Ketamine capsules may help manage acute or chronic pain. It can also be useful in countering post-op pain in patients with:
- Reduced responsiveness to opioids (tolerance)
- Heightened sensitivity to pain (hyperalgesia)
- Pain due to stimuli that are not typically painful (allodynia)
American Integrative Pharmacy (AIP), led by the accomplished Dr. Neema Yazdanpanah, provides judicious and reliable compounding treatments to patients in Long Beach, Torrance, Los Angeles, South Bay Orange County, Southern California areas, and in every state in the US.
Ketamine Capsule Uses
Ketamine usage for acute pain is indicated as supplement to traditional pain relievers. This mediation is not meant to be used in isolation for pain management. Ketamine’s optimal dose for pain has not yet been established. However, there exists only a narrow window between the optimal dose for pain management and the dose for anesthesia leading to a loss of consciousness.
Ketamine may help with other chronic pain disorders such as:
- Pain from reduced blood flow (ischemia) to tissues
- Complex regional pain syndrome, which can impact a limb post-injury
- Fibromyalgia, which is a type of pervasive musculoskeletal pain, including back pain
- Facial pain
- Atypical tooth pain
- Phantom limb pain experienced after amputation
- Post herpetic neuralgia, which is pain in the nerves after the resolution of shingles
- Poststroke pain
- Spinal injury
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain
There is only moderate evidence for the effectiveness of ketamine in the treatment of chronic pain. However, it does deserve consideration as a third-line agent if the first and second-line agents such as anti-seizure meds, narcotics, and anti-depressants do not sufficiently address the chronic pain.
Ketamine for the Treatment of Depression
The use of ketamine as a PTSD treatment and an anti-depressant is growing rapidly, and research studies are becoming more extensive. Here is a directory of doctors in the US who offer ketamine treatment for bipolar, depression, PTSD as well as other mood disorders.
According to a 2014 article by BBC on ketamine, certain patients suffering from incurable depression for several years experienced the disappearance of symptoms within a few hours of taking low ketamine doses.
It is remarkably effective in the treatment of depression as its positive impact starts almost instantly within 1 to 12 hours. Relatively, SSRIs may take several weeks to start showing effect, if at all. Furthermore, ketamine seems to have lesser side-effects than SSRIs (although there has been no research on the long-term ketamine use).
It is exceptionally effective for individuals who are unresponsive to SSRIs and other anti-depressants. If a patient has experienced limited success with different types of treatments, they may respond well to ketamine.
Ketamine Use-Precautions
The patient should be mindful of the following things while considering ketamine treatment:
- The patient should inform all of their medical care providers that they are taking ketamine. This includes the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists.
- The patient should avoid driving and undertaking tasks or activities that require alertness.
- The patient should inform their doctor before drinking alcohol or using other medications or vitamins and supplements that may slow their actions.
American Integrative Pharmacy receives patients from Long Beach, Torrance, Los Angeles, South Bay Orange County, Southern California areas, and nationwide for a wide range of compounding treatments.
For more information on compound pharmacy medications available or to make an online prescription purchase, please click here or call Toll Free 1-855-247-7948.
American Integrative Pharmacy is located in Lomita, CA serving residents in and around Orange County, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Torrance and surrounding areas. Online prescription sales are available across the US.
