Ketamine FAQs
Please contact us should you have any questions about the innovative treatments that we offer heere at Greater Wellness Clinic.
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Monday – Friday 3 P.M. – 6 P.M.
Saturday 10 A.M. – 1 P.M.
Sunday – Closed
We help create a care plan that addresses your specific condition. Below are some of our most frequently asked questions. If you do not see the answer you are looking for please contact us and we would be happy to make sure your question is answered.
Ketamine is a synthetic medicine that has primarily been used as an anesthetic agent in humans and animals for over 50 years. It is one of the most commonly used anesthetic agents in the world, because of its unique properties that make it incredibly safe to administer.
Ketamine binds to NMDA receptors, and creates a glutamate surge, releasing growth factors that help make new synaptic connections in your brain. This paves the way for healthier thought patterns and increases your resilience to chronic stress.
The literature for depression shows a 70% success rate. Individual clinics have seen higher rates, because they have seen increased efficacy with increased dosing.
The low doses used for depression are in the empathogenic "heart opening" psychedelic dose range. People report feelings of love, peace, compassion, forgiveness, and a touch of euphoria.
Ketamine will not be provided to individuals with schizophrenia, psychosis, or certain seizure disorders. Those taking aminophylline for asthma or COPD should not undergo ketamine infusions. If you have serious medical problems like uncontrolled high blood pressure, cardiac disease, or pulmonary problems, a clearance will be requested from your primary care physician before undergoing treatment.
More than 70% of patients with treatment-resistant depression (including bipolar patients) experience rapid relief after a low-dose ketamine infusion. Similar success rates have been seen in returning combat veterans suffering from PTSD.
These patients’ cases are the worst of the worst, lasting years or even decades, which have not responded to any other treatments. Many have hovered on the verge of suicide for years, many have actually attempted suicide, and all have endured a very poor quality of life. Before ketamine therapy, there was virtually no way to substantially improve the condition of patients like these.
The fact that ketamine works rapidly on more than 70% of them is astonishing, and its discovery has profoundly changed depression research, and our understanding of the very nature of depression. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the degree of relief can vary among patients.
Some sufferers get only partial relief, some do not get relief until completion of the infusion series, and some do not respond to ketamine at all. Some patients have additional medical conditions and/or take outside prescribed medications that can reduce its effectiveness.
These patients’ cases are the worst of the worst, lasting years or even decades, which have not responded to any other treatments. Many have hovered on the verge of suicide for years, many have actually attempted suicide, and all have endured a very poor quality of life. Before ketamine therapy, there was virtually no way to substantially improve the condition of patients like these.
The fact that ketamine works rapidly on more than 70% of them is astonishing, and its discovery has profoundly changed depression research, and our understanding of the very nature of depression. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the degree of relief can vary among patients.
Some sufferers get only partial relief, some do not get relief until completion of the infusion series, and some do not respond to ketamine at all. Some patients have additional medical conditions and/or take outside prescribed medications that can reduce its effectiveness.
Common side effects of ketamine infusion include dissociation, hallucinations, hypertension, nightmares, and sinus tachycardia. Ketamine appears to selectively interrupt association pathways of the brain before producing somatesthetic sensory blockade. Unlike barbiturates that act on the reticular activating system in the brainstem, ketamine acts on receptors in the cortex and limbic system.
Although ketamine infusions are not covered by insurance at this time, we still do offer complete itemized documentation (Superbill) for you to submit to your insurance company following the treatment series for possible medical reimbursement. Some clients have had success in achieving partial reimbursement