Ketamine as a treatment for Depression
I am posting a Ketamine article I published in “Your Health Magazine” below. There are excellent studies demonstrating the efficacy of Ketamine in multiple disorders, especially depression, PTSD, post-partum depression, suicidality, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, and several other mental health problems. Likewise, Ketamine is effective in numerous painful conditions, including CRPS, neuropathy, fibromyalgia, post-herpetic neuralgia, phantom-limb pain, and others. I will discuss articles on each in the ensuing months.
I have used Ketamine over the past 20 years with excellent results in multiple settings. I have always been impressed by it’s safety, especially when it comes to respiratory and cardiac situations.
More and more information is coming about Ketamine’s versatility. Even Time magazine had a recent posting regarding it’s use in depression:
New hope in Depression
Ketamine treatment | Dr. Sendi | Fairfax | Alexandria | Virginia | 703-844-0184
Also, a mention in November JAMA 2017 with Dr. Zarate:
Abbasi J. Ketamine Minus the Trip: New Hope for Treatment-Resistant Depression. JAMA.2017;318(20):1964–1966. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.12975
Ketamine minus the trip
Ketamine minus the trip – a new hope in treating depression < Article
Here is the audio file link regarding Ketamine in JAMA : https://jamanetwork.com/learning/audio-player/14890187
Ketamine has been safely used for over 45 years, serving as an effective anesthetic agent that has also been shown to have benefits in the treatment of a wide variety of painful conditions as well as mood-related disorders. Treatment-resistant depression is an example of a life-threatening disorder that can be improved through the use of specific protocols that involve the infusion of Ketamine. Depression causes tremendous suffering in both quality of life as well as medical problems that result from the stress it produces. Many individuals have tried numerous therapies that have had little to no impact on their depression, leaving them feeling hopeless over their condition. It turns out that for properly selected individuals, Ketamine can provide acute relief within hours to days. Unlike typical antidepressants, Ketamine interacts with certain brain-derived factors that encourage nerve cells to make meaningful connections that can diminish depression within a much shorter time than a standard depression medication. It is a ‘brain reset’ of sorts, allowing underlying medications to be adjusted while your mood is rapidly elevated through genuine changes of brain circuitry.
Ketamine also provides potentially effective treatment in cases of painful conditions, such as RSD/CRPS, trigeminal neuralgia, post-herpetic neuralgia, and several other nerve conditions. Ketamine can be used in an office-based intravenous protocol and then continued in a topical treatment for those who respond well.
Although Ketamine is FDA approved for anesthetic use, it has not been sent to the FDA for approval of any other medical states. However, the evidence for Ketamine’s ability to provide relief in conditions such as PTSD, anxiety disorders, depression, suicidality, post-herpetic neuralgia, CRPS, trigeminal neuralgia, and multiple other conditions has accumulated over 45 years of use in multiple studies. Ketamine is also being evaluated for drug addictions as well as alcohol use disorder. More recently, Ketamine was featured in Time magazine (August 2017) and in JAMA (November 2017) due to the positive effects it has had in difficult-to-treat depression.
More and more clinics are offering this treatment, which creates new possibilities for improving conditions that formerly had so few options. With proper patient selection and appropriate monitoring, Ketamine can be safely and comfortably used in an office setting. With a standard slow infusion, most people do not even notice any significant side effects. If you have suffered from any of these conditions then ask your specialist if Ketamine may be a solution for you.
