Ketamine has long been a dissociative anesthetic and a street drug that people have abused to get a high – but it's more than just that. In small doses, it's an excellent tool that helps people combat various mental health disorders that don't respond to other treatments.
Although it comes with some risks and side effects, research has shown that ketamine has a promising future in the treatment of depression and other mental health problems. It provides new pathways in the brain that affect mood and emotions.
At Carolina Wellness Psychiatry, our team is happy to offer ketamine therapy for patients who qualify for it. Our team consists of two board-certified psychiatrists, Dr. Elizabeth Bullard and Dr. Allison Foroobar, and one board-certified psychologist, Dr. Sarah Gilbert.
Collectively, our team carefully evaluates each patient's needs and goals to determine if ketamine, along with medications and psychotherapy, is the best option for long-term relief.
Ketamine therapy is an up-and-coming treatment for several mental health disorders. In the past, it’s been an anesthetic that doctors used in surgery to promote relaxation and dysphoria.
While doctors still utilize ketamine in the operating room, research has pointed out other benefits of the drug. According to the National Library of Medicine, ketamine has become popular in the mental health community over the last 20 years.
It's becoming a popular option for people living with treatment-resistant depression and those having suicidal thoughts, because it works quickly to relieve symptoms. But how exactly does ketamine work?
Ketamine works on the neurotransmitter glutamate, the most abundant excitatory transmitter in the brain. Glutamate stimulates nerve cells to carry chemical messages throughout the brain and body, and it's essential for learning and memory.
When you're living with depression and other mental health disorders, glutamate production slows, and pathways in the brain sometimes become obsolete, causing various symptoms.
Ketamine has shown that it can trigger glutamate production, which in turn creates new pathways throughout the brain. This process allows the brain to adapt better and develop positive behaviors and thoughts.
Some of the side effects you may experience include confusion, double vision, and drowsiness. Other effects may include agitation, hallucinations, and memory loss. Although there are side effects involved, with subanesthetic doses, ketamine is an excellent option for mental health issues that other treatments haven't helped.
Ketamine is most popular in the treatment of depression, but it helps far beyond that. Our team evaluates your needs and goals to determine if you're a good candidate for ketamine therapy.
To qualify, you must have tried two different forms of antidepressants without relief of depression symptoms. However, we take each patient on a case-by-case basis to determine if ketamine is a good fit. It's helpful for the following three mental health problems:
We can help people living with treatment-resistant depression cope with symptoms and achieve long-term relief, even after medications have failed. One dose of ketamine can alleviate symptoms within an hour and provide up to two weeks of relief.
Most people require several treatments to get the best effects. Still, ketamine is showing extreme promise for people living with depression. It's also highly effective in reducing suicidal ideations quickly when given intranasally or intravenously.
We use ketamine as an off-label treatment for anxiety, meaning the FDA doesn’t yet approve it for this use. However, it works similarly to alleviate anxiety symptoms the way it does for depression.
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health issue that affects people who have lived through war and various types of trauma. It often leads to night terrors, flashbacks, and anxiety or depression.
If you've tried other treatments without relief of symptoms, our team recommends ketamine infusions for fast relief that lasts. Not everyone with PTSD is a good candidate, so our team evaluates your health history and current health status to determine eligibility.
Our team provides intranasal ketamine over a one-hour appointment. We monitor your vital signs and response to the drug to make sure you're safe during treatment.
Call Carolina Wellness Psychiatry today to schedule an appointment for ketamine therapy or request a consultation with our team using our online booking feature.
