Can Ketamine Help With Postpartum Depression?
Ketamine Therapy is now recognized by doctors and patients alike as a safe, judicious, and righteous alternative to treat a number of depressive disorders, including postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is clinically called a depressive disorder with peripartum onset. Peripartum onset is the period beginning anytime during pregnancy up to one month after childbirth.
Ketamine Infusion Therapy offers quick relief from the symptoms of postpartum depression, and avoids the unpleasant and lingering side effects of conventional antidepressants. Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles, led by Dr. Steven Mandel, provides ketamine infusion treatments to patients in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Orange County, California, and surrounding communities in this section of the state.
Understanding Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression may triggered by hormonal changes after childbirth or a miscarriage. Some women may develop symptoms of this depression during pregnancy. Some of the common symptoms include depressed mood and irritability, reduced interest in pleasurable activities, weight fluctuations, irregular sleep patterns, tiredness, low self-esteem, and even suicidal thoughts.
Symptoms of postpartum depression may include anxiety and excessive worry that could hamper a mom’s ability to take care of the newborn and manage everyday stressors. The condition is particularly challenging because it occurs at a time when it is vital for the mother and child to bond.
Treatment with Ketamine
A traditional course of treatment for mothers diagnosed with postpartum depression is antidepressant medications. The biggest limitation of antidepressants such as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) is that the drug can enter the breast milk when breastfeeding. Furthermore, it can take one to two months for the medications to take full effect and may result in various unpleasant side effects.
Looking at these drawbacks, physicians are increasingly turning to Ketamine Infusion Therapy as a promising alternative to conventional treatments for postpartum depression. Ketamine Therapy has proven to have a high success rate treating mood disorders and it is fast-acting with little to no risk to the child. The symptoms of postpartum depression can be eliminated within a matter of days instead of weeks.
Furthermore, the mother does not have to become dependent on a drug to maintain a stable mood. In many cases, the patient may only require as few as six infusions of Ketamine Therapy to achieve sustainable relief for several months. That provides her with plenty of time to develop a healthy bond with the newborn and reassess her long-term treatment options, if required.
In many cases, while Ketamine Infusion Therapy works to address the postpartum depression symptoms, the mother’s hormones and other PPD contributing factors would have stabilized. Therefore, they would not require any further treatment.
Safety of the Baby
Ketamine Infusion Therapy to treat PPD symptoms is considered very safe for any newborn. The medication through infusions does not get transmitted to the baby through breast milk and does not have any of the side effects associated with antidepressants. Secondly, many mothers who achieve positive and successful results with ketamine infusions may not need to seek support outside the home, such as counseling or therapy, while they are busy taking care of the baby.
Patients in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Orange County, California, and other towns and communities in this part of California have an opportunity to receive ketamine infusion treatments from the reliable and standout Dr. Mandel.
For more information about Ketamine Infusion Therapy 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
Treating patients from Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Orange County, San Diego, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Sacramento, CA, Northern & Southern California, Las Vegas, NV and many other cities from west to east coast.
