Ketamine For Treatment Resistant Conditions
IV Ketamine therapy for depression is not for everyone. But if you’ve failed other treatments it may be right for you.
Ketamine works for depression in a mechanism completely different from typical antidepressants like SSRI’s and others. It works on the glutamate system, instead of the serotonin system. In this way, patients see rapid results without having to wait weeks or longer.
Clinical trials by Zarate and others have shown that ketamine can lift depression in hours, or even minutes– much faster than the most commonly used antidepressant medications now available, which often require weeks to take effect. Further, the antidepressant effects of a single dose can last for a week or longer.
— May 4, 2016, • NIH Press Release
Ketamine is Not for Everyone
Ketamine is not indicated for mild depression, or short-term, situational depression (with the exception of post-partum depression).
It is not indicated in patients with certain medical conditions including uncontrolled high blood pressure, aneurysms, certain bladder diseases, active psychosis or in people allergic to ketamine
What Conditions Can Ketamine Help Treat?
Major depressive disorders (Unipolar Depression or Bipolar Disorder) that have not responded to two or more treatments.
People who cannot tolerate the side effects of standard antidepressants.
People who have failed ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) or had significant side effects like memory loss or loss of ability to concentrate.
People suffering from PTSD.
Women suffering from severe post-partum depression.