What is ketamine?
Ketamine was developed over 50 years ago. It has primarily been used as anesthesia for surgery in children, adults, and animals. It recently has been discovered that ketamine is highly effective in treating depression, anxiety, pain disorders, and more.
What is the success rate?
Ketamine injections and ketamine assisted psychotherapy are effective for 70-75% of individuals.
Do I need a referral from my primary care physician?
No.
How does it work?
Depression, anxiety, pain, and other forms of stress and mental illness damage the communication system between the areas of the brain responsible for memory, learning, and higher-order thinking. Ketamine repairs the damage in these communication systems – within mere hours.
What disorders do ketamine treat?
Ketamine injections and ketamine assisted psychotherapy are effective treatments for severe depression, bipolar depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), pain syndromes.
Can I eat and/or drink prior to my treatment?
For five hours prior to your ketamine treatment, please avoid the following: Avoid heavy meals. Clear liquids are best. Avoid alcohol, drugs and other narcotics. These substances can be dangerous in combination with ketamine treatment. If you believe you have a problem with drug or alcohol abuse, please contact us or your mental health practitioner.
Can I drive after my ketamine treatments?
The side effects of your ketamine treatment generally wear off after two hours. However, we ask that you have someone pick you up after your session and please refrain from driving or operating heavy machinery for 24-hours after treatment.
How do I know if the treatment worked? How should I expect to feel afterwards?
Prior to your first treatment, we will ask you to rank various aspects of your depression. We will then ask you to rank those same aspects 24-hours after your treatment. This will help us determine how effective the treatment was. It is possible to notice positive effects as soon as 40 minutes after your treatment, or as long as 24 hours later. Most effects, however, typically start 2-4 hours post-treatment. You may feel hopeful and less sad, with decreased thoughts of suicide and increased calmness. The next day you may feel a slight buffer between you and your environment with more space to think about how you want to interact with it.
What is the recommended course of treatment?
You will know whether or not ketamine treatments are right for you after two or three sessions. After that, scheduling maintenance treatments is done on an individual basis. The total length of treatment depends on each individual’s unique circumstances.
What are my treatment alternatives and how do they compare to ketamine treatment?
Antidepressants take anywhere from weeks to months to have any effect. There are many to choose from, and yet no reliable way to know whether a certain medication will be effective and/or tolerated. A patient may wait several weeks just to find that the medicine does not work. Common side effects of antidepressants include weight gain, sexual dysfunction, gastrointestinal disturbances, sleep disturbance, fatigue, emotional blunting, and even diabetes. While not everyone responds positively to ketamine, you will know almost immediately whether or not the treatments are effective for you, saving you time and money in the long run. There are very few side effects with ketamine.
Who should avoid ketamine treatment?
Ketamine assisted psychotherapy is not recommended for individuals diagnosed with or suffering from any of the following disorders: epilepsy, seizures, schizophrenia, or other types of psychosis. If you have been diagnosed with any other severe medical problem (i.e. high blood pressure, cardiac or pulmonary issues, etc.) please work with your primary care physician to stabilize these conditions prior to beginning your ketamine injections. In some circumstances, depending on your medical history, we may require written clearance from your primary care physician prior to beginning treatment.
How long will the effects last?
A single treatment typically lasts anywhere from 2-14 days. For those who have not suffered from long-standing chronic depression, the effects of your ketamine treatment may last much longer.
How can I maximize the effects of ketamine?
Eating well, exercising, engaging in talk therapy, finding social support and staying engaged with a balanced life are generally recommended in tandem with other treatments for depression. Of course, those things are all easier said than done; depressive symptoms oftentimes prevent individuals from following these suggestions. Your ketamine treatments will enable you to act on these important activities. Ketamine changes the communication pathways in your brain, allowing you to learn more easily and make new connections.
What other medications could interfere with my ketamine treatments?
There are very few medicines that can negatively impact the effectiveness of your ketamine infusions. Benzodiazepines, such as Xanax, Ativan, Valium, or Klonopin, may interfere with your brain’s response, and amphetamine-based stimulants, such as Adderall or Ritalin, should not be taken on the day of treatment.
Is ketamine addictive?
Ketamine does not meet criteria for being physically addictive, though tolerance to its effects may occur with prolonged exposure. If abused, it may pose the risk of being a psychologically addictive substance.
Is ketamine covered by health insurance?
Ketamine assisted psychotherapy is generally not covered by insurance. However, we may be able to bill one of the three hours as psychotherapy.
How Much Does Ketamine Treatment Cost?
Ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP) with a psychiatrist present starts at $750/session.