When you have a rare disease like complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), sometimes it seems like doctors don’t know anything about it.
What’s worse, it seems like a lot of them don’t care.
However, the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association (RSDSA) is making sure they pay attention.
Devoted to raising awareness and education about CRPS and RSD, the association hosted a conference directed at doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
Their mission: provide continual medical education (CME) training exploring the use of ketamine as a treatment for CRPS.
Ketamine?
Yep. Commonly known as a street drug, in controlled doses, ketamine has shown some promise for a variety of conditions including depression and CRPS.
Unfortunately, most of the research is still in early stages and there’s a definite need for more studies.
However, the fact that a foundation is educating doctors and nurses on CRPS, providing more information about how the syndrome works and could possibly be treated is huge!
If you have CRPS and are struggling with getting the pain under control, you might want to bring up IV ketamine to your doctor. Or at the very least, work with your doctor to try to find other options.
The research is out there, sometimes it’s just a matter of finding it.
Some good places to look are:
- Clinical Trials.gov: They keep track of all current and upcoming clinical trials occurring in the USA. It’s a great way to figure out what is potentially up and coming in terms of treatment. Plus, you can see if there’s any clinical trial you may be eligible for.
- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association (RSDSA): Their treatment page has a list of articles by various doctors discussing potential treatment options.
So, if you feel like your CRPS isn’t being properly managed, just remember you have plenty of options.
And if your doctor isn’t giving you the dedication you need, well… I suggest you get a new one.
