10 ms·
My girlfriend receives ketamine treatment for her depression, so I’ve the results first hand. It’s truly astounding. She’s seen more improvement from the ketami
by pw 8y ago
My girlfriend receives ketamine treatment for her depression, so I’ve the results first hand. It’s truly astounding. She’s seen more improvement from the ketamine than from a decade of psychotherapy and traditional psychopharmacology.
The only downside is the cost (it’s not covered by insurance) and the potential that there are long term side effects that have yet to be discovered. We pay $375 for a 40-minute infusion. The recommended initial course is six infusions over two weeks. After that a booster or two is usually needed very two to six weeks. (It’s been about every three weeks for my girlfriend.)
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- tmsh 8y agoCan confirm. I’m in a similar boat. Some other tidbits of information: - only thing that seemed to work even after TMS and other treatments. - New pathways (SF and San Mateo locations) is really good. - more and more treatment places opening up in different cities etc. - uber assist or drive the patient home (full lucidity afterwards but you don’t want to drive). - long-term benefits aren’t apparent after the first two treatments. After the third it seemed to last for 2-3 days. After the fourth longer. - it really seems like a ‘break out of depression’ breakthrough treatment. Though no cure all (talk therapy or a good support system is important too). - ketamine is used for many purposes (anesthesia, etc.). When given for depression it’s given in much low dosages (presumably without harmful liver or kidney side effects). - usually the patient listens to music with headphones while the infusion is in progress. - a nurse monitors BP and heart rate etc., but so far there have been no compications other than a nurse who was bad at putting in an IV (once). - feel very thankful for it. - I could see it going mainstream in the near future.
- Liquix 8y agoDo you have any idea what the dosage is? Is it an immersive 'K-hole' dose where you go deep and become unresponsive for a bit? Or are the infusions smaller doses just meant to build up the anti depressive afterglow effects in the body?
- dvcrn 8y agoWhere are you getting this treatment from? Did you directly ask for it?
- tmsh 8y agoNew pathways ketamine treatment center. There’s a handful of other providers in the Bay Area too. Referred by psychiatrist (and internally recommended after TMS didn’t have beneficial effects - works for some though). And yeah I’m not sure about the dosage. I know it’s much less than ketamine for pain management or for anesthesia. I’ll try to ask next time.
- antihero 8y agoHow easy would it be to do this at home by snorting half a gram but over the course of an hour?
- enkephalin 8y agohalf a gram seems pretty excessive to me. if you snorted that over the course of an hour, with zero tolerance, you'd very likely knock yourself out.
- antihero 8y agoI was just going by the amounts someone mentioned.
- OnMyPhone 8y agoHalf gram would knock you out cold. A better "close to k-hole" dose would be 100mg. At least based on our experiences 100mg would get some people in the hole, while it took some others 50mg - 100mg more.
- blahman2000 8y agoThanks for the info, do you know if they allow people to come in on their own? I don't really want to try to get my doctor to refer me.
- proverbialbunny 8y agoDoesn't ketamine stimulate growth in the same areas of the brain that exercise does, and does therapy prescribe routine daily exercise? I can imagine there being a great short term benefit to ketamine, as people who are severely depressed can't exercise due to the depression. Has there been any mention switching from ketamine to daily exercise, or doing both?
- pjc50 8y agoI know exercise is good for depression, but this is an extremely patronising response to someone else's description of their medical treatment.
- boomlinde 8y agoHow is it patronising? GP is asking two questions. Maybe there's some subtle subtext that I'm missing, but even then it seems better to assume the more favorable interpretation that he's just asking questions.
- OldSchoolJohnny 8y agoWell that'll teach that poor bastard to ask a question here, good job!
- 8y ago
- sneak 8y agoThe effects are so significant that I have gifted small amounts of ketamine to close friends who suffer from depression, so that they may store it long term as an emergency last resort to try in the event of irresistible suicidal ideation. It really is a lifesaver.
- andrewingram 8y agoThat's still cheaper than a private psychologist or psychiatrist (after the initial course).
- Fnoord 8y agoInfusion? Goodness grace, I got belonephobia and got scared shitless there. It doesn't have to be administered intravenous. The article is mainly referring to a nasal spray.
- senorjazz 8y ago> and the potential that there are long term side effects that have yet to be discovered. Not for medical which is maybe what you are referring to. But long term (recreational) ketamine use (abuse) is well known. Perhaps down to the method of injection (nasal) or the impurities in illicit ketamine, but there is a lot of information on bladder problems, stomach cramps along with heavy addiction
- jtmcmc 8y agoit seems likely to be the ketamine - http://ajp.amjpathol.org/article/S0002-9440(16)00073-0/fulltext http://ajp.amjpathol.org/article/S0002-9440(16)00073-0/fullt...
- mabbo 8y ago> We pay $375 for a 40-minute infusion Having no knowledge on the matter, what's the price comparison to just buying ketamine illegally and taking it without a doctor's help? Depression is like (or possibly is) a form of chronic pain. People suffering from it severely might be willing to do anything for relief. Here's good information that a currently-illegal drug can help but if you want to do it legally you might need to take on a third job just to pay the costs. It reminds me a bit of the South Park episode[0] where 'concentrated dose of about $180,000 shot directly into the bloodstream' is discovered as the cure to AIDS. Volunteers inform poverty-stricken Africa that all those suffering from AIDS have to do is inject themselves with piles of cash. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsil_Trouble https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsil_Trouble
- toomanybeersies 8y agoKet will set you back anywhere from $50-$150 per gram, depending on where in the world you are, and is of varying quality. It looks like they're using up to 1/2 a gram for treatment. I think the most of that $375 goes towards staffing costs, rather than the drug itself. Ketamine though legitimate channels costs about $5-$10 per gram from what I've heard.
- Chuzam 8y agoI think that the new part of this publication that they now have an easy to administer nose spray.
- mmcwilliams 8y agoDo you have a source on that 1/2 gram number? My reading has lead me to believe that a typical therapeutic dose for these treatments is between 60-75mg. I could be way off, though.
- selectodude 8y agoIt's .5mg/kg, so even 50 mg is enough for a pretty big guy. 500mg would knock you out for awhile. He might be misplacing a decimal there.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]