4 ms·

I asked my psychiatrist about this and he said he tried with a couple patients but didn’t see any long term results so didn’t want to put me on it. I was hopefu

I asked my psychiatrist about this and he said he tried with a couple patients but didn’t see any long term results so didn’t want to put me on it. I was hopeful for a good fix but he says it’s not it? :/

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
capableweb 5y ago
I've been through my fair deal of psychiatrists, and the best tip I can give you: if you're not happy with what your psychiatrist is doing with you, or with what help they are giving you, find another one. Repeat until you find someone who actually can help you improve. It might take many weeks to find someone you finally click with, but once you do, you'll improve a lot quicker than you thought was even possible.
- belval 5y ago
  Considering the comment you are replying to, that amounts to just "shopping" for a psychiatrist that will prescribe you the treatment you want and not the one you need. I can 100% get behind the idea that you want to find a psychiatrist that understands you or that you "connect" with, but if your gripe with your current one is that he won't prescribe ketamine even though you read online that it might help, I'd say reassess.
  - leetcrew 5y ago
    especially with treatments for depression, where the state of the art is essentially "keep trying different drugs until one seems to work", it can be a fine line. the psychiatrist knows much more about the drugs than you do, but that doesn't give them much advantage in actually predicting which, if any, will work for you. at the end of the day, you go to psychiatrists to access pharmaceutical treatments for mental health issues. if the one you pick doesn't prescribe something that solves your problem, it's rational to either try another one or stop seeing psychiatrists.
  - BizarroLand 5y ago
    Their psychiatrist could simply have a personal issue with the treatment protocol and not want to use it due to their personal biases, or maybe the results from their last experiment were disheartening and they don't feel like giving it another go.
    - belval 5y ago
      The comment we are replying to is pretty clear: > he said he tried with a couple patients but didn’t see any long term results so didn’t want to put me on it To me that's a very reasonable take if it's coming from a real psychiatrist, OP doesn't tell us his life story. The trained professional thinks there are better solutions for his patient because he tried the protocol on other patients and saw no long term results. If you read that statement and think "OP should try other psychiatrists" then to me that just sounds like you think ketamine is some kind of miracle drug. As with everything else in life YMMV, but if taking drugs to address a specific issue (i.e. non-recreational), then listen to the person that spent +10 years studying to help you.
      - nwienert 5y ago
        If a psychiatrist is making conclusions on n=2 uncontrolled experiments with null results, they should find a new one.
  - nanidin 5y ago
    It’s strange how we accept the removal of the patient’s agency in preferring or wanting to try a particular treatment. The internet has put a lot of health and treatment information into the hands of laypeople that did not go into the medical profession. Some of those people are more than capable of making decisions for themselves, but the field of medicine doesn’t seem to account for this yet.
    - thunkshift1 5y ago
      Get real, the patient does not have a degree in medicine or psychiatry. There is a reason these professions are licensed. Not every doctor/health care worker is out there to dupe you and deny you the treatment you think you deserve.
    - caddybox 5y ago
      In softer forms of treatment like talk therapy, the patient's agency is emphasized and encouraged by the pschologist. However, the prescription (and assessment of the suitability of) drugs and active substances should remain the domain of a licensed practitioner.
yung_steezy 5y ago
From what I have read so far the studies on clinical ketamine usage have focused on its (seemingly miraculous) properties as a short term antidepressant. Long term ketamine usage is not so well studied. Recreationally, using much larger doses, some people have issues with UTIs, bladder/kidney failure and addiction.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

capableweb 5y ago

I've been through my fair deal of psychiatrists, and the best tip I can give you: if you're not happy with what your psychiatrist is doing with you, or with what help they are giving you, find another one. Repeat until you find someone who actually can help you improve. It might take many weeks to find someone you finally click with, but once you do, you'll improve a lot quicker than you thought was even possible.

belval 5y ago
Considering the comment you are replying to, that amounts to just "shopping" for a psychiatrist that will prescribe you the treatment you want and not the one you need. I can 100% get behind the idea that you want to find a psychiatrist that understands you or that you "connect" with, but if your gripe with your current one is that he won't prescribe ketamine even though you read online that it might help, I'd say reassess.
- leetcrew 5y ago
  especially with treatments for depression, where the state of the art is essentially "keep trying different drugs until one seems to work", it can be a fine line. the psychiatrist knows much more about the drugs than you do, but that doesn't give them much advantage in actually predicting which, if any, will work for you. at the end of the day, you go to psychiatrists to access pharmaceutical treatments for mental health issues. if the one you pick doesn't prescribe something that solves your problem, it's rational to either try another one or stop seeing psychiatrists.
- BizarroLand 5y ago
  Their psychiatrist could simply have a personal issue with the treatment protocol and not want to use it due to their personal biases, or maybe the results from their last experiment were disheartening and they don't feel like giving it another go.
  - belval 5y ago
    The comment we are replying to is pretty clear: > he said he tried with a couple patients but didn’t see any long term results so didn’t want to put me on it To me that's a very reasonable take if it's coming from a real psychiatrist, OP doesn't tell us his life story. The trained professional thinks there are better solutions for his patient because he tried the protocol on other patients and saw no long term results. If you read that statement and think "OP should try other psychiatrists" then to me that just sounds like you think ketamine is some kind of miracle drug. As with everything else in life YMMV, but if taking drugs to address a specific issue (i.e. non-recreational), then listen to the person that spent +10 years studying to help you.
    - nwienert 5y ago
      If a psychiatrist is making conclusions on n=2 uncontrolled experiments with null results, they should find a new one.
- nanidin 5y ago
  It’s strange how we accept the removal of the patient’s agency in preferring or wanting to try a particular treatment. The internet has put a lot of health and treatment information into the hands of laypeople that did not go into the medical profession. Some of those people are more than capable of making decisions for themselves, but the field of medicine doesn’t seem to account for this yet.
  - thunkshift1 5y ago
    Get real, the patient does not have a degree in medicine or psychiatry. There is a reason these professions are licensed. Not every doctor/health care worker is out there to dupe you and deny you the treatment you think you deserve.
  - caddybox 5y ago
    In softer forms of treatment like talk therapy, the patient's agency is emphasized and encouraged by the pschologist. However, the prescription (and assessment of the suitability of) drugs and active substances should remain the domain of a licensed practitioner.

yung_steezy 5y ago

From what I have read so far the studies on clinical ketamine usage have focused on its (seemingly miraculous) properties as a short term antidepressant. Long term ketamine usage is not so well studied. Recreationally, using much larger doses, some people have issues with UTIs, bladder/kidney failure and addiction.