Ketamine for Anxiety

Rumination is the predominant symptom of both anxiety and depression. Rumination is constant attention to one’s distress, worry for the future, or potential negative outcomes. Ketamine has been shown to regulate the structures of the brain that get caught in the loop of rumination, thus leading to relief.

Traditional anxiety medications can often be sedating, addictive and bring a host of side effects.   In contrast, ketamine has no lingering side effects and appears to cause a decrease in inflammation, which can promote overall improvement in mental health. While there isn’t as much clinical study of treating anxiety with ketamine, what we have observed seems promising and could lead to results.

Ketamine for PTSD/Trauma

Trauma PTSD can be a debilitating diagnosis with patterns of thought that make integration into society anywhere from difficult to impossible. These patients often struggle with depression, anxiety and even suicidal ideation. Many current therapies utilize antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications and talk therapy, all of which have disappointing track records.

Ketamine’s action on Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) can often relieve these troubling patterns of thought after just one treatment. BDNF is a vital brain hormone that assists in the creation of new connections between neurons. Studies have shown that PTSD patients are have lower levels of BDNF. But Ketamine has been shown to increase the presence of BDNF and decrease inflammation. When ketamine infusion is combined with psychotherapy, patients have found longer-lasting relief than through traditional treatments.

Ketamine for Suicidal Thoughts and Ideation

Suicide is an epidemic. It is the third leading cause of death for ages 10-34 and the 10th leading cause of death in the United States overall. If you’ve struggled with suicidal thoughts or ideation, then you know how hopeless it can feel and how dangerous it can be. Ketamine has been shown to be effective in alleviating suicidal ideation and, with proper treatment, can do for long periods of time.

Studies have found a standard intravenous dose of ketamine resulted in a quick decrease in depression and suicidal thoughts in some subjects. Part of this improvement correlated with an improvement in problem-solving and thinking more clearly.  This improvement occurred even if the subject didn’t show a comparable improvement in their depression symptoms.

In short, the findings of this study indicate that ketamine is rapid, safe in the short term and has persistent benefits for acute care in suicidal patients. This is wonderful news we’re ready to share with our patients.

Ketamine for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Those who suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder can often feel trapped by their own compulsions with no means of escape and the current first-line pharmacological treatment, Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs), are simply not up to the task of treating OCD. SRIs often leave OCD sufferers with incomplete symptom relief and a two- to three-month lag time before they see improvement.

But studies have shown that ketamine can assist with this disorder as well. This study found that some OCD patients with constant intrusive thoughts found relief after one intravenous ketamine treatment. What’s more, relief lasted for a week or more. We’re confident we can assist you in relief from your OCD symptoms at our clinic.