Ketamine has emerged as a promising therapy for a number of psychiatric disorders, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Ketamine was originally approved by the FDA for anesthesia, but is now commonly applied for off-label uses to address various disorders. PTSD is a unique disorder, which has become increasingly common, but medical treatments overall are still inadequate.
This makes ketamine infusion treatments as a promising option when compared to other available conventional options. Patients in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, California, and surrounding locations have an opportunity to receive ketamine IV therapy from Dr. Steven Mandel at Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles.
Dr. Mandel discusses Ketamine Therapy for PTSD Treatment
What is PTSD?
PTSD is a disorder that may develop following a physically traumatic experience. The trauma may involve vehicle accident, combat, natural disaster or sexual assault. While many people experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, most of them do not go on to develop PTSD. However, women are twice as likely as men to develop PTSD.
Common symptoms of PTSD may include:
- Traumatic nightmwares
- Frequent flashbacks to the event
- Distress following exposure to traumatic reminders
- Hyper vigilance
- Avoidance of certain types of situations or thoughts
- Burden of negative thinking and moods, including despair, shame, and depression
Treatment with Ketamine
Two major types of treatment options currently in use for PTSD symptoms include psychotherapy and medication management. Both treatments may be combined in many cases. However, these treatments may take several weeks before any tangible improvement can be noticed. The track record of success with these treatments to address PTSD symptoms is anyway poor.
Ketamine infusion treatments have now been introduced as a new alternative for patients who have not responded well to other options for PTSD. The ketamine therapy is given intravenously at sub-anesthetic doses of 0.5 mg/kg. This makes the therapy safe for in-office treatments and does not produce major side effects. Mildly raised blood pressure levels and a feeling of dissociation may occur transiently, and will dissipate in about two hours.
One of the primary benefits of ketamine infusions over conventional medications is that if the patient responds positively, they will see the improvement in symptoms within hours to days rather weeks to months. Research studies have shown that just one infusion of ketamine for about 40 minutes can lead to a rapid reduction in the symptoms of PTSD.
If the patient is going to respond to ketamine IV therapy, both the patient and the physician will know about it in just one to two infusions. Most patients are likely to respond well to this therapy. They may have to go through a series of six treatments spread over two to three weeks in order to achieve optimal outcomes.
The potential side effects in conventional treatments for PTSD may be serious or even permanent in nature. Ketamine therapy will help to avoid those side effects and deliver faster relief. Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles receive patients from Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, California, and other cities across the horizon in Southern, CA for ketamine infusions to treat PTSD symptoms.
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
