Ketamine infusion therapy in Georgia
Get access to this innovative new treatment that’s helping people just like you find relief from mood and pain disorders.
Ketamine is an FDA-approved anesthetic that’s been widely used around the world for more than five decades. It’s also a medication with fast-acting antidepressant properties that mental health experts have been studying with deep interest for over 20 years.
While ketamine isn’t considered a first-line therapy for chronic pain, depression, or any other mental health disorder, it can be used off-label to treat severe cases of depression, anxiety, and PTSD that haven’t responded to conventional medications or therapies.
When ketamine is administered through a slow, constant intravenous (IV) drip, it has calming and extremely therapeutic effects on the regions of your brain that control mood and behavior.
With its ability to provide quick and lasting relief for even the most persistent cases of TRD, ketamine has been called the most important breakthrough in the treatment of depression to come along in recent memory.
Ketamine infusion advantages
Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and the primary mental health disorder that gives rise to suicidal tendencies.
Approximately two in three people who suffer from major depression eventually achieve lasting symptom remission with conventional antidepressants and therapy; the remaining one in three do not.
For people with TRD, debilitating anxiety, persistent PTSD, and chronic pain, ketamine infusion therapy offers several key advantages, including:
Fast-acting symptom relief
Ketamine infusions work very quickly — often within hours — to ease depressive symptoms. While researchers are still trying to pinpoint the mechanisms behind this powerful effect, they do know that ketamine stimulates a rapid increase in glutamate.
High rate of success
Ketamine infusion therapy is still being studied, but research shows that it has a high rate of success when it comes to treating persistent depression.
Lasting symptom remission
ketamine infusions stimulate beneficial brain changes that lead to lasting symptom relief over the course of a single treatment cycle.
Ketamine infusion drawbacks
Although ketamine infusion therapy uses sub-anesthetic doses to relieve depression, it can still induce certain temporary side effects, including mild hallucinations, floating sensations, fuzzy vision, and dizziness.
Because of this, ketamine infusion therapy must be:
- Approved for use only after a comprehensive evaluation
- Received in a ketamine-certified clinical setting
- Administered and monitored by an experienced provider
Last, ketamine isn’t the right solution for everyone with TRD — because it has potentially addictive properties, it may not be a suitable option for those who have a history of substance abuse or a diagnosed addictive disorder.
To find out how ketamine can help you get your life back, call your nearest TMS & Brain Health office in Los Angeles or Santa Monica, California, or click online to schedule a visit today.
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment to ensure that you have everything ready for your procedure. Your first appointment will begin with a consultation. The provider will speak with you to further assess your mental and physical health history, and we’ll spend as much time as necessary to answer any questions you may have. The initial dose will be based mostly on your weight with minor adjustments for your age and physical condition. Subsequent doses may be adjusted depending on your response to the initial infusion. The infusion will last approximately 40-60 minutes for depression, PTSD, and bipolar depression patients, and for patients suffering from other treatable mood disorders.
To get started, we will take an initial set of vital signs. The provider will then locate a vein on your arm, wrist, or hand and almost acheslessly insert a tiny needle to introduce a thin, flexible IV tube. You will feel a small prick when the needle first enters the skin, which may temporarily feel a bit uncomfortable, but this slight “pinprick” sensation doesn’t last. The tube is connected to a syringe or a bag of fluid containing your required dose of ketamine, which will be delivered directly into your bloodstream.
During the procedure, we’ll monitor your blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen saturation with non-invasive equipment. Our staff will also monitor your response to the medication to make sure your ketamine drip rate is properly adjusted. After about 40-60 minutes we will remove the IV and you will be able to relax in your room until you feel ready to leave, usually around 30 minutes.
Each of our treatment rooms has a lamp so you may choose to lower the lights while you’re undergoing treatment. Most patients also bring a mobile device set up with their favorite playlist along with headphones or earbuds to listen to music. If you prefer to stream music, each treatment room is outfitted with WiFi.
Your experience during the ketamine infusion is far less mysterious or frightening than you may have heard. Since the therapeutic dose for depression, PTSD, anxiety, and mood disorders are quite low – far less than when the medication is used as an anesthetic during surgical procedures or abused recreationally – the experience is relatively mild and for many people somewhat pleasurable.
The ketamine will begin to have its effect within minutes after the infusion begins. You will not hallucinate or lose consciousness. If accompanied by a friend or relative, you will be able to carry on a coherent conversation. If here alone, you can sit quietly while you listen to your music. Physically, you will feel extremely relaxed but your mind will be fully engaged.
Some patients experience a dissociative effect while relaxing with their music. During this period, you may experience what some patients describe as an “out of body” sensation. Most patients enjoy this experience, but some find it a bit unusual. Many patients find that some level of dissociation is associated with subsequent better response to the ketamine infusion.
It is possible that you may have brief moments of fright during the infusion. This is normal, especially for those who begin the infusion process in a state of high anxiety or who get especially tense at not being in total control. You will never be in any danger, however, and our staff will always be monitoring your progress.
When the infusion ends, you will begin to regain your full faculties within minutes and will be allowed to relax in your treatment room until you feel ready to leave. The effects are most often completely gone after 15-20 minutes.
This is true. Ketamine treatment is an IV infusion by a physician anesthesiologist or nurse anesthesiologist in a specially equipped medical office.
The National Institutes of Health has been studying the effects of ketamine on depression for more than ten years. Scientific research has proven the effectiveness of this treatment, which means controlled, double-blind, and peer-reviewed research at major institutions. Researchers at Yale University pioneered this study nearly 20 years ago and published the first major study in 2000. Since then, Yale University and other major institutions (including NIH, Virginia, Harvard University, Johns University Hopkins, Mount Sinai Medical Center) have run dozens of ketamine research schools, the University of Oxford, and more schools around the world.
- Ketamine may be able to help people successfully manage depression when other treatments have not worked
- People who experience some relief from depression within one to three ketamine treatments are likely to extend these positive effects if the treatment is repeated. The subsequent sessions may help prolong the effects of ketamine, rather than achieving further dramatic relief of symptoms
- If a person responds to ketamine, it can relieve other serious symptoms of depression.
- Ketamine also can be effective for treating depression combined with anxiety
Ketamine works by a completely different mechanism than any of the other medications you have taken. It primarily blocks NMDA receptors in the brain. It also works on numerous other neurotransmitter channels such as HCN1, nitric oxide, cGMP, glutamate and others. This cascade effects certain receptors and signaling pathways, and produces a protein that triggers rapid growth of neural connections. Scientists have provided evidence that neurons and nerve channels are repaired and “rewired” resulting in the lasting relief seen in so many patients.