Imagine being so sensitive to stimuli that your body’s pain response reacts to a simple touch the same way it would to being hit by a hammer. For those who suffer from CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome), such reactions are a daily reality. Worse yet, the pain associated with CRPS can be difficult to manage.
Fortunately, there is new hope for those who suffer from this condition. An anesthetic drug called ketamine is helping reduce and eliminate pain in some who have CRPS.
Ketamine therapy can be administered as an outpatient or inpatient treatment. Outpatient treatments are done in a physician’s office and involve a four- to five-hour drip every day for a ten-day period. This is the most common form of ketamine treatment, and there are studies that show its effectiveness.
Until about 15 years ago, patients with unsuccessful management of CRPS pain had few options. However, an accidental discovery at a hospital in Germany led to an experimental treatment that is giving some CRPS patients their lives back.
Read the full article in Pain Pathways Magazine.
