KETAMINE OVERVIEW
Ketamine is an essential medicine used for anesthesia and analgesia (pain relief) in adults and children, having been listed on the World Health Organization’s Essential Medicines List since 1985. Ketamine is safer to administer than other types of anesthetic and pain relief agents as it does not cause respiratory depression or hypotension. Both of these are common side effects of anesthesia and pain killers. Numerous controlled studies conducted by industry, academia and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have shown ketamine infusions to produce rapid and robust responses in patients suffering from Major Depressive Disorder, who have otherwise been unresponsive to conventional methods of treatment. Because Ketamine has been shown to work within a matter of hours or days, there is no more waiting 6-8 weeks as with most antidepressants and other psychoactive drugs to see if they are effective.
KETAMINE INFUSION THERAPY TREATMENT
Mood Disorder Treatments We provide Ketamine infusion therapy treatments for a wide variety of mood disorders and conditions including:
- Severe Chronic Depression
- Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (Clinical Depression)
- Bi-Polar Disorder (BPD)
- Treatment-Resistant Depression
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Extreme Anxiety
- Postpartum Depression
KETAMINE INFUSION THERAPY PROCEDURE
On the day of each ketamine infusion therapy, you will need someone to accompany you to your appointment and drive you home as the Ketamine will leave you a little tired. Please wear comfortable loose clothing so we are able to easily place the cardiac monitor leads under your shirt. Infusion times vary depending on the disease we are treating.
We may pretreat you with nausea medication when you first arrive, as Ketamine can cause some nausea in a minority of patients. Most people find the ketamine infusion therapy experience to be pleasant. Infusions are given in private rooms. Patients do not usually sleep as the dose given is lower than an anesthetic dose.
You’ll be connected to monitors for blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen saturation. The doctor or a nurse will locate a vein near the skin surface, usually on your arm, wrist or hand, then use a tiny needle to painlessly insert an extremely thin flexible tube into it.
The infusion for mood disorders generally lasts about 45 minutes, while for pain disorders, can be several hours. Most effects of the medicine wear off within minutes after the infusion, but patients can feel more tired than usual for a few hours after the infusion.
