Ketamine Treatment for Depression
Patients suffering from depression have an opportunity to effectively address the symptoms with ketamine infusion treatments. Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles, led by board certified anesthesiologist Dr. Steven L Mandel, provides ketamine IV therapy to patients in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, California, and surrounding locations.
Is the ketamine IV therapy performed as an inpatient or outpatient procedure?
Ketamine infusions for depressions will be performed as an outpatient procedure. No hospital admission or overnight stay will be necessary.
Will I require a referral from a psychiatrist?
Referral can be made by any licensed mental healthcare professional, and not necessarily a psychiatrist.
What levels of depression may be treated with ketamine?
While mild to moderate condition of depression can be successfully treated by a mental health professional with medications and psychotherapy, more severe forms of depression are harder to treat. Therefore, ketamine infusion treatments are usually reserved for patients who have not benefitted from conventional medication or are considered treatment resistant.
What are the chances of improvement of severe depression with ketamine infusions?
It is difficult to predict which patient will respond to ketamine infusion therapy for severe depression, but statistically two out of three patients experience a dramatic improvement in their mood, and three out of four cease to have suicide ideation. Within two treatment sessions of ketamine, the physician will usually know whether ketamine infusions will help the patient.
How many infusions will I require and how sustainable will be the results?
Patients who experience an encouraging response within the first two infusions will be advised to complete the full course of six treatments within a 12 to 15 day period. This program will help to maximize the effect of ketamine on new dendrite and synapse growth.
Following this treatment course, patients will be placed on a maintenance program where they can receive a single infusion booster whenever they feel it necessary. The duration of relief during the maintenance period will vary from one patient to another. The average duration of relief between booster infusions is usually one month, but it is difficult to predict the individual patient response in advance.
Will I be dependent on ketamine infusions for life?
Although right now ketamine infusion treatments are, perhaps, the most effective new treatment for severe depression, but researchers are developing alternative drugs for more convenient oral and nasal administration. These developments may be a few years away, and in the meantime ketamine is a safe, proven and effective solution available to patients. Patients with severe depression need not wait when they have ketamine available.
What is the duration of a single treatment session?
One treatment session of ketamine IV therapy will last for a little less than one hour. The patient can stay awake throughout the treatment process.
Are any adjustments required with regard to existing medications?
The patient will not be required to stop any medications they may be currently using. There are no known drugs that could interfere with ketamine infusions.
Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles receives patients from Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, California, and other nearby areas for ketamine therapy.
For more information about treatments for depression, bipolar, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), fibromyalgia, pain syndromes and other conditions contact us at the Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles in Southern California (Orange County) by clicking here or calling 310-270-0625
