PAIN MEDICINE
Psychedelic research in the field of Pain Medicine is in its early stages with no randomised control trials yet published. As psychedelic medicines are being shown to relieve psychological distress, and psychological factors contribute majorly to physical pain, these medicines are hotly tipped to play a large role in the future of pain medicine. Also, psychedelic medicines are being proven to be safe, well tolerated, and without addictive properties, while current analgesic medications all come with a raft of unwanted side effects as well as being physiologically addicting.
CLUSTER HEADACHE
Indoleamine Hallucinogens in Cluster Headache: Results of the Clusterbusters Medication Use Survey. E Schindler, J of Psychoactive Drugs, 2015
Survey participants were recruited from cluster headache websites and headache clinics. The final analysis included responses from 496 participants. The indoleamine hallucinogens, psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, and lysergic acid amide, were comparable to or more efficacious than most conventional medications. These agents were also perceived to shorten/abort a cluster period and bring chronic cluster headache into remission more so than conventional medications. Furthermore, infrequent and non-hallucinogenic doses were reported to be efficacious
PATIENTS EXPERIENCES
Self-Medication for Chronic Pain Using Classic Psychedelics: A Qualitative Investigation to Inform Future Research. J Bornemann, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2021
Across a range of psychedelic substances and doses, reported pain scores improved substantially during and after psychedelic experiences. Two processes, Positive Reframing and Somatic Presence, were reliably identified as playing a role in improvements in mental wellbeing, relationship with pain, and physical (dis)comfort.
MECHANISM OF ACTION
Chronic pain and psychedelics: a review and proposed mechanism of action. J Castellanos, BMJ, 2020
The development of chronic pain is a complex mechanism that is still not fully understood. Multiple somatic and visceral afferent pain signals, when experienced over time, cause a strengthening of certain neural circuitry through peripheral and central sensitization, resulting in the physical and emotional perceptual chronic pain experience. The mind-altering qualities of psychedelics have been attributed, through serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor agonism, to ’reset’ areas of functional connectivity (FC) in the brain that play prominent roles in many central neuropathic states.