KETAMINE FOR ADDICTION IN
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
It is well known that ketamine infusion in Maryland can help to alleviate the symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Doctors are already using ketamine therapy as a bridge from fentanyl abuse to successful Suboxone treatment.
Medication-assisted treatment with Suboxone is the gold standard of opioid addiction treatment, but there has been an ominous new trend with synthetic fentanyl analogs on the streets. When a patient first starts taking Suboxone, or any similar buprenorphine medication, such as Subutex or ZubSolv, they must wait until nearly all the opioid of abuse has left their system.
If there is too much remaining opioid in their blood stream, the Suboxone, or Subutex, will cause a reaction known as precipitated withdrawal, which involves unpleasant opioid withdrawal symptoms. Street fentanyl is known to linger in the person’s system for many days, making the induction of Suboxone therapy difficult.
Ketamine for opioid withdrawal provides a solution to this problem. A person who uses fentanyl may go first to a ketamine clinic for treatment to ease fentanyl withdrawal before starting Suboxone.
This ketamine bridge is a solution to the fentanyl crisis that is quickly gaining acceptance among addiction specialists. Even if the goal of therapy is abstinence without Suboxone maintenance, ketamine can help.
HOW DOES KETAMINE HELP WITH OTHER SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER CONDITIONS?
Ketamine can help with a variety of different addictions, including addiction to substances, or non-substance addictions. In fact, as we will discuss later in this article, ketamine can even help people who are not ready to quit their addiction.
Mental health professionals agree that the underlying cause of many addictions is past trauma. The trauma could be physical or sexual abuse, or it could be the trauma of emotional neglect.
In addition to trauma, there are other conditions that can contribute to an addiction. People often self-medicate for depression, anxiety, and pain.
Ketamine addiction treatment works so well for a variety of addictions because it addresses the underlying issues that cause addictions. Ketamine treatment is used to treat PTSD, depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar, suicidal ideation, and pain.
PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a condition characterized by past trauma. By using ketamine infusion treatment along with talk therapy, doctors are able to help their patients to recover from the damage caused by past trauma.
Additionally, by helping with depression, anxiety, and pain, ketamine is able to help relieve other issues that led the patient to self-medication with drugs or alcohol. After a series of ketamine infusion treatments, many patients are able to give up an alcohol addiction or drug addiction.
Other addictions can benefit from ketamine treatment as well. Gambling addiction, porn addiction, sex addiction, and food addiction are examples of conditions that may be treated with ketamine therapy.
What about benzodiazepine addiction? Can ketamine help people to quit benzos? Please keep reading to see how ketamine infusion can make the benzodiazepine withdrawal process more tolerable.
FOR A PERSON USING DRUGS FOR DEPRESSION, IS KETAMINE ALONE ENOUGH TO HELP THEM OVERCOME THEIR ADDICTION?
Major depressive disorder is a difficult mental illness to overcome. The available antidepressant medications are ineffective for many people.
Patients with depression often try a variety of treatment options in hopes of relieving the feelings of hopelessness. For some people, when they feel that the medical system has failed them, they turn to street drugs.
There are people who claim that the only thing that could relieve their depression was heroin or fentanyl. Others state that the drug that worked to elevate their mood was meth or cocaine.
While these street drugs do help to elevate mood or relieve the pain of depression for a short time, they cause more serious problems down the road. Using a highly addictive substance to treat depression never turns out well.
Fortunately, ketamine infusion therapy does work well for depression where no other medical therapy was able to relieve a patient’s depression symptoms. When an addicted and depressed patient finally receives successful treatment for their depression, they are able to do the work to overcome their addiction.
In some cases, ketamine helps with depression, but it does not provide enough relief by itself. For ketamine-resistant depression, there is still hope for success by using combined TMS and ketamine therapy.
HOW CAN TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION WORK TOGETHER WITH KETAMINE TO TREAT ADDICTION AND DEPRESSION?
Experts refer to combined TMS and ketamine therapy as CTK. This approach leverages both the TMS success rate and the ketamine success rate for treating major depressive disorder.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a safe and effective treatment for depression. TMS works by generating a magnetic field, which induces a gentle current in deep brain structures.
TMS is superior to electroconvulsive treatment, in part because it is safer and better tolerated. Another aspect that makes TMS ideal is that it can be combined with ketamine infusion treatment at ketamine clinics that are equipped with TMS machines.
The benefits of combining ketamine and TMS are clear. Ketamine helps with depression as well as a variety of other conditions related to addiction, including trauma-induced stress, anxiety, and pain.
TMS is a powerful treatment for depression that works synergistically with ketamine to provide optimal depression treatment. By treating resistant depression, it becomes possible to help a patient to focus on their recovery without having to worry about depression or anxiety.
Ketamine and TMS are an ideal combination to treat qualified patients at the beginning of their substance abuse treatment. For some patients, it will be beneficial to continue treatment as needed to help ensure success in long-term recovery.
DO REHAB PROGRAMS OFFER KETAMINE IV INFUSION OR TMS TREATMENTS FOR DEPRESSION AND ADDICTION TREATMENT?
Many rehab programs are based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. These programs, which were formed in the early part of the 20th century, disapprove of medical treatments for addiction.
Many members of these 12-step programs are against using any type of medication to treat addiction. They believe that the 12 steps are the only solution needed for anyone to recover.
Unfortunately, 12-step programs, and rehabs, do not have a high success rate. While their position against medical treatment for addiction may have been appropriate through much of the 20th century, we now have effective treatments for addiction with much higher success rates compared to rehab alone.
