Ketamine Infusion Therapy Specialist

What is ketamine?

Ketamine is an anesthetic medication with a unique mechanism of action. Unlike other anesthetics, ketamine affects the glutamatergic system in your brain. This is the same part of your brain that’s involved in depression and chronic pain. 

Several decades of research show that ketamine has strong antidepressant properties. In 2019, the FDA approved a form of ketamine called esketamine as a fast-acting nasal spray for adults with treatment-resistant depression. 

Ketamine infusion therapy is a separate treatment that’s not yet approved by the FDA but has been researched extensively. Infusion therapy involves an intravenous (IV) delivery of ketamine. 

Both types of treatment require you to stay in the office at the Institute for Advanced Psychiatry during treatment and for 2-4 hours after. You cannot take any form of ketamine at home.

What mental health conditions does ketamine treat?

Ketamine is a breakthrough treatment that may provide rapid relief for psychiatric disorders that don’t respond to medication management. Dr. Ghelder may recommend ketamine if you have one of the following conditions:

• Major depressive disorder
• Bipolar disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Suicidal ideation
  
  

Though it’s never the first line of treatment, studies show that a single dose of ketamine is as effective in one day as several weeks of taking conventional antidepressant medications. 

What should I expect from ketamine infusion therapy?

First, Dr. Ghelder carefully evaluates your condition and reviews your medical history to make sure you’re a good candidate for ketamine infusion therapy. 

It’s important to understand that ketamine isn’t effective for everyone, even with repeated doses. There’s no way to predict whether you’ll respond positively to ketamine or not. Ketamine infusion therapy isn’t covered by health insurance, but esketamine nasal spray may be.

Ketamine infusion therapy delivers a smaller dose of the medicine than what would be used for anesthesia into your bloodstream. The infusion lasts about 40 minutes, during which you relax in the office at the Institute for Advanced Psychiatry. 

Afterward, you stay in the office for 2-4 hours and then a responsible adult must drive you home. You’re not allowed to drive, operate machinery, or leave the house by yourself for 24 hours after ketamine infusion therapy. 

If you suffer from treatment-resistant depression, call the Institute for Advanced Psychiatry to learn more about ketamine therapy.