Chronic Pain

What is Chronic pain?

Chronic pain defined as pain that lasts longer than six months, can be moderate or severe, inconvenient or totally incapacitating, intermittent or continuous. According to the American Academy of Pain Medicine, more than 100 million Americans are suffering from chronic pain and it is the most common cause of long-term disability.

What are the different types of chronic pain?

Chronic pain can be of several different types, however medically speaking, these categories have been narrowed down into nociceptive pain and neuropathic pain.

Nociceptive pain begins when some sort of damage to the body trigger pain signals to be sent up the nervous system to the brain. Most of us are familial with this type of pain such as pain from bee sting, arthritis etc. 

Neuropathic pain occurs from injury to any part of our nervous system because nerves do not heal always. People with alcohol addiction, diabetes mellitus and those exposed to chemotherapy are at a higher risk for this kind of pain, but It can also follow a common injury does not heal properly. One of the more severe versions of chronic nerve damage is known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and it can be characterized by severe burning pain, pathological changes in bone and skin, excessive sweating, tissue swelling and extreme sensitivity to touch.

Fibromyalgia is also a kind of neuropathic pain that is not very well understood by medical community. Common consensus is that our central nervous system becomes hypersensitive to trivial stimuli, typically not supposed to produce such severe pain. Fibromyalgia affects 10 million people in the United States, and majority of those people are women.

Conventional Therapies for Chronic Pain

Getting relief from persistent pain and its crippling effects is the primary goal of all treatment modalities such as narcotic painkillers, antidepressants, anti-seizure medications, topical creams, nerve blocks but unfortunately these modalities are not always effective and sometimes can cause intolerable side effects.

Why Choose Ketamine?

Ketamine therapy offers promising results for pain sufferers and may be a viable, safe alternative to most conventional treatments. Ketamine works by rebooting the central nervous system’s sensitization to pain, thereby providing fast acting relief. Unlike, narcotics which make patients more sensitive to pain over time, ketamine helps quiet the brain during treatment and restores normal processing of pain in the brain to provide longer lasting relief.

Several studies show ketamine infusions are safe and efficacious treatments for managing CRPS and fibromyalgia. Three major professional organizations, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, and the American Academy of Pain Medicine, have concluded that ketamine infusions for chronic pain can be an effective treatment option.

It is important to note that ketamine therapy for chronic pain should always be prescribed and administered by a physician. At Ketamine Wellness Medical Practice in Long Island, we are happy to discuss where you or a loved one may be a candidate for ketamine treatment for chronic refractory pain. Feel free to contact us to learn more.

Why Choose Ketamine Wellness Medical Practice?

• Each infusion is administered and supervised by our highly experienced ketamine specialists. Our practice follows NIMH protocol but as one size does not fit all, each patient receives the safest and most effective personalized ketamine infusion protocol. 
• We do understand that most patients and their family members likely have a busy schedule. To make sure ketamine sessions don't interfere with their work schedule, our practice does offer sessions in the evening and over the weekends.
• We focus on our patients to get better without worrying about committing to six sessions. Patient only pay for the session they receive.
• Provider signed documentation is available on the day of infusion if patient prefers to file the insurance claim for each ketamine session individually.
• Once our ketamine specialist approves the ketamine therapy, every effort is made to schedule new patients within a week.
• We are proud to say that we have not seen any major adverse reactions in any of our patients. 
• Recently, we have seen uptrend in partial insurance reimbursements to our patients. Our superbill provides all the necessary information that most insurances require to process the claims.

If you or someone you know is suffering from this disorder, you may be able to experience rapid relief. Please contact us now for a consultation to see if you would be an ideal candidate for ketamine infusions.