Ketamine is now successfully used to treat a range of psychiatric disorders. One of the common such disorders is the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The FDA had originally given its approval for Ketamine to be used as an anesthetic. But over the years, researchers have increasingly recommended it for a variety of off-label applications such as PTSD treatment.
While traditional treatment options have shown very limited success in treating PTSD, ketamine infusion treatments have consistently shown significantly favorable results. Ketamine Clincis of Los Angeles, led by Dr. Steven Mandel, provides ketamine therapy to patients in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, California, and surrounding communities across the fruited plane.
Dr. Mandel discusses Ketamine for PTSD Treatment
What is PTSD?
Physically traumatic experiences can sometimes be followed by psychiatric conditions, which are termed as PTSD. Typical forms of physical trauma leading to this disorder may include vehicle accident, sexual assault, natural disaster, or combat. Although many people experience some kind of traumatic event at least once in their lifetime, most of them will not develop PTSD. But women are twice as much at risk as men to develop this disorder.
Symptoms of PTSD may include:
- Traumatic nightmares
- Repeated flashback to the event
- Hyper vigilance
- Distress after traumatic reminders
- Escaping from certain thoughts or situations
- Burden of shame, depression, despair, and other negative thoughts and moods
Ketamine Therapy for PTSD
Psychotherapy and medications are the two major approaches to treat PTSD symptoms at present. Both treatments are often used in combination. But the challenge is that it can take weeks before any significant improvement becomes noticeable with these treatments. Furthermore, the chances of successful treatment with these approaches continue to be low.
On the other hand, ketamine infusion treatments are now being used as an alternative for patients who not benefited from other treatment options for PTSD. Ketamine is introduced through IV at sub-anesthetic doses of 0.5 mg/kg. The minimal dose makes this therapy safe for in-office treatments and will not lead to severe side effects.
The patient may experience a mild hike in blood pressure or a feeling of dissociation, but it will be a transient effect lasting only for about two hours. One of the advantages of ketamine infusions is that unlike conventional treatments, the improvement can occur within hours to days rather than weeks to months. According to researchers, just a single ketamine infusion lasting for 40 minutes can rapidly reduce the PTSD symptoms.
Just one or two ketamine IV therapy sessions will be enough for the patient and the doctor to know whether favorable response is occurring. A majority of patients will respond favorably to this treatment. The patient may require six treatment sessions spread over two to three weeks to achieve optimal results.
Side effects in case of conventional treatments for PTSD can be potential serious or even permanent in some cases. Ketamine therapy helps to avoid these side effects and produces faster relief in a safer way. Dr. Mandel receives patients from Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, California, and nearby areas for ketamine infusions to address PTSD.
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
