5 Important Reasons to Up Your Fiber Intake
Nutrition is an essential aspect of health and well-being, especially when it comes to eating fiber. Read on to discover five vital reasons to up your fiber intake for optimal health and some weight loss.
How Ketamine Infusions Can Treat Headaches
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.
Types of headaches
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
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.
Tension headaches
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.
Sinus headaches
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.
What is ketamine?
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.
How a ketamine infusion helps your pain
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.
You Might Also Enjoy...
Nerve Blocks for Neuropathy Pain: What to Expect
Neuropathy is a painful condition of the nerves that may be hard to diagnose. Nerve blocks are both diagnostic and provide pain relief for neuropathy. Read on to learn more about nerve blocks and what to expect at your appointment.
Here’s How to Prepare for Your Superion Procedure
Spinal stenosis is a problem that causes compression of the nerves from narrowing of the spinal canal – but is invasive surgery the only treatment option? Read on to discover how the minimally invasive Superion™ procedure works and how to prepare.
Understanding Your Trigger Points
Have you ever had a "knot" in your extremely painful muscle? It could be a trigger point that causes severe musculoskeletal pain. Read on to learn more about trigger points and how to achieve long-term relief.
What is NAD+ and Why is it So Popular?
NAD+ is one of those things you've heard of but don't know precisely what it does or why you need it. Keep reading to learn more about NAD+, its benefits, and why it's taking the medical industry by storm.
Does Sciatica Resolve On Its Own?
Sciatica is a painful back condition that can strike suddenly and make it hard to get your normal activities done – but do you need treatment? Read on to discover if sciatica resolves independently or if you need to seek expert care.