For one woman fighting major depressive disorder (MDD), no remedy had lasted more than six months. Ketamine infusion treatment was a last resort for her and she has since had several (IV) intravenous infusions. The woman now says, “The best way I can describe it is ‘life-changing’ for me.”
In 2018, she told her husband, “I couldn’t do anymore. I wasn’t necessarily going to harm myself. It’s just that I would welcome death at any point.”
“I’ve been on over 25 medications and combinations, and it’s been over 20 years of my life, and just really, really hard,” she said, wishing to remain anonymous.
More clinics throughout Utah are providing ketamine, a sedation and pain-relief drug that has been used for more than 50 years, to fight depression and other mental health conditions.
“It seems to help rewire and increase connections within mood-regulating circuits of the brain,” said Dr. Paul Carlson, co-founder of the Ketamine Clinic at University of Utah’s Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI). ¹
Carlson says oral, internasal, and intermuscular forms of Ketamine are in development but “maintaining the response with ketamine is the biggest challenge.” Esketamine, the nasal form of ketamine, received FDA approval to treat mental health conditions in March 2018.
Intravenous (IV) injection (or infusion) may be the safest and most effective ketamine treatment method because dosages can be adjusted and monitored by a medical team.
Several treatments are required to achieve lasting results, but according to the woman, ketamine clears the bad thoughts.
“I am able to now cope in a different way because my perspective has changed and my mind has opened to a different way,” she said.
She’ll continue the ketamine treatments indefinitely, along with her family members who are also fighting major depressive disorder.
Is Ketamine Safe?
Ketamine has traditionally been used as a very safe and effective anesthetic in medical and surgical situations for children, adults, and animals for more than 50 years. Because of its history, ketamine can help train chronic pain without the addictive qualities of opioids. More recently, ketamine has been a valuable and highly effective treatment for patients with depression, suicidal ideations, anxiety, certain pain disorders, and other afflictions. It is on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines.
When administered in a controlled medical setting by a properly trained physician using established methods, such as at Therapy Reset, ketamine is very safe.
How Ketamine Therapy Resets Your Brain
Ketamine acts as an N-Methyl D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, meaning that it inhibits the transfer of electric signals between neurons in the brain and the spinal column. This is why ketamine has traditionally been used as a very safe and effective anesthetic in medical and surgical situations for children, adults, and animals for more than 50 years. Because of this effect, ketamine can help train chronic pain without the addictive qualities of opioids.
Ketamine also acts as a glutamate receptor antagonist. Glutamate regulates large regions of the nervous system and is the most prominent neurotransmitters in the brain. When glutamate receptors are overactivated, a person may experience long-term depression. Ketamine works by blocking these glutamine receptors.
Unlike traditional antidepressants, ketamine therapy can actually repair damaged neural pathways rather than dulling the signals. When people experience depression, anxiety, pain, and other forms of stress, the brain’s communication system for memory, learning, and higher-order thinking can be damaged. Ketamine is thought to repair this damage on several levels.
Depression, anxiety, pain, and other types of stress can damage the communication system between the areas of the brain responsible for memory, learning, and higher-order thinking. Unlike antidepressants, which work by shifting the balance of brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, ketamine stimulates neuron growth and helps your brain cells communicate better with each other.
Studies have also shown that ketamine enhances the brain’s structural plasticity, or its ability to change its physical structure as a result of learning. If the mind is injured or damaged by disease or stress, neuroplasticity allows it to reset and recover by reorganizing its physical structure. ²
Which conditions respond well to ketamine therapy?
Ketamine therapy can help treat a broad spectrum of conditions such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), fibromyalgia, major depression, mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), nerve-related pain, pain syndromes, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), postpartum depression, suicidal ideation, and reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) among others. Ketamine can help patients who have not experienced full relief of depression, pain or other conditions from traditional medications and therapies.
Clinics such as Therapy Reset focus on ketamine therapy for depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mood disorders. Our anesthesiologists and pain management specialists have extensive experience with ketamine and know how to perform infusions.
What is the cost of ketamine infusion therapy?
Therapy Reset offers very competitive pricing for ketamine infusion therapy. Our fees cover the full patient journey, including long-term monitoring, clean private infusion rooms, and any additional medicines needed for comfort during your treatments. We offer personalized payment plans and discounts for veterans and first responders. Please contact us at our office in South Ogden, Utah to learn more about the affordable cost of this transformative therapy.
How can I get more information about ketamine?
At Therapy Reset, we have many processes and standards in place to guarantee the best experience for our patients as they receive their ketamine therapy. Your experience with us begins with a free, no-obligation call with our skilled clinicians who can answer all your questions about our clinic and ketamine therapy. Before your first treatment at Therapy Reset, we will conduct a full medical, symptomatic and diagnostic review, evaluation, and consultation to determine how you might to respond low-dose ketamine therapy infusions.
While receiving ketamine therapy at Therapy Reset, you can enjoy a friendly and inviting atmosphere. We prioritize your peace of mind, comfort, health, and safety with private rooms, luxury lounge chairs, ongoing monitoring, and advanced IV technologies.
After your treatment, our caring, compassionate, and experienced team will monitor your journey and conduct post-treatment evaluations and consultations.
Is there a ketamine clinic near me?
Therapy Reset is conveniently located in South Ogden, Utah and serves patients from all of Northern Utah and the western United States. We are currently helping patients from Salt Lake City, Ogden, Kaysville, Layton, Morgan, and surrounding areas.
Call or visit Therapy Reset in South Ogden today for a free, no-obligation visit to explore how ketamine can help reset your brain and your life.
¹ https://kslnewsradio.com/1891847/patient-without-ketamine-welcome-death/?