Are Ketamine Infusions Safe?

Ketamine infusions have become an increasingly versatile treatment option for people living with chronic pain that isn’t manageable with traditional therapies. For many patients with conditions like chronic back pain, complex regional pain syndrome, and fibromyalgia, ketamine therapy can provide lasting relief to improve their quality of life.

AABP Integrative Pain Care and Wellness offers ketamine infusion therapy to support those with chronic pain that’s not treatable with physical therapy, oral medications, or injectable medicines.

Because there are misconceptions about ketamine and its use in pain management, you may be wondering if the treatment is safe. Our experienced pain management specialists can discuss how ketamine can benefit you during a personal consultation. Here, we outline some important details about ketamine for chronic pain.

Understanding ketamine and its safety

Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic medication that affects the brain, nervous system, heart rate, blood pressure, and perception. That is why professional screening, dosing, monitoring, and follow-up are essential to ketamine safety.

Ketamine was originally developed and used as an anesthetic medication for surgical patients. Over time, physicians found that it may also help certain patients with treatment-resistant pain by acting on receptors involved in pain processing.

In particular, ketamine affects N-methyl-D-aspartate, or NMDA, receptors, which play a role in how the nervous system amplifies and maintains pain signals. By influencing these pathways, ketamine may help reduce pain sensitivity and change how the brain processes chronic pain.

So, are ketamine infusions safe? For certain patients in certain settings and with medical supervision, ketamine infusions are safe.

What to expect during a ketamine infusion

During a ketamine infusion, our pain management team delivers the medication through an intravenous (IV) line in a controlled medical environment.

At AABP Integrative Pain Care and Wellness, we administer ketamine in-office while our care team carefully monitors your oxygen levels, blood pressure, and pulse throughout treatment.

People typically remain awake and relaxed during the infusion, which may last about an hour, followed by a short recovery period. Because ketamine can temporarily affect coordination, alertness, and perception, you should arrange for someone to take you home.

Potential effects of ketamine infusion therapy

Like any medical treatment, ketamine infusions can cause side effects. Some people might experience:

• Warmth
• Lightheadedness
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Vivid thoughts
• A sense of euphoria

Ketamine can also raise blood pressure or heart rate in some people. Less commonly, patients may experience anxiety, confusion, or unpleasant dissociative sensations.

Because of the nature of these side effects, it’s critical to your safety that you follow the guidance of our medical team.

Candidates for ketamine infusion therapy

Before treatment, our providers review your medical history, current medications, heart health, blood pressure, mental health history, and overall goals for pain relief.

Ketamine infusions may not be recommended for you if you have certain uncontrolled cardiovascular conditions, substance misuse concerns, uncontrolled psychiatric conditions, or other risk factors. Our personalized evaluations help determine whether the potential benefits of ketamine therapy outweigh the risks.

It’s also important to understand that ketamine infusions are generally not considered a first-line treatment for chronic pain. They are often considered when conservative options such as oral medications, physical therapy, nerve blocks, or other injections have not provided enough relief.

If chronic pain limits your independence and quality of life but other treatments haven’t helped, ketamine infusion therapy may be worth discussing with our specialists. With proper screening and supervision, ketamine infusions may be a safe and viable option for lasting relief from difficult-to-treat pain conditions.

Schedule a consultation with our pain management team at AABP Integrative Pain Care and Wellness to find out if ketamine is a good fit for you. You can also book an evaluation online.