Alcohol addiction is one of the most difficult addictions to overcome and can be deadly. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 88,424 alcohol-related deaths were reported in 2006 through 2010 in the United States alone. Many alcoholics resort to rehab, recovery programs, and even prescription drugs to manage depression in order to get better but treatments don’t always work. Now, researchers are exploring the benefits of Ketamine Infusion Therapy as an alternative treatment option for alcoholism.
Ketamine is a known anesthetic, a drug that has been used in the medical field for decades., and also one It is also a drug that has been abused, as a party drug because of its analgesic effects.
Researchers are finding that ketamine administered in low doses could be a promising treatment for depression. It triggers a set of unique chemical reactions in the brain associated with the symptoms of depression and, unlike many antidepressants, acts almost immediately to improve the mood. Ketamine works on the brain and central nervous system.
How Ketamine Infusion Therapy Could Help Alcoholics
Psychologists at University College London have been testing the off-label use of the drug to help heavy drinkers reduce their alcohol consumption.
For example, alcoholics might have strong memories about drinking in a certain place or enjoying a drink at a certain time of the day. Those memories can be triggered in a number of ways and make it almost impossible to stop the recall effect. Ketamine can disrupt the ability to recall the memory altogether so it’s less likely for the alcoholic to turn to the reward of alcohol if they are faced with a trigger.
Since alcohol treatment still continues to have such a high relapse rate and few people are able to successfully quit for the long-term, ketamine may be a viable option for many. The drug is administered intravenously over the course of a few days. It can trigger a psychedelic effect in some people but this dissipates within a half hour of treatment. Many people who respond positively to ketamine therapy feel the effects shortly after their first session and report a significant improvement in mood. Ketamine Infusion Therapy, combined with traditional therapy, could help alcoholics recover from alcoholism and stay sober as their positive memories of using alcohol start to fade away.
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 Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles in Southern California (Orange County) by clicking here or calling 310-270-0625.
