Ketamine for Depression

[Azalea1]

Has anyone used Ketamine for a treatment of depression, PSTD, etc.? Wondering if anyone has any experiences good, neutral or bad?

[Midori]

Interesting; The only experience I have of Ketamine was when I was nursing in the 1970s, and it was used as part of Anaesthesia. We were instructed never to try to wake a patient as it could cause Hallucinations.

It was also used in veterinary medicine to treat horses. I know it is now used in general medicine to help mental conditions, but have not experienced it personally.

Cheers, Midori

[bethelbee]

Many have had success with it. I have not tried it but had great success with TMS. Even if I had wanted to try Ketamine I couldn't due to other health issues.

[Icecream1954]

Hi Azalea1,

As with any treatment, success varies. I've heard it makes a huge difference for some people. I know someone who had 12 treatments that seemed to lift her depression and give her a boost to get back to normal activities, but it was temporary. I had 6 treatments and saw no results. I also know someone who swears by TMS, but it didn't do much for me. My psychiatrist is suggesting I try another round of ketamine, this time with a therapist working with me ahead of time. I'm hesitant, both because it didn't work the first time, and the cost is high. So much of mental health care calls for us to "try it and see." It can be exhausting, but we must keep trying. Sending positive thoughts to you!

[jikreamer]

For some people it is very effective however I had 3 treatments and after that 3rd treatment I did not notice any difference. It may have been because I needed more treatments but had a very short amnesia episode (1 hour-2 hour maybe) and it scared me from wanting to go any further. I also was thinking if it was going to work it should have by 3 treatments but Dr. said not necessarily. Best of luck to you if you go forward with this route. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try as it's a pretty safe med.

[designguy]

I had four infusions and stopped because I didn't feel like it was helping me and it was also physically draining. I don't have major depression but had social anxiety with mild depression although I was told it could be beneficial. For me it was a very hallucinogenic experience and stressful and the only benefit I could see from it is gaining a spiritual experience that we are all connected with all life but I didn't need ketamine to do that. It could have been that my dosage was too high. It was also expensive at $450 an infusion and not covered by insurance at least when I did it. I also did a round of TMS and found it to be much more beneficial than the ketamine.

[Plantlover14 in reply to designguy]

What is TMS?

[designguy in reply to Plantlover14]

It is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and is a non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the brain's nerve cells. A typical course of treatment is 30 sessions spread over 6 weeks. For me it was painless except for some chattering of my teeth. Some people experience headaches from it but I didn't. I did a full round of treament and it was paid for by my insurance. There are a number of people on this site that have done the treatment.