There are many possible explanations of how ketamine can help patients with fibromyalgia, but the research finds that it can be very effective for both short and long-term relief.

A Danish study suggests that ketamine works by reducing the fibromyalgia sufferer’s synaptic hyperexcitability. Another study suggests ketamine increases blood flow to parts of the brain that regulate pain receptors (medial frontal gyrus).

Ketamine’s ability to help the brain disassociate from the neural pathways of pain and increase dopamine levels can bring relief with severe cases of fibromyalgia.