Ketamine for Neuropathic Pain
Burning. Tingling. Electric shocks down a limb. Neuropathic pain happens when the nervous system itself is damaged — and ketamine targets the NMDA receptors at the heart of that dysfunction.
Pain From the Wiring,
Not the Structure
Neuropathic pain is what happens when nerves misfire — after shingles, with diabetic neuropathy, following surgery or injury, after chemotherapy, with phantom limb pain. It's why your imaging can look fine while your leg burns, and why standard painkillers barely register: they're built for tissue damage, and your problem is signal damage. You've likely tried gabapentin or pregabalin, duloxetine or a tricyclic, maybe lidocaine patches and nerve blocks — the standard ladder — with partial relief at best.
The Receptor at the Heart of It
Damaged nerves drive persistent NMDA-receptor activation — the mechanism behind wind-up, sensitization, and the way neuropathic pain spreads and intensifies over time. Ketamine blocks that receptor directly, which is why it's been studied across neuropathic conditions and is used in hospital pain services for refractory neuropathic pain: it acts on the pathological signaling itself rather than masking it downstream.
Honest framing: Ketamine's use for neuropathic pain is off-label. Consensus guidelines from the major pain-medicine societies support IV ketamine for selected chronic pain conditions, with the strongest evidence in CRPS and moderate, condition-dependent evidence across other neuropathic syndromes — some conditions respond better than others, and relief in responders typically lasts weeks and requires periodic re-treatment. Your specific diagnosis matters, and your evaluation will address the evidence for it specifically.
How We Treat Neuropathic Pain at Desert Sands
Your evaluation identifies the source and pattern of your neuropathy, reviews the treatments you've tried, and screens your cardiovascular, liver, and overall health for pain-protocol infusions. Treatment protocols are physician-directed and supported by experienced clinical staff under the medical oversight of board-certified anesthesiologist Dr. Eric Evans, whose more than 30 years of clinical experience help guide the highest standards of patient safety, comfort, and care — experience that includes ketamine's use in exactly these refractory pain settings. Pain infusions run longer than mood infusions, carefully titrated in a private room with continuous monitoring, delivered as a series with maintenance scheduled around how long your relief holds. We coordinate with your neurologist or pain specialist whenever you'd like.
Patient Selection
- Have diagnosed neuropathic pain — post-herpetic, diabetic, post-surgical, phantom limb, chemotherapy-related, or similar
- Have failed or plateaued on standard neuropathic medications
- Are seeking a non-opioid approach to severe nerve pain
- Also carry the depression that chronic nerve pain so often brings
- Neuropathy not yet worked up or treated with first-line options — diagnosis first
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure or unstable cardiovascular disease
- Significant liver disease, given cumulative pain-protocol exposure
- A history of psychosis or unevaluated substance-use concerns
Outcomes, Honestly Stated
Responders typically get meaningful reduction in pain intensity — the burning turned down, the electric jolts less frequent — beginning during the infusion series, with relief in responders commonly lasting weeks before maintenance. How well you respond depends partly on your specific syndrome, some patients get partial or no relief, and we track your pain and function against your own baseline and report back honestly.
Risks and side effects
During and shortly after infusion, patients may experience dissociation, elevated blood pressure or heart rate, nausea, dizziness, or drowsiness — typically temporary, with most resolving within about two hours. Pain protocols involve larger cumulative exposure, so screening covers liver and bladder health and exposure is tracked across your course. Every patient is monitored continuously, and you'll need a ride home after each session.
What the Research Shows
Controlled trials across neuropathic conditions show significant pain reduction with IV ketamine, with effect size and durability varying by syndrome, and joint consensus guidelines from the American pain-medicine societies support its use for selected refractory chronic pain. It's an evidence picture with real support and real limits — and we present both.
Neuropathic Pain FAQ
Which nerve-pain conditions respond best?
CRPS has the strongest evidence; post-herpetic, phantom limb, and spinal-cord-injury pain have meaningful supportive data; others vary. That's exactly what your evaluation sorts out for your diagnosis — honestly, before you spend a dollar on treatment.
Can I stay on gabapentin or my other nerve medications?
Usually yes. Your evaluation reviews your full regimen; most neuropathic medications continue alongside infusion treatment, and any adjustments happen with your prescriber.
Nerve Pain Runs on a Signal.
Signals Can Be Quieted.
Your free consultation is an honest conversation about your diagnosis and whether ketamine's evidence supports trying it in your case.
Request Your Free ConsultationCall (435) 522-5190This page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic; its use for neuropathic pain is off-label, with evidence varying by condition as described above. Individual results vary and are not guaranteed. Reading this page or submitting a form does not create a provider-patient relationship. For medical emergencies, call 911.