What is Ketamine? How it Works and May Help With Severe Depression

“I knew I needed to do something,” said Mr. Gathman, who lives in Miami. So when his primary care physician suggested ketamine — an anesthetic that has improved symptoms of depression in early studies — he reached out to a clinic nearby. However, in a 2023 analysis, scientists investigated the effect of KIT on symptoms of depression and anxiety.

A new day for mental health

Ketamine can be dangerous, particularly when combined with other substances. It is largely non-fatal when used alone—there is little on record of a lethal dose of this drug in humans. However, this drug can be fatal because it is usually combined with other substances like alcohol (which also has sedative effects) or hallucinogens like LSD and PCP. Because of its addictive nature, this drug is more commonly used in veterinary clinics to sedate animals. Ketamine is available as an injectable liquid but is also abused in powder form.

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Due to its low cost, it remains widely used in medical procedures around the world. It is also found on the street, known as Special K, and is listed as a Schedule III drug, with moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. While ketamine addiction is a relatively new concept, ketamine has been used for decades.

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In the past, there was speculation that ketamine masked depression by making a person feel “high.” This theory has since been debunked. Ketamine doesn’t remain in the system very long, yet research shows that people treated with it feel relief in the days and weeks after they stop taking it. While taking an antidepressant or going to psychological counseling (psychotherapy) may work for most people, these standard treatments aren’t enough for others. Symptoms may not improve much or at all, or they may improve but keep coming back.

• Make sure to take time to research your clinic and read any reviews if available.
• If at-home sublingual ketamine therapy continues to be effective, it could pave the way for a more cost-effective approach to using ketamine for therapeutic purposes.
• Krystal, who provides IV and intranasal ketamine for treatment-resistant mood disorders at the VA Connecticut Health System and Yale-New Haven Hospital, encourages patients to continue with their psychotherapy after ketamine treatment.
• IM infusions cannot be as easily mixed with medicines to combat nausea and increased blood pressure.
• The .gov means it’s official.Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil.

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• It is only FDA approved as esketamine (similar to ketamine) for treatment-resistant depression and depression with suicidality, although ketamine is prescribed off label to treat other psychiatric disorders.
• But the drug must be administered under a doctor’s supervision, leading some experts to worry that patients could have problems accessing it, as they do with intravenous ketamine.
• In preparing to provide ketamine therapy, I am addressing the frequently asked questions about the benefits, use in mental health, and treatment plans available.
• When people try to stop using ketamine, they may also experience symptoms of withdrawal.
• Where possible, the support of friends and family is also fundamental when recovering from ketamine addiction.
• This leaves plenty of room for excessive amounts of ketamine to be taken, amounts which can lead to an overdose.

After two or three sessions, people are typically more relaxed and open to let go and let the experience take them where it will,” Uribe says. Keller advises avoiding ketamine treatment if you or your family has a history of psychosis. Ketamine can cause disassociation, which experts have linked to hallucinations and other symptoms of psychosis. A growing body of research supports the benefits of ketamine for depression. Gut health shortcuts and long-term whole-body research shed light on inflammatory bowel disease through every type of IBD, life phase, and related disease, including cancer. Reduce your symptoms and improve your quality of life by taking two expert Mayo Clinic doctors’ easy-to-digest advice.

• As a Schedule III drug, ketamine is available for medicinal use with a prescription.
• It has been shown to be particularly effective for people suffering from treatment-resistant mental health disorders—those patients who have tried many medications and treatments and still do not get well.
• Patients typically pay out-of-pocket; some patients may struggle to afford or even access the drug.
• These can be positive feelings of peace and joy for many with mental health disorders.
• However, healthcare professionals may prescribe a person any FDA-approved drug for any purpose they believe may be effective.

Duration will differ depending on where you go and whether you’re taking the drug orally or doing an infusion. In some instances, in addition to routine observation, ketamine will be given to you under medical supervision where your vitals are monitored. At your ketamine treatment appointment, you will be prepped appropriately (you may be weighed to determine dosage; if you’re receiving it intravenously, an IV will be started). You will lie down in a room in a comfortable position with an eye mask and headphones to decrease noise and light from your surrounding environment. As the science surrounding ketamine therapy grows, so too the potential applications of the treatment.

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Krystal, who provides IV and intranasal ketamine for treatment-resistant mood disorders at the VA Connecticut Health System and Yale-New Haven Hospital, encourages patients to continue with their psychotherapy after ketamine treatment. Dr. Lauter has been described as compassionate, humanist and cerebral. Having vast experience and education, and with a thorough and quick diagnosis, he has provided effective results and medication treatment for patients of all ages, especially children. Jonathan’s goal is to focus care and has worked with entire families to achieve positive patient outcomes.

Ideally, you will be connected with a therapist to speak about what you hope to get out of ketamine treatment. People who received maintenance therapy with ketamine experienced the most sustained benefit. In a small 2022 study, people with treatment-resistant depression who received three IV ketamine infusions in 1 week found it easier to replace certain negative beliefs with more optimistic ones. Updating these beliefs https://ecosoberhouse.com/ seemed to help improve depression symptoms, according to the study authors. “It may not matter, but it does concern me, personally, that ketamine works through an opioid mechanism,” he says. The worry, which other researchers have mentioned in studies of ketamine, is that people might require larger and larger doses of ketamine over time in order to feel its effects – as is the case with opioid painkillers.

There has been a marked increase in exposure and interest for this novel therapy, as you can see in the Google Trends chart here. Ketamine has been in a state of heightened media frenzy ever since the FDA approved the ketamine-derived nasal spray Spravato for treatment-resistant depression in March of 2019. Since then, ketamine has been investigated as a helpful treatment for depression, PTSD, anxiety, and slow news days. Recently, there was a major scientific breakthrough in understanding ketamine’s mechanism of action.