Although Ketamine Treatments have been a safe and effective FDA-Approved drug for over 50 years, it is a new treatment for Lyme Disease. It is proving to be extremely helpful for patients with PTLD (Post Treatment Lyme Disease). Ketamine is given intravenously for 1 – 4 sessions and helps reduce the pain and depression caused by PTLD. At a molecular level, Ketamine blocks the NMDA receptor. The NMDA receptor is responsible for the body’s underlying neural network (similar to a computer network), and it’s the ability to process pain signals to the central nervous system. Over-activation of this receptor can result in excitotoxicity, resulting in a myriad of pain disorders. Ketamine is thought to correct this over-activation by blocking the NMDA receptor. However, the therapeutic effects of Ketamine far outlast the actual drug levels in the body, leading many to hypothesize that Ketamine induces secondary changes that produce long-lasting therapeutic results in a myriad of disease states.
What is promising about Ketamine for Chronic Lyme patients is that some insurance companies do cover part or all of the cost for these treatments. Since many Lyme treatments are out of pocket expenses, the fact that insurance companies are covering Ketamine treatments should be a reason to seriously look at this as an option for those suffering from severe pain due to Lyme.
For more information please read this cited study and this one too.
