your pathway back to the real you
About Ketamine
Learn about the highly effective medication offering relief to patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression, bipolar depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, OCD, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), fibromyalgia, chronic migraines, neuropathic pain, trigeminal neuralgia, and more.
Why Ketamine?
Traditional antidepressants have left millions of Americans struggling with unresolved symptoms, while at the same adding unpleasant side effects like weight gain and decreased libido. IV ketamine therapy can work almost immediately to alleviate symptoms of severe depression and anxiety. For the first time in years, thousands of patients are experiencing relief from the grasp of their crippling mood disorders.
How it Works
Ketamine works in completely different ways from traditional antidepressants. Those medications act by increasing levels of certain neurotransmitters, like serotonin. But ketamine has multiple modes of action. It acts on different receptors (called NMDA receptors) to decrease the activity of another neurotransmitter called glutamate. This in turn increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which allows for increased neuroplasticity. This means that it makes it possible for your brain to form new neural pathways, allowing you to replace patterns, responses, and habits that have been previously hardwired.
Another mechanism involves something called the Default Mode Network (DMN). This is a collection of areas around the brain that are active during resting states. It’s where automatic thoughts reside, sort of your brain’s “autopilot”. Sometimes, we get stuck in negative ways of thinking, like “I’m not good enough” or “I’m not deserving”. But ketamine works to temporarily quiet the DMN and its negative ruminations. Now there’s space for new positive thought patterns to develop.
What You’ll Experience
When you receive IV ketamine therapy, you’ll have an IV placed in your arm and your vital signs monitored. As the infusion begins, you will feel a sense of floating and have a dream-like experience. You may have altered perceptions of space and time. Some people may have an out-of-body experience. This experience gradually resolves as the infusion finishes. But the medication is still working even after your infusion ends! Your brain is still flexible for days to weeks after your treatment. This is a great time to meet with your therapist or integration coach, and start new healthy habits like getting good sleep and exercising.
Mood Disorders are a Big Problem
8.9 million Americans suffer from major depression; 2.8 million suffer from depression that has failed treatment with multiple medications (treatment-resistant depression, or TRD). Costs associated with TRD add up to $43.8 billion annually, which includes health care costs, unemployment, and loss of productivity.
30% of people with major depressive disorder (MDD) do not respond to standard medications (known as treatment-resistant depression, or TRD). These patients may take two or three antidepressants and still have disabling depression. When these medications do work, it generally takes weeks to notice a benefit. Even for patients who do have relief from their depression, side effects such as weight gain and decreased sex drive may make these medications difficult if not impossible to tolerate. Clearly, there is a need for more effective, better tolerated, and faster-acting treatments.
Brief History of Ketamine
Ketamine was first approved for use in the United States in 1970, for use as a sedative and anesthetic. It quickly became a popular choice among anesthesiologists, because it works differently than other anesthetics; it allows patients to maintain respiratory function and upper airway reflexes at anesthetic doses. Because of its excellent safety profile, the World Health Organization has included ketamine in its List of Essential Medicines since 1984. Its effects on multiple, complex pathways in the brain have led to new discoveries in the last quarter century, including its applications in the treatment of mood disorders and chronic pain. In 2000, the first double-blind, placebo-controlled study was published showing the anti-depressive effects of ketamine in depressed patients. Since then, many studies have confirmed the rapid, positive effects of ketamine on depression and anxiety. Research continues to be done in this area.