In some cases, some progressive rehabs have embraced medical therapies, such as Suboxone treatment or Vivitrol injections. This new acceptance of medication-assisted treatment at some rehab programs is refreshing, but they still tend to remain behind the curve when it comes to cutting edge, advanced addiction therapies.
For example, just as some rehabs have finally, begrudgingly accepted Suboxone therapy, we are now confronted with the problem of fentanyl analogs that make Suboxone induction difficult. While it is clear that ketamine infusion may help patients through this difficult new challenge posed by fentanyl analogs, most rehabs are not ready to consider adding this treatment protocol to their programs.
HOW CAN KETAMINE HELP PEOPLE WHO DO NOT WANT TO QUIT THEIR ADDICTION?
Addiction experts have described a series of steps of recovery that most addicted people go through before overcoming their addiction. The first step is known as precontemplation, and it is the most frustrating and difficult step to get past.
During the precontemplation stage, the addicted person is not ready to consider quitting drugs or alcohol, or whatever they are addicted to. They are in denial of having an addiction problem at all.
Family members find this stage to be most frustrating, because there is nothing they can do to force the person to get help with their addiction. At best, they can practice harm reduction, doing what they can to protect their loved one from harm.
Ketamine may help some people to make the transition from precontemplation to the contemplation stage, where they are ready to consider the possibility of quitting their addiction and asking for help. By providing therapeutic healing of the central nervous system and insights of self-awareness, patients with substance use disorder or alcohol use disorder are able to come to the realization that it is time to make serious changes in their lives.
Ketamine infusion therapy can assist with this most difficult stage of addiction treatment. Under the medical supervision of healthcare professionals at a ketamine clinic, an addicted patient can take that first step to making the decision to work towards a life of sobriety and recovery.
HOW DO YOU GET SOMEONE WITH AN ADDICTION TO GET KETAMINE INFUSION THERAPY IF THEY ARE NOT READY TO GET HELP WITH THEIR ADDICTION?
When ketamine is provided in a medical setting, there is no need to be concerned about ketamine addiction or ketamine abuse. The treatment is provided in a controlled setting to maximize benefit while minimizing risk.
However, many people with substance abuse issues find the idea of trying ketamine infusion to be intriguing. When a family member states that they support and recommend ketamine infusion therapy, the addicted person will be happy to comply with this recommendation.
No one is asking that they give up their addiction and check into rehab, with an uncomfortable family intervention. They are simply asking that the addicted person attend a series of ketamine infusions and the associated talk therapy sessions.
The introspective insights that occur during ketamine infusions can help the patient to make the mental leap to become ready for recovery. The addicted person goes in for the ketamine experience and they come out ready to confront their addiction.
Additionally, they are able to improve their relationships and connections with friends and family. And, they can form a trusting bond through a professional relationship with the clinic’s healthcare staff.
CAN KETAMINE IV INFUSION TREATMENTS HELP WITH BENZODIAZEPINE ADDICTION?
Benzodiazepine dependence is, in most cases, not an addiction. This is an important distinction to make, especially when family members try to get help for a loved one suffering from benzodiapine side effects and adverse reactions.
When a person takes a benzo as directed and develops disturbing side effects, such as depersonalization-derealization disorder (DPDR), confusion, memory impairment, unsteadiness, dizziness, or a movement disorder, such as akathisia, they are considered to be iatrogenically injured, not addicted. They may be suffering from toxic encephalopathy, a chemical brain injury caused by the benzodiazepine.
When a person has taken a medication such as Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan, or Valium, for many years, they develop a physical dependence on the medication, but not an addiction. Benzodiazepine detox is a long and difficult process that most rehabs are not prepared to handle.
In fact, a fast benzo detox at a rehab can lead to a difficult protracted withdrawal syndrome that may last months, or even years. A benzodiazepine taper must be managed by a doctor who is familiar with the Ashton Manual and gradual drug tapers, and who is familiar with the benefits of ketamine infusion therapy for benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms.
Fortunately, ketamine infusion therapy can be highly effective in minimizing benzodiazepine withdrawal discomfort during the tapering process and beyond. Ongoing infusion sessions will help to reduce the severity of symptoms and length of the withdrawal period to make the healing process much more tolerable.
SUBSTANCE ADDICTION TREATMENT BECOMES POSSIBLE WITH THE HELP OF KETAMINE INFUSION TREATMENTS.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to treating addiction. One type of therapy may be perfectly suited for some people, but it may be entirely ineffective for others.
It is important to be aware that there are many options available to help a person to get on track. Getting started in recovery is not easy, but it is possible for anyone with proper support, motivation, and medical treatment.
Ketamine therapy has been around for decades. Until now, it has been one of the best-kept secrets in the medical community.
Many of those patients found that ketamine treatment was a key component of the solution that helped prepare them for their own personal path of recovery. By ignoring the noise and the debate in the recovery world, they were able to do what worked best for them to help them to get their lives on track.
Of course, 12-step recovery does work well for some people, and it can even work hand-in-hand with ketamine therapy. There are also many alternative support groups that have no issue at all with medical treatment for addiction, including SMART Recovery, which is a science-based support group that uses cognitive behavioral therapy.
Fortunately, addiction treatment experts are now recognizing what ketamine doctors have known for a long time. They are finally recognizing that ketamine infusion therapy can be an important part of a successful medication-assisted treatment regimen for addiction recovery.
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