Ketamine Therapy

Ketamine therapy has become a very widely-discussed topic in the past several years as a very promising treatment for some historically difficult-to-treat conditions. It has been found that giving Ketamine (in a lower dose than is necessary for anesthesia) is safe and effective in treating several conditions such as depression and chronic pain. Ketamine assisted therapy has the potential to produce rapid, profound, and sustained changes in insight, mood, behavior, and consciousness. This treatment modality follows along with some earlier, extensive studies of psychedelic-assisted therapies for the treatment of mood disorders since the 1950s and ’60s.

Some individuals who may see a benefit from Ketamine therapy include those with:

• Treatment-Resistant Depression
• Anxiety
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Chronic Pain
• Chronic Migraines
• There are several other disorders under study.

Ketamine works to decrease the activity of a receptor in the brain called NMDA. While there is still a lot of research being done around the exact mechanisms, it is proposed that this decreased activity of the NMDA receptors allows the brain to form new neural pathways. With this the brain is able to break the cycle and feedback loops thought to be associated with mood disorders, PTSD, and pain.

Ketamine has been widely used as an anesthetic and sedation agent safely since the 1950s. The safety profile of this particular medication has contributed to it being used more extensively over the past several decades in the operating rooms and emergency departments for procedural sedation in children and in adults at much higher dosages. 

We do not require a referral for you to come in for consult. We do however highly encourage that if you have a current mental health, pain management, or other healthcare provider overseeing your medical condition, that you consult with them so that we can work collaboratively to provide you with the best care possible. 

Your infusion will take place in one of our private treatment rooms. At all times we will be attentive to your comfort and safety throughout the stay. Once an IV is placed and infusion is started, the session will last approximately 40 minutes. During this time we will continue to monitor you while also trying to keep distractions to a minimum. We encourage you to use a sleep mask that we will provide you as well as headphones playing soothing tones that also block out outside noises. At the onset of the infusion you may feel a sense of deep relaxation, drowsiness, euphoria, blurred vision, tingling, or any combination of these. As the medications work you are still able to communicate but you enter into what could be described as a meditative state but you do not become fully sedated/unconscious. Once the infusion is complete it takes around 5-10 minutes for the majority of the effects to wear off. We will continue to monitor you until you are back to a baseline before you will be released to someone that can drive for you as you will be instructed to not drive for the rest of the day. Typically from start to finish will last approximately an hour and a half. 

We highly recommend that you do not try to wean yourself off of routine medications following treatments until you have consulted with your prescribing provider. 

No, here at The Infusionist, we are providing a treatment service with the ketamine infusion, but do not take over your routine medical/mental healthcare. We highly encourage you to continue to regularly follow up with your current support structure and will gladly collaborate with your providers as needed. 

Ketamine has been FDA approved for decades for the use in anesthesia. Since that time though the medication has become generic and due to this there aren’t drug manufacturers who have wanted to spend the funding to achieve further FDA approvals for the different Ketamine uses, even though there is a great deal of research showing great efficacy for conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic pain. With that being said, insurance companies typically do not reimburse for non FDA approved applications of medications. You can however use FSA/HSA plans to pay for your treatments or we offer several different payment options. 

The time in which it takes for you to see an improvement in your symptoms varies between person to person and the different symptoms being treated. A lot of people see a positive improvement following their first infusion and  that then is built upon with subsequent infusions. Much of the time family, friends, and those close to you may see positive changes right off.

This is something that again varies greatly from person to person. Some see very meaningful long lasting changes for the better after finishing their course of treatments. Some people may require occasional booster treatments of varied timeframes from every couple of months to every couple of years. It is our goal here at The Infusionist, to equip you with tools to integrate in an ever changing mindset to continue to effect changes as you need. But, if booster treatments are needed from time to time, we will work with you to tailor to what you may need.