Is Ketamine For Depression A Good Treatment Option For Maryland Residents?

Ketamine infusion therapy works well for treatment resistant depression.

Maryland experts in behavioral health have long relied on a variety of depression treatment drugs to treat mood disorder patients. For many years, the antidepressant of choice was usually a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Lexepro, or a similar drug.

Unfortunately, the adverse effects caused by antidepressant medications are not well tolerated. We are discovering that these traditional depression meds are both ineffective and dangerous for many patients.

Fortunately, we now have other options for Maryland residents besides traditional antidepressants and dangerous procedures, such as electroconvulsive therapy. Ketamine therapy is a proven treatment that is both safe and effective.

Ketamine treatment can be provided as IV infusion, intramuscular injection, or a nasal spray. Intravenous ketamine, and other forms of ketamine treatment, are effective for treating severe depression and suicidal ideation.

The antidepressant effect of this mild anesthetic drug has been demonstrated in one clinical trial after another. Depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts are significantly improved with regular IV ketamine sessions.

How does treatment at a Maryland ketamine clinic compare to other mental health therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy?

CBT and other psychotherapy techniques are highly effective for the patient with a depressive disorder who is able to work with their therapist. Unfortunately, a patient with depression symptoms may find that focusing on therapy is difficult.

In the past, the solution was for psychiatrists to prescribe an antidepressant drug and wait weeks for it to take effect. Meanwhile, the patient struggled with therapy because of their depression.

We now know that an intravenous infusion of ketamine helps the brain to grow new connections and heal from past traumas and the long-term effects of depression. Dendrite connections between neurons grow and improve, starting with the first ketamine treatment.

Maryland residents, residents of Washington, D.C. and nearby Virginia, now have access to state-of-the-art ketamine therapy combined with the latest in psychological therapies used in the fields of psychology and clinical psychiatry. The best time to initiate talk therapy is shortly after ketamine treatment, and then on a regular basis.

In addition to CBT, therapists may also employ other effect therapies, such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), motivational interviewing, and others. Psychotherapy effectiveness is greatly increased when combined with ketamine therapy.

Is ketamine safe for use in humans?

Ketamine is a safe and effective drug, used frequently as an anesthetic for young children. It is known to be much safer than other anesthetics.

Maryland hospitals have used ketamine for years to help treat pediatric injuries in the emergency department. ER doctors and anesthesiologists have trusted it for decades for treating children because of its high safety profile.

The 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue involved the rescue of a group of eleven boys, aged 11 to 16, and their coach. In order to bring the boys safely through the dangerous underwater passages with scuba gear, they were sedated with ketamine.

The rescue was carefully planned, and it was determined that ketamine was safe for the children and would keep them from panicking during the hours of swimming through dark underwater passages. The drug also protected them from some effects of hypothermia caused by the freezing cold water.

If you have heard stories in the past of ketamine being a party drug or a cat tranquilizer, it is time to update your understanding of ketamine as a safe treatment for depression, suicidality, PTSD, OCD, bipolar disorder, addiction, and chronic pain.

It is true that veterinarians also use this safe anesthetic for small animals. Animal doctors administer and prescribe many of the same drugs utilized by human doctors.

While it is also true that ketamine has been misused in the past, it does not have a high potential for addiction or abuse. Ketamine abuse has dropped off over the years, because taking anesthesia before going out to a party is not a pleasant experience.

Does ketamine cause users to have a psychedelic experience?

In recent years, there has been a great deal of excitement over the possibility of psychedelic drugs treating mental health conditions. Psilocybin from the magic mushroom may help people to handle an existential crisis in end of life therapy.

MDMA, known on the streets as ecstasy or mollies, may help PTSD patients to come to terms with the ongoing symptoms caused by past trauma. Psychedelic drugs, which also include LSD, DMT, ibogaine, ayahuasca, and others, are all illegal in the US.

The only legal use of these drugs in the US is within a clinical study. Eventually, some of these drugs, or their derivatives, may be approved by the FDA and the DEA for use in treating mental illness.

For example, psilocybin has been decriminalized in some regions, and there are companies preparing for its legalization. Even when psilocybin is approved, if it is ever approved, it will take years to determine if it is safe, without long-term harmful effects.

It is very important that people do not attempt to self-medicate with street drugs. Even if psilocybin is purchased in a shop in a decriminalized area, it is still a street drug.

Using psilocybin, or other psychedelics, outside a clinical setting is a recipe for disaster. These drugs can cause intense breaks with reality, and they can cause serious exacerbations of mental illness.

Ketamine is not necessarily a psychedelic drug.

While it is true that people who get IV ketamine infusion therapy may describe an enlightening experience, where they see their life from a new perspective, this is not the goal of treatment. Of course, if a patient has a mind-expanding experience that they describe as life-changing, during ketamine treatment, there is nothing wrong with this, but the goal of therapy is to physically heal the brain.

Ketamine is classified as a dissociative anesthetic. It is not known for causing intense hallucinations or breaks from reality. Yet, the patient may feel a sense of being temporarily disassociated from their own body.

While the experience is not exactly an out-of-body experience, it is an interesting and pleasant floating feeling to be aware of your existence as a being beyond the physical world. However, ketamine doctors are not treating patients with the intention of inducing a mind-bending psychedelic experience.

In fact, the benefits of ketamine treatment will occur, even without full dissociative dosages. Patients may opt for lower dose infusion therapy treatments that will still provide the dendritic brain healing effects.

Why are more Maryland doctors not providing ketamine therapy in their offices?

Unfortunately, it is easier for a doctor to hand out Prozac prescriptions than to learn about the benefits of ketamine infusion therapy. Big Pharma sends out well-dressed reps to clinics regularly to influence doctors to write more antidepressant prescriptions.

Ketamine is an older drug that has stood the test of time. Because it is off-patent, the pharmaceutical companies have nothing to gain by promoting it to doctors.

When a patient goes into a busy Maryland family health clinic, or mental health clinic, the doctors are on a rushed schedule to see patients every few minutes. They simply do not have time to discuss all the options with their patients.

Busy clinic doctors play the usual antidepressant game of giving a prescription and telling the patient that it could take 2-4 weeks to feel the effects of the mood stabilizing drug. A month later, when the patient is still depressed, the doctor may up the dose, or try a different antidepressant pill.

Doctors talk about fixing chemical imbalances in the brain with antidepressants, without evidence that they are doing any such thing. A patient could be dragged through this process for years.

Busy clinic doctors have only one goal: to get out of your exam room and move onto the next patient. They usually do this by giving you a quick prescription for a psych drug as they run out of the room.

Ketamine doctors care about their patients getting the best possible results.

With proper ketamine therapy, you should have all the time you need to ask questions and learn about the procedure. Your healthcare professional will sit down and take the time to address any concerns and answer all questions.

Ketamine is a different kind of therapy that provides fast relief from depressive symptoms. The best ketamine clinics will offer talk therapy with an expert therapist.

Talk therapy is not rushed, like the visits to your family doctor. You will have the opportunity to be heard and to explore the reasons for your depression.

Many of us have suffered some form of trauma in our lives. Trauma is not always related to physical abuse.

Trauma may occur in the form of emotional abuse or emotional neglect. We must not underestimate the effects of parental narcissistic abuse and other emotional traumas that people have suffered during childhood, and the lasting effects of these traumas.

You deserve to have the best possible treatment to heal your brain and your spirit. Ketamine therapy works well to facilitate the healing process, and it is available now to residents of Maryland and all nearby surrounding areas.