RA, the shortened name of rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia have proven to be difficult ailments to treat. Statistics show that roughly 1.5 million Americans suffer from RA, with nearly three-quarter of those suffering being women. RA also increases the risk of developing fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is another disorder that unfortunately targets women more often than men. Characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues, doctors know the symptoms but are still unsure of the cause. Lack of knowledge about the cause of these issues has made both disorders difficult to treat.
Some physicians (and scientific research) are pointing to gut and intestinal inflammation as the root cause of the Autoimmune disease cascade that precedes the noticeable symptoms of RA and Fibromyalgia as well.
Arthritis Patient With Comorbid Fibromyalgia,” published in The Journal of Medical Cases gives hope to those suffering without relief.
This particular case follows a 49-year-old Florida woman suffering from seronegative erosive RA. After many different medicines recommended failed to offer her relief, an alternative treatment was suggested. (Curious if ketamine can offer you relief? Find out here.) On a PI-NRS: pain intensity numerical rating scale which rates from 0-10 with 10 being intolerable pain and 0 being non-existent, the patient recorded the pain she was suffering as a 10 when the first round of intravenous ketamine began. Over a ten-day carefully monitored plan, the Florida woman's pain decreased to a 6 after one treatment while reporting a 0 on the pain scale following the final treatment.
Though not as detailed as this study, many cases like this are happening across America. Proven to treat "Treatment Resistant Depression" also known as TRD (Do I have TRD?) at impressive rates, doctors are quickly discovering that ketamine can be used as a relief for many other symptoms.