Ketamine Infusion Therapy
In the past decade Ketamine has shown to be a powerful tool in the fight against depression. Ketamine has the ability to provide relief from depression symptoms and suicidal ideation in as little as one infusion.
It is via the glutamate system and two important receptors (NMDA and AMPA) that ketamine works to relieve depression. It does so by turning back on BDNF production. The BDNF then leads to repair of the damaged neurons with regrowth of the important dendrites and synapses needed to achieve a normal mood. Animal models show us that the repair can begin in a matter of hours after the administration of ketamine. This process of brain repair is called neuroplasticity. Ketamine-facilitated neuroplasticity offers great hope for patients with MDD who have not responded to other treatments.
Patients who have been diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression are candidates for ketamine infusion therapy.
This includes patients with major depressive disorders, post-partum depression, bipolar depression and severe anxiety states. When a patient has not responded to in-patient therapy, medications or other forms of treatment. Ketamine infusions should be considered as the next step.
Ketamine Therapy is not for those with:
- Mild depression
- Situational depression
- Mood swings
Severe depression is often the result of Post-Traumatic Stress.
This stress does not have to be the result of “war wounds,” but can arise from neglect, abandonment, bullying, sexual abuse, or severe depravity during the developmental years. The depression does not often manifest for a decade or more following the trauma. Ketamine infusion therapy can successfully treat post-traumatic stress and subsequent depression.
Periods of depression are common mood disorders that most people face from time to time.
They follow life events and disappointments that impact us deeply. These kinds of depressions are generally short-lived and respond to psychotherapy, conventional drug therapy or simply tincture of time. They are not crippling, but, lifelong MDDs are something different and are more likely associated with suicidal thoughts and attempts.
Patients with recurrent thoughts of suicide, who need immediate mood stabilization, will most often benefit from Ketamine infusion therapy.
If you are visiting this website you are most likely dealing with a major depressive disorder (MDD) that has not responded to other medications. Many of you will have had trials of all the available antidepressants. Some of you have had ECT and /or TMS with no significant improvement in your condition. Chances are that you can no longer function at home, work, or school, and find even small tasks (like showering) insurmountable.
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