been used for pain management since the 1960s, in a way that doesn’t reduce blood pressure or lower your breathing rate—making it one of the safest options out there.

It does this by acting against the chemical receptor, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), in the brain and spinal cord. The NMDA receptor is involved in the amplification of pain signals, opioid tolerance, and the development of central sensitization.Ketamine also helps sedatives work and helps people need fewer addictive painkillers, like morphine, especially after surgery or while caring for burns.

This has been shown to work long-term, helping not only with acute pain, but also chronic pain.
"In the right hands, it is a miracle," American Society of Anesthesiologists President John Abenstein, MD, said in an interview. To receive these incredible results, you need the right doctor administering the treatment. Under the wrong care, you can experience adverse effects, such as drowsiness, nausea, amnesia, confusion, agitation, and behavioral changes. At Nova Vita, we offer very experienced care, ensuring you receive all of the benefits of ketamine in a way that’s perfectly safe and able to work long-term.
Other uses for ketamine
Ketamine has also effectively been used to treat the following: