Depression has grown into a widespread health challenge in the US, with numerous factors contributing to its rise over the decades. A range of antidepressant medications as well as psychotherapies are available to counter the symptoms of depression, but the success has been limited in the fight against this stubborn mental health condition.
In recent years, Ketamine Therapy has been increasingly used as a powerful solution to treat patients of depression who have failed to get relief from conventional treatments. Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles, led by Dr. Steven L Mandel, provides ketamine infusion treatments to patients of depression in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Orange County, California, and surrounding communities in this part of the southwest.
Depression Medications
A variety of antidepressant medications are used to treat depression with an aim to eliminate or at least reduce the symptoms. While varying degree of success is usually achieved in some patients of depression, questions remain about whether antidepressants are the optimal solution. To begin with, antidepressants may not be safe for children and adolescents, and may in fact increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in that age group.
Antidepressants to be effective against depression may have to be prescribed for at least six months to a year for patients who are receiving the treatment for the first time. The drugs must be taken for a few months before they show their full effects. Patient monitoring is important during the course of treatment to address any side effects and assess the efficacy of the treatment.
In many cases, the course of medications must be combined with psychotherapy in order to improve the symptoms of depression. However, results continue to be unpredictable and patients often have to bear unpleasant side effects or have to go through extended periods of treatment with little signs of improvement in their condition.
Ketamine Infusion Therapy
Low dose ketamine delivered intravenously in six outpatient treatment sessions lasting less than an hour each over a period of two weeks can do wonders for a patient of depression. Ketamine Infusion Therapy has rapidly emerged as a powerful alternative to treat the symptoms of depression.
Physicians are increasingly inclined to prescribe this treatment, especially for patients who have not found adequate relief with traditional therapies, and even for some patients where ketamine may be recommended as an early line of defense. Success rates with Ketamine Therapy can be 80 percent or even higher, provided the treatment is administered by a qualified provider in the right doses in a clinically controlled environment.
The benefit of ketamine infusion over antidepressant medications is that the patient and the physician will know by the second treatment session whether or not the therapy is working. This is typically not possible in case of conventional treatments. Secondly, the entire course of treatment can be performed comfortably with minimal