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The following article was published in Your Health Magazine. Our mission is to empower people to live healthier.
Christopher Sendi, MD
New Directions For Pain and Depression
NOVA Addiction Specialists, LLC
. http://www.novaddiction.com/

New Directions For Pain and Depression

Ketamine has been safely used for over 45 years, serving as an effective anesthetic agent that has also been shown to have benefits in the treatment of a wide variety of painful conditions as well as mood-related disorders. Treatment-resistant depression is an example of a life-threatening disorder that can be improved through the use of specific protocols that involve the infusion of ketamine.

Depression causes tremendous suffering in both quality of life as well as medical problems that result from the stress it produces. Many individuals have tried numerous therapies that have had little to no impact on their depression, leaving them feeling hopeless over their condition. It turns out that for properly selected individuals, ketamine can provide acute relief within hours to days.

Unlike typical antidepressants, ketamine interacts with certain brain-derived factors that encourage nerve cells to make meaningful connections that can diminish depression within a much shorter time than a standard depression medication. It is a ‘brain reset’ of sorts, allowing underlying medications to be adjusted while your mood is rapidly elevated through genuine changes of brain circuitry.

Ketamine also provides potentially effective treatment in cases of painful conditions, such as RSD/CRPS, trigeminal neuralgia, post-herpetic neuralgia, and several other nerve conditions. It can be used in an office-based intravenous protocol and then continued in a topical treatment for those who respond well.

Although ketamine is FDA approved for anesthetic use, it has not been sent to the FDA for approval of any other medical states. However, the evidence of its ability to provide relief in conditions such as PTSD, anxiety disorders, depression, suicidality, post-herpetic neuralgia, CRPS, trigeminal neuralgia, and multiple other conditions has accumulated over 45 years of use in multiple studies. It is also being evaluated for drug addictions as well as alcohol use disorder. More recently, Ketamine was featured in Time magazine (August 2017) and in JAMA (November 2017) due to the positive effects it has had in difficult-to-treat depression.

More and more clinics are offering this treatment, which creates new possibilities for improving conditions that formerly had so few options. With proper patient selection and appropriate monitoring, ketamine can be safely and comfortably used in an office setting. With a standard slow infusion, most people do not even notice any significant side effects. If you have suffered from any of these conditions then ask your specialist if ketamine may be a solution for you.

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