If you suffer from chronic headaches, you know the pain they cause and how miserable this condition makes you. Whether it’s a migraine or another type of headache, finding a treatment that gets your pain under control is sometimes a hard task; but you could be in luck with a ketamine infusion to relieve your pain.
At Delmarva Pain and Spine Center, our team are experts in helping you overcome your acute or chronic pain. Our pain management specialist, Dr. Shachi Patel, is well versed in many different types of pain treatments, including ketamine infusions. She determines if this type of treatment is a viable option to give you the pain relief you need.
A headache that pops up every once in a while usually isn’t an issue — but when the headaches are more persistent and they affect your daily life, it’s time to get help.
Migraines are one of the more commonly known types of headaches, but they aren’t the only type that can lead to intense and uncomfortable pain. Some of the other types of headaches that you may experience include:
Cluster headaches tend to cause very severe pain, and are considered one of the worst types of headaches. They’re called cluster headaches because they tend to come in clusters, or groups. They may occur more than once a day for up to three months. Cluster headaches cause piercing or burning pain behind one of your eyes.
This type of headache is usually caused by stress. The pain from tension headaches can come and go, and they usually go away on their own. These are the most common type of headache, especially among adults.
When your sinuses become irritated or inflamed, you may end up with a sinus headache. The pain from this headache affects your nose, your cheeks, and your forehead. With this type of headache, you may have other symptoms as well, including a fever or full feeling in your ears.
Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic drug that’s used for sedation in surgical procedures. This medication has very potent pain relieving properties, and it can help with a variety of chronic pain conditions.
Ketamine is also used for depression and other mental health problems that haven’t been treated successfully through other methods of therapy.
Ketamine is a controlled drug, and because of its very powerful pain relieving properties, it’s often abused. However, in a controlled medical setting, it has amazing potential to relieve chronic pain from conditions like fibromyalgia and migraines.
Dr. Patel uses ketamine infusion therapy to help you with the chronic pain that’s associated with headaches. It not only helps acute episodes of headaches or migraines, but can also keep them at bay through follow-up treatments.
When you come in for a ketamine infusion, one of our staff puts an intravenous line into one of your arms and hooks it up to a bag of fluid, usually saline. You’re also placed on a heart monitor, to evaluate your vital signs during the infusion.
Once you’re ready and comfortable, Dr. Patel initiates the ketamine infusion. While the ketamine is infusing, our staff carefully monitors your blood pressure and heart rate. They also evaluate your mood and how you’re feeling.
The ketamine infusion usually takes less than an hour, and you may experience the pain relief from the medication almost immediately. Because it’s given in an IV through your veins, the ketamine has the ability to work very quickly on the pain receptors in your brain.
You may experience pain relief for some time, or Dr. Patel could recommend follow-up infusions if you’re suffering from frequent painful headache episodes.
While ketamine infusions done in our clinic setting are very safe, they do come with side-effects just like any other treatment. The most common things you may experience are drowsiness and vivid dreams.
When headaches are affecting your daily life, call our office at 302-355-0900 to learn more about ketamine infusions. You can also book an appointment with us online today.
