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Patients usually think of pain as being physical, the result of injury or physical deterioration. Often the pain is actually a manifestation of a psychological issue, and attempts to manage the pain with traditional treatments are ineffective. In addition, chronic pain patients can also suffer psychological trauma in conjunction with their physical pain.

Chronic Pain has been linked to:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Mood Disorders
  • Anger and Frustration
  • Feelings of Hopelessness
  • Low Self-Esteem

Depression and Chronic Pain

Chronic depression can be a significant contributor to pain, compounding existing chronic pain issues, and complicating the diagnosis. Though a patient’s pain may be very real, despite not having an identifiable physical cause, these individuals must understand the best course of treatment may be psychological treatment. A comprehensive pain management program, including psychological treatment, is the best course of action. Psychological pain treatment can help reduce both physical pain, mental and emotional distress these patients may be experiencing.

Chronic Pain and Emotional Distress

Another psychological issue many confront is the very act of coping with chronic pain, whether from back pain, headaches, or degenerative diseases like fibromyalgia and degenerative disc disease. People who experience chronic pain know the persistence and endless nature of the diagnosis seems unrelenting. Depression, anxiety, anger, self-image issues, and general feelings of hopelessness are not uncommon, all of which make pain management and potential recovery more difficult. It is important for these patients to know they are not alone in this struggle, and resources exist at Comprehensive Centers For Pain Management to help with both their physical and psychological pain.

The Role of a Pain Management Psychologist

A dedicated pain management psychologist can be a helpful resource for those dealing with the emotional and psychological components of chronic pain. Today’s medical evidence strongly suggests that traditional pain management treatments, such as medication, injections, physical therapy, and rehabilitation, are all made significantly more effective when used in conjunction with a specialized pain management psychologist. These specialists deal directly with the mental and psychological issues that may be contributing or even causing pain. They are able to work with patients to understand and work through these issues. In addition, psychologists can reinforce the need for healthy coping mechanisms, identify warning signs for addiction and addictive behavior, and help manage the associated depression and anger.

Pain management psychologists can help patients progress through their pain management program successfully and return to their daily lives more rapidly.

Programs and Treatment Options:

Tapering Program: The tapering program at CC4PM is designed to help patients understand why tapering off high-dose opioid medication will actually improve the patient’s plan of care and reduce pain long term without the risk for addiction. This is a two-session program, each session approximately one hour long. In the first session, our nurse will explain facts about opioids and the reasons it is beneficial to taper off the medications. The second session will focus on learning different coping strategies and providing patients with the resources to support them through the tapering process.

Ketamine Infusion Therapy

“The #1 benefit of Ketamine Infusion Therapy for chronic pain is its ability to bring relief to symptoms within minutes or hours, rather than the weeks or months medication or physical therapy can take.”

Ketamine was first developed and approved by the FDA as an anesthetic, but it has been used as a medicine to treat pain for decades. Ketamine is what some doctors are calling the biggest breakthrough in depression and the treatment of pain in decades. When infused at a low dose into the bloodstream, research indicates that Ketamine may be up to 80% effective at treating symptoms of chronic pain and depression.

Ketamine’s Role in Pain Management

Traditional pain management methods are not effective for everyone. Some patients rapidly build a tolerance or experience negative side effects when taking opioid medication. For patients who struggle with addiction or negative side effects, ketamine treatment therapy can be ground-breaking for patients experiencing chronic pain. Our ketamine infusion therapy has proven to be more than a viable substitute for opioids, often acting as an effective part of a tapering program.

Modern studies have shown results that have led the medical field to consider ketamine’s wider potential – specifically when treating chronic pain. For people who don’t respond well to opioids, this has come as a welcome addition to the toolkit available to physicians. Studies show strong results with a range of conditions including cancer, CRPS, fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain, phantom pain, sickle cell disease, spinal injuries, and more.

While ketamine cannot help in every instance, the drug’s nature means that it targets a very specific set of receptors that are not affected by other treatments. If you haven’t seen success with other pain management treatments, we encourage you to visit https://nwohioketamineclinic.com for more information, check out this article of Ketamine Infusion Therapy by Dr. Brandon Stokey, a physician of Comprehensive Centers for Pain Management.
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Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a relatively prevalent syndrome that entails persistent widespread pain, stiffness, fatigue, impaired sleep, mood dysregulation, and cognitive difficulties. It is the most common ailment in which a person has chronic, generalized pain and tenderness in joints and muscle tissues. Fibromyalgia is frequently comorbid with depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

Ketamine infusion therapy is one of the most effective treatments for fibromyalgia due to its ability to treat physical pain symptoms, as well as its ability to treat depression, anxiety, and PTSD so often associated with fibromyalgia. For more information on how ketamine infusion therapy can tread fibromyalgia, visit https://nwohioketamineclinic.com/fibromyalgia today.

CRPS

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a widespread condition that affects thousands of Americans every year. According to the McGill Pain Index, CRPS pain is by far the most severe form of chronic pain. Most people suffering from CRPS live very demanding lives where their day-to-day activities have to be carefully planned and optimized to ensure that they don’t aggravate the pain. This might mean having to forego some very important activities and events which can also prove to be very frustrating at the very least.Ketamine infusion therapy is one of the few treatments that has shown success in treating CRPS. Ketamine targets NMDA receptors in the brain, allowing for treatment alternatives to opioid medications typically given for CRPS. Visit https://nwohioketamineclinic.com/crps/ for more information on how Ketamine Infusion Therapy can help CRPS.

Neuropathic Pain
Neuropathic pain, sometimes referred to simply as nerve pain, is any pain caused by damage to the nerves themselves. Neuropathic pain is often caused by an underlying condition, such as diabetes, CRPS, or fibromyalgia. While neuropathic pain has some treatments available, such as peripheral nerve stimulation, ketamine infusion therapy is much faster acting, and can provide relief without the need for surgery. Visit https://nwohioketamineclinic.com/neuropathic-pain/ for more information on how ketamine infusion therapy can help with neuropathic pain.

Ketamine for Depression

Ketamine has proven to be a valuable asset for those people who struggle with treatment-resistant depression in recent years. Doctors and researchers have found that with a medically-supervised protocol, it can help those who don’t respond to standard anti-depressants.

Ketamine targets NMDA receptors inside the brain. By targeting these receptors, ketamine is able to treat patients who are resistant to standard antidepressants. The sub-anesthetic dosage given during ketamine infusion therapy produces rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects.

After a series of six infusions, NorthWest Ohio Ketamine Clinic has seen a success rate of over 80%. Patients have seen a mean decrease in CUDOS score (a measurement of depression) of 74%, decreasing from 35.0 to 11.2 on average. Successful patients have improvement in their CUDOS score from averages of 34.9 to 8.9.

There are various risks that come with ketamine infusion therapy, and that’s why having an anesthesiologist oversee it being administered is so important. A nurse will regularly check on each patient throughout the infusion, and their levels will be constantly monitored. Ketamine has been shown to provide benefits for those who are struggling with suicidal ideation and other more serious cases of depression.

If you, or someone you know, have been struggling with depression, visit https://nwohioketamineclinic.com for more information or to schedule a consultation today.

Ketamine for Mental Health

Ketamine infusion therapy is used to treat depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, and bipolar disorder. For more information how ketamine infusion therapy can help with any of these mental health conditions, visit https://nwohioketamineclinic.com.

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Visit our patient resources pages to learn more about the many kinds of pain we treat and the wide variety of treatments and procedures available to our patients. Learn More