Ketamine Infusions For Depression

By Christopher Sendi, MD

NOVA Addiction Specialists, LLC

. http://www.novaddiction.com/

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Ketamine Infusions For Depression

As the days get shorter, many people suffer from low mood and even clinical depression as long nights and no sunlight rewire their internal clocks. Seasonal affect disorder (SAD) is fairly common, but yet for many, it goes untreated as they suffer endless months of gloomy feelings of despair. For others, this is just a worsening of their underlying depression for which they have taken multiple rounds of medications.
We live in a stressful, busy area and there is little time to wait for months as newer medications slowly take effect, especially when some people cycle through such deep phases of depression that even suicide starts to be a consideration.
As the root causes of a person’s depression are evaluated and treatment is initiated or altered, ketamine infusions can be utilized to offer rapid relief. The availability of a treatment that can rapidly lift the weight of depression for many patients within a few sessions is a relief to those who feel no joy in their life. Ketamine infusions can be used to treat multiple conditions such as post-partum depression, PTSD, anxiety, chronic pain, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and fibromyalgia.
Generally, physicians skilled in advanced interventional care administer ketamine in a comfortable, monitored setting. For depression, it is given in a series of six infusions each lasting 45 minutes. Other disorders may require a different protocol.
Most patients remain awake during the procedure, and listen to evocative music that creates a pleasant experience. As the ketamine is given by an infusion, the patient can control the rate at any time should they want to do so. The majority of patients have an uplifting floating feeling that can lead to helping them gain insight to their various issues.
Therapist visits have been included during the infusion for some patients to promote guided imagery and further insight as a form of ketamine psychotherapy. Patients can also consider IV vitamin therapy with the ketamine to replenish minerals and nutrients that oral therapies cannot maintain. These important vitamins and cofactors allow the nerve cells in our brains to produce the neurotransmitters that lift our mood and maintain our energy.
Ketamine offers a rapid anti-depressant effect. In conjunction with IV vitamin therapies, continued counseling, and medical support, many mood disorders can be managed more effectively.