Ketamine Infusions: Isn’t Ketamine A “Party Drug?”
Nov 18, 2020
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Medical drugs have long been used and abused as a “party drug” and in recent years that has included ketamine. Integrated Pain Consultants offers ketamine infusions to treat chronic pain, but the administration of ketamine infusions is wildly different....
Medical drugs have long been used and abused as a “party drug” and in recent years that has included ketamine. Integrated Pain Consultants offers ketamine infusions to treat chronic pain, but the administration of ketamine infusions is wildly different than the “Special K” type of ketamine sometimes used as a party drug. Administration makes all the difference, that is why a ketamine infusion is safe, non-addictive, and does not cause the side effects sought out by some users in club settings. Let’s take a look at the difference between ketamine infusions and what’s sometimes called “K” in party circles.
Ketamine is a type of injected, dissociative anesthetic that blocks sensory perception. It has been available for 50 years and was originally designed for veterinary use. Dissociative drugs, when administered/taken certain ways, can distort a person’s senses including sight, sound, and even sense of self and environment. PCP and DXM are other types of dissociative drugs taken recreationally.
Ketamine for Medical Use
Today, ketamine in the veterinary world goes by a different name. In the human medical world, ketamine infusions are used for pain relief and to help with short-term memory loss during some medical procedures (like surgery). It is proven to be very effective in certain types of pain management, such as in burn therapy, and is even used as a type of military medical drug. In recent years, it has also shown to be an effective way to decrease nerve pain levels in those struggling with chronic pain.
Ketamine infusions stop the communication between the pain sites of the body and the brain. This makes it an excellent choice to treat a wide variety of chronic pain symptoms. Chronic pain lasts several months and sometimes even a lifetime. If the source of the pain cannot be addressed, finding a safe and long-term solution to pain management is key. That is where ketamine infusions can help.
WHAT CAN MEDICAL KETAMINE INFUSIONS BE USED FOR?
Since ketamine infusions work by halting pain signals, they can be used for many types of pain. One of the most common types of pain that benefit from ketamine infusion is complex regional pain syndrome, spinal cord injuries, nerve pain conditions, and migraine headaches. An infusion treatment takes around four hours, with the actual IV infusion requiring three of those hours.