It’s Depression Awareness Month, and we’d like to generate awareness for the 300 million people who struggle with depression every day. Less of 50% of these individuals will ever receive successful treatment. Limited by healthcare, limited by finances, limited by the body’s own resistance to traditional pharmaceutical treatments, limited by the ability to ask for help—there are any number of reasons why a depressed individual may not receive effective depression treatment. Let us band together this month to spread information, ideas and treatment options to help our loved ones get back to living a satisfying life.
Ketamine infusions have become one of the most recommended depression treatments for those suffering from treatment-resistant depression. Ketamine treatments provide rapid relief from depressive symptoms in up to 70% of patients. Addiction is a growing concern for those using prescription drugs, and many psychiatric disorders rely on highly-addictive benzodiazepines to provide symptomatic relief. Ketamine, however, is not a physically addictive drug and, furthermore, is very rarely prescribed as a take-home medication. It is administered in a clinical setting under close medical supervision. Those patients who have experienced relief as a result of ketamine infusions are very vocal about their experiences, and a simple Google search for ‘ketamine success stories’ will yield endless results.
Since researchers discovered the antidepressant benefits of ketamine in the early part of this century, much research has been done to understand this miraculous drug. Studies performed in just this year alone have yielded such information as:
1. Oral ketamine may be beneficial as an add-on for traditional depression treatment, and a study of 41 random people aimed to show how feasible and beneficial oral ketamine may be. The results look promising, but more research needs to be done.
2. Ketamine infusions vs. suicide ideation: during this study, researchers worked with three subgroups of varying suicidal depression severity. During the study, each group experienced positive results—from complete elimination of suicidal ideations to major improvement in mood, and the ability to get back to their lives and loved ones.
3. Have you heard of esketamine? Esketamine is a nasal spray being developed by Janssen Pharmaceutical which received breakthrough status as a depression treatments and was fast-tracked for approval by the FDA. It has gone through five phases of trials and, now, is just waiting for FDA approval, which could change the lives of millions.
4. Guidelines have now been released by a board of experts to help treat premenopausal depression, which each woman goes through in their lifetime.
All of the research being conducted to better understand ketamine for depression helps open the door for a better future: possible decreased opioid use, lower suicide rates, etc. To learn more about ketamine, follow our blog or review the research published on our website. In honor of Depression Awareness Month, do your homework and get the facts about ketamine for depression—there is a lot of quality information out there, published by trusted scholarly resources and medical organizations.
Contact RestoratIV Wellness
If you are in the southern New Jersey or greater Philadelphia area and would like to learn more about ketamine infusions, please contact our clinic. We can help you determine whether you or a loved one is a candidate for ketamine treatments, and help get you started on your path to recovery.
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