Ketamine and Pain Management is a very important relationship, just as Ketamine for depression may be another opportunity to help patients.  If you suffer from chronic pain, including severe neuropathic pain, Ketamine for pain management may be a solution for you to discuss with your pain management doctor.

What is Ketamine?

Ketamine was approved for use by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1970. Ketamine is a derivative of Phencyclidine Hydrochloride, which is also known as Angel Dust, or PCP.  This is a clear liquid or white crystalline powder. Veterinarians primarily utilize Ketamine as a horse tranquillizer. Ketamine’s potency is one-tenth that of PCP and was originally an anesthetic agent for human beings.

Ketamine’s use as an anesthetic is fading; however, many are starting to look at Ketamine as a solution for chronic pain and depression. This is especially true for cases of severe neuropathic pain, and for a common comorbid condition of chronic pain: depression.

Ketamine and Pain Management

Is Ketamine really a solution for chronic pain; does it work? Ketamine used in lower doses, rather than high doses as used as an anesthesia, to provide chronic pain relief. Ketamine’s role in pain management is to relief acute or chronic pain. When a single intravenous dose of the medicine was introduced prior to incision, postoperative pain and morphine utilization were reduced. Ketamine can also be a benefit to assist postoperative pain in patients who have decreased opioid tolerance, increased sensitivity to pain, and allodynia.

Not a Stand-Alone Medicine

It is recommended that Ketamine be used in addition to narcotic pain medications to treat pain. Ketamine is not meant to be used as a stand-alone medication for a solution to pain relief. It is yet to be determined what the optimal dose of Ketamine for pain relief should be; however, it is known that the dose is close to that as a dose for anesthesia. Ketamine and Pain Management needs more research before the medicine can be prescribed nationwide.

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