Ketamine therapy

The fight against depression, new directions and methods of its treatment have been relevant for many years. The pace of life, stress, personal tragedies and the socio-social situation become a constant source of emotional distress and anxiety. Relatively recently, doctors have successfully used the drug Ketamine to combat depression. Ketamine is a legal medicine that has been used in medicine for surgical anesthesia and pain relief since the middle of the last century. Recently, it has been found that in microdoses it has a pronounced antidepressant effect. Even a single injection of this drug has a significant and rapid antidepressant effect on patients with persistent depression that does not respond to other medications. As you know, traditional antidepressants begin to have an effect only a few weeks or even months after the start of intake, and in general, their effectiveness has recently been questioned.

Ketamine is a medical anesthetic used in anesthesiology for anesthesia and/or as an analgesic in an emergency. Vitamin “K”, or “ket”, as these medicines are often called, comes in the form of a colorless liquid in ampoules or vials. Ketamine has been used in medicine for more than 50 years, but as an antidepressant it has only recently been used. It has been studied that with the help of even one therapy with the use of this drug, it is possible to obtain a significant and fairly rapid effect on patients who have a protracted depression that does not respond to other types of traditional treatment.

The substance actively affects the patient’s subconscious, deeply immersing them in the world of their own experiences. Ketamine in microdoses puts the depressed patient into a trance or dream state, thereby causing a significant therapeutic and antidepressant effect. Higher dosages – psychedelic – can cause a strong dissociative effect and immerse a person in strong inner experiences. One of the advantages of ketamine therapy is that even the first session gives a pronounced positive effect.

Studies show that under the influence of Ketamine, damaged areas of the brain are regenerated, stimulating the restoration of neural connections between cells that have been disrupted by strong emotional and/or stressful states, as a result of depression of various nature. These studies led to the creation of psycholytic psychotherapy (with low doses of drugs) and psychedelic (with high doses). During psycholytic therapy, the therapist communicates with the patient, helping him to better navigate what is revealed to him. Small doses allow the patient’s state of consciousness not to change too much and allow him to penetrate deeper into his subconscious mind. Compared to existing antidepressants, the drug acts at a completely different level of the neurotransmitter system. Ketamine “turns off” some of the functions of neurons and “stimulates” the areas of the brain responsible for emotions and perception of sensations.

It is especially important that during the use of microdoses of ketamine, patients whose ability to intellectual activity and learning is often reduced in depression become more receptive to psychotherapy. There is an important period during which it is possible to work effectively with the patient to achieve long-term remission. By varying the dosage, it is possible to achieve a psychedelic state of consciousness with an expanded spatio-temporal perception that has a profound transpersonal and transformational effect. This leads to a revision of the system of internal values, sustainable and positive psychological changes.

Patients become more confident in themselves, their capabilities and the future, less anxious and neurotic, more balanced, emotionally open and self-sufficient. They reduce the level of internal tension, discomfort, emotional isolation, increase self-esteem, there is a tendency to overcome a passive position, and creative activity increases.

• Psychoneuroses;
• Anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders;
• Suicidal thoughts;
• Post-traumatic stress disorders;
• Depressive states of various origins;
• Psychosomatic disorders;
• panic attacks;
• Eating disorders;
• Obsessive-compulsive disorders;
• Sleep disorders;
• Anxiety.

Also, ketamine therapy can have a positive effect on long-term pain as a result of manifestations of migraine, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, rheumatoid arthritis, for patients who have not been helped by the previously proposed methods of traditional treatment. It has a good therapeutic effect on bronchial asthma, addiction to alcohol, drugs and other psychoactive substances.

Due to these results, ketamine therapy is gaining popularity in domestic and foreign clinics. Patients who do not have a standard treatment protocol can get real help. The statistics of the effectiveness of the drug is about 75%.

The brain is “rebooted” in a new perception of consciousness, the effect of transforming the patient’s state is achieved. Ketamine psychotherapy causes a rethinking and reassessment of situations, self-awareness, and life orientations. The patient experiences an inner uplift, the state of anxiety and depression is eliminated. A person becomes more self-confident, contactable, balanced, positive-thinking, creatively active and spiritually open. The level of internal discomfort and tension begins to decrease, self-esteem increases, a new life meaning is laid, and relationships with other people improve.

This drug has practically no side effects, since it has minimal toxicity. During a session of Ketamine therapy, patients often note a peaceful state, fears disappear, calmness and a state of emotional elation come. It is also possible to experience sensations of warmth, a feeling of mild anxiety, sometimes dry mouth, a short-term headache, possibly a slight fluctuation in blood pressure.

It is very important to properly remove the patient from the state of dissociation in order to prevent the negative consequences of this state, which may arise in the case of self-administration of the drug. Therefore, it is very important to carry out treatment under the supervision of specialists in a clinic setting. It is not advisable to drive for the next day after the procedure.

Simplified use of ketamine as a conventional psychotropic drug, without psychotherapeutic support, may be much less effective and leads to the loss of the main potential of ketamine therapy. In general, modern studies demonstrate the safety and non-addiction of this drug, its high effectiveness in the treatment of mental and psychotic disorders.

Before starting ketamine psychotherapy, the patient must undergo a full diagnosis and examination by a psychiatrist. A session of initial psychotherapeutic consultation is conducted. After collecting all anamnestic data, ketamine therapy sessions (psychedelically assisted therapy) are prescribed, which take place in parallel with psychotherapy sessions.

A session of ketamine therapy usually lasts 40-90 minutes and is carried out against the background of an intravenous infusion of the drug – a dropper. The course of ketamine therapy very often consists of 4-6 droppers. Microdoses of ketamine are usually administered once or twice a week, and in the case of acute depression and pain conditions, daily. According to observations, the treatment process can continue in the following days, weeks and months after the end of the course of treatment.

A positive result from therapy can last from three to five weeks after the end of the course, sometimes the effectiveness of the drug persists for 12 or more weeks in the case of using small doses of Ketamine in a single dose, and with large doses of systemic use, the effect is longer, and can persist for a year or more. During therapy, it is possible to manifest previously forgotten or repressed negative emotions associated with past traumatic experiences. All this can cause strong feelings in the patient, which is part of the treatment process and is eliminated through psychotherapy.

Treatment of depressive conditions is carried out comprehensively, taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient. Ketamine therapy is carried out under the supervision of specialists of our clinic, since the drug is included in a special register of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Before starting ketamine therapy sessions, the patient gets acquainted with possible side effects and confirms that he has no contraindications.

Ketamine therapy in the modern integrative clinic of psychosomatics and treatment of mental diseases “KARTUSHYNSKA.CLINIC” is a psychedelic assisted therapy, which is carried out according to international protocols in the conditions of the European level.