Ketamine Infusion Therapy Blog

Ketamine – What it’s Like to get a Ketamine Infusion Therapy

Written by ketamine@dmin | Sep 20, 2017 12:00:00 AM

Ketamine Infusion Therapy

Ketamine Therapy has become increasingly acceptable as a treatment for various pain conditions and depression related disorders. However, many patients are still unaware about the ketamine treatment experience, its safety profile, and its potential benefits and limitations.

Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles, led by the focused and insightful Dr. Steven Mandel, provides ketamine infusion treatments to patients in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Orange County, California, and surrounding locations in this neck of the woods. During the initial consultation, Dr. Mandel will educate the patient about all aspects of Ketamine Infusion Therapy.

 

Safety Aspects

Ketamine Therapy involves an IV infusion, and should only be performed by a qualified and experienced ketamine expert. Under expert supervision, the risks with ketamine are minimal. Therefore, it can be performed in an office setting on an outpatient basis. Compared to a surgical procedure, the risks are drastically lower.

In a typical surgery, the anesthesiologist will often use much higher doses of ketamine to place the patient under deep sleep. Such doses are usually up to four times higher than what will be given in a Ketamine Infusion Therapy. To treat psychiatric disorders and pain conditions, much lower doses of ketamine have been found effective, and in fact, higher doses may not be as effective.

 

IV Ketamine Experience

Each Ketamine Infusion Therapy session may last for about 40 minutes. The procedure is not painful and the risk of infection is very low as long as it is performed at a qualified facility. Absorption rates with IV have been found to be ideal and side effects are negligible with this route.

Once the infusion begins, within a few minutes the patient will experience a benign tingling sensation in the lips or extremities. Soon after, a few patients may feel a sense of heaviness and a kind of detachment between the mind and the body. Most patients find this a calming and soothing experience, and very rarely a patient may feel uncomfortable.

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic and not a hallucinogen, which makes the treatment experience very comfortable. The patient may have a mild illusionary experience where the light or other senses may be perceived in an enhanced or sub-normal way. For this reason, in the preparation for Ketamine Infusion Therapy, lighting is often minimized or the patient is provided with an eye mask.

Some patients may not experience most of these side effects anyway. The treatment provider will encourage the patient to be comfortable in their reclining chair. Many patients prefer listening to soothing music during the procedure to keep their mind in a positive, happy state.

Talking or excessive stimulation should be avoided during the treatment, particularly in the first treatment session. If the patient wants to use the restroom, they should inform the attending nurse or doctor for assistance. If the patient experiences any side effects such as nausea, dizziness, or headache, they should inform the nurse of the physician.

The patient should have someone to drive them back home after the treatment session is over. The sagacious Dr. Mandel receives patients from Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Orange County, California, and other neighborhoods and cities in this geographical region for ketamine infusion treatments.

 

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.