Ketamine Therapy
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Interventional Pain Associates
Sarosh Saleemi, MD
Pain Management Physician & Aesthetics Laser & Wellness Center located in Austin, TX
Struggling through each day when you have chronic pain can be a considerable challenge, and even more so when you can’t get any respite. If your chronic pain isn’t responding to current treatments, Sarosh Saleemi, MD, at Interventional Pain Associates in Austin, Texas, offers an alternative with ketamine therapy. Ketamine can alter the activity of chemicals in your brain to minimize pain and give you much-needed relief. To see if ketamine therapy could help you overcome chronic pain, call Interventional Pain Associates today or book an appointment online.
Ketamine Therapy Q & A
What is ketamine therapy?
Ketamine is a drug originally used as an anesthetic, but more recently, it’s become a valuable treatment for chronic pain.
Ketamine therapy could relieve your pain even when other treatments aren’t helping, and is especially effective for conditions such as:
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
- Neuropathic pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Spinal injuries
- Cancer
Research is still ongoing into exactly how ketamine works to control pain, but it seems likely that its effects are due to chemical changes in your brain.
Ketamine blocks NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors, which are substances that react to glutamate, a neurotransmitter found in your brain. Preventing NMDA receptor activity results in a reduction in pain.
Is ketamine therapy a suitable treatment for me?
Ketamine therapy might be suitable if you have a chronic pain condition and your current treatment isn’t improving your symptoms.
Dr. Saleemi offers patients a selection of approaches to treating chronic pain, including physical therapies, medications, and various interventional procedures.
Most patients find conservative treatments like these are effective in relieving their pain. However, some don’t feel much benefit, or the effects become less noticeable as their condition progresses.
In these cases, ketamine is an alternative that could offer genuine hope. However, ketamine isn’t suitable for everyone, so Dr. Saleemi takes you through an evaluation process before approving you for ketamine therapy.
What does ketamine therapy involve?
Ketamine is available in various forms, from pills and injections to creams and inhalants. A particularly popular technique is intravenous (IV) ketamine infusion, where a needle in your arm slowly delivers ketamine directly into your bloodstream for about an hour.
IV ketamine infusion has advantages because it’s easier for your medical team to monitor you and respond if you have an adverse reaction to the drug.
Before you receive ketamine, Dr. Saleemi gives you midazolam, a sedative that prevents ketamine from causing side effects such as hallucinations.
How often do I need ketamine therapy?
If a trial IV ketamine infusion offers appreciative relief from pain, you could have up to 10 ketamine treatments. The frequency at which you receive ketamine depends on how effective the treatment is and how long you benefit from its effects.
Results vary, but most patients find they feel the benefits of their ketamine therapy for around three months after a series of treatments.
If you find that current treatments are having little effect on your chronic pain, talk to Dr. Saleemi about your suitability for ketamine therapy. Call Interventional Pain Associates today to schedule a consultation or use the online form to book an appointment.