Research

Chronic Pain and Inducing Neuroplasticity With Psychedelics

July 9, 2024
Featuring: Lynn Watkins, Retired USAF & C.J. Spotswood, PMHNP

In this episode, Joe and REMAP Therapeutics Founder, Court Wing, host Lynn Watkins: medically retired USAF JAG & Ops Resource Mgmt Specialist; and C.J. Spotswood, PMHNP: principle psychiatric clinician at REMAP Therapeutics, and author of The Microdosing Guidebook: A Step-by-Step Manual to Improve Your Physical and Mental Health through Psychedelic Medicine.

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In this episode, Joe and REMAP Therapeutics Founder, Court Wing, host Lynn Watkins: medically retired USAF JAG & Ops Resource Mgmt Specialist; and C.J. Spotswood, PMHNP: principle psychiatric clinician at REMAP Therapeutics, and author of The Microdosing Guidebook: A Step-by-Step Manual to Improve Your Physical and Mental Health through Psychedelic Medicine.

Watkins tells her story of 20+ years of chronic pain: from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome brought on by a severed nerve to multiple foot surgeries, chest pains, cognitive issues, the inability to move her toes, burning mouth syndrome, and more, which unsurprisingly resulted in depression, anxiety, and being unable to work. Wing and Spotswood talk about their initial assessment, how they figured out how to work with her and her multitude of medications, and the incredible success they saw when combining practiced techniques, neuromodulation, and regular assessments with neuroplastic windows brought on by psilocybin.

They discuss:

  • How much preparation was done before introducing psychedelics, and the importance of realizing that they were dealing with PTSD
  • How often a history of chronic pain is related to a history of trauma, whether the patient realizes it or not
  • Consequences and complications of medications, specifically Clonazepam in Watkins’ case
  • The cascade of ailments and side effects that can happen from just one injury

and more!

Links

Psychedelicsandpain.org

Remaptherapeutics.com

Entheonurse.com

The Microdosing Guidebook: A Step-by-Step Manual to Improve Your Physical and Mental Health through Psychedelic Medicine, by C. J. Spotswood

PT380 – Microdosing, Talking to Physicians About Psychedelics, and Nurses as the Scalability Solution, featuring: C.J. Spotswood, PMHNP-BC

Mayoclinic.org: Complex regional pain syndrome

Mayoclinic.org: Burning mouth syndrome

PT369 – Chronic Pain and Phantom Limb Pain: Could Psilocybin Be the Answer? featuring: Timothy Furnish, MD & Joel Castellanos, MD

Nih.gov: Chronic pain and psychedelics: a review and proposed mechanism of action

PT322 – Kimberly Juroviesky, Capt., USAF, Retired – Ketamine and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

*Amazon links are affiliate links, meaning that Psychedelics Today will receive a percentage of the sale

Court Wing

In this Episode

Court Wing

As a former chronic pain sufferer, Court Wing is the founder and CEO of REMAP Therapeutics. Under his leadership, REMAP Therapeutics is dedicated to exploring, innovating, and developing the intersection between psychedelics and chronic pain. Under Court, REMAP organized and hosted the first-of-its-kind “Psychedelics and Pain Symposium” with some of the most prominent researchers in the field. In March of 2020, Court was a study participant in NYU’s clinical trial of Psilocybin for Major Depressive Disorder, sponsored by the Usona Institute. By the end of his “dosing” day in the trial, he was astounded to realize he was in full remission; no longer qualifying for the diagnosis of depression. But almost more astounding were the lateral benefits; he was also no longer suffering from low-to-moderate chronic pain and related neurological issues. Court is an accomplished performance and pain professional with over 30 years of experience in not only maximizing the athletic performance of his clients, but also in helping countless clients overcome injury and return to competition or daily life. REMAP Therapeutics offers the first online course in educating the medical community, practitioners, and pain sufferers at large about current and past research on psychedelics to aid in resolving numerous pain conditions.

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Lynn Watkins 1 cropped

Lynn Watkins, Retired USAF

Medically retired USAF JAG & Ops resource mgmt specialist, Vital cohort 3 student, and advocate for the legalization of psychedelics for treating chronic pain, PTSD, depression, anxiety and more.

CJ Spotswood

C.J. Spotswood, PMHNP

C.J. Spotswood, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC aka “EntheoNurse” is a board certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner with his practice in central Maine. C.J. is a 3rd generation male nurse and has over 20 years of psychiatric nursing experience. C.J. is the author of The Microdosing Guidebook: A Step-by-Step Manual to Improve Your Physical and Mental Health through Psychedelic Medicine, which was published by Ulysses Press in April of 2022. C.J. is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine, completing his Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Prior, C.J.’s undergraduate nursing degree (BSN) was from the University of Maine at Augusta, one of 15 nursing schools endorsed as a holistic school of nursing. This curriculum included yoga, Reiki, and various other complementary and alternative modalities. C.J. is past graduate of Psychedelics Today’s Navigating Psychedelics for Clinicians and Therapists program and is currently enrolled at the California Institute of Integral Studies’ (CIIS) Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research certificate program in their Boston cohort. C.J. has been researching and teaching on psychedelics since 2018, having presented both nationally and internationally including; the American Psychiatric Nurse Association’s (APNA) National Conference on the topic of psychedelics in psychiatry, teaching master classes for Psychedelics Today’s Navigating Psychedelics: Clinicians & Therapists education program and their recently established Vital program, and co-authored Psychedelic.Support’s 9-hour accredited education program entitled Understanding Psilocybin: Effects, Neurobiology, and Therapeutic Approaches. When he is not working, reading, or writing, he can be found spending time with his wife, Magen, and his daughter, Malarie, exploring Maine’s outdoors and craft breweries.

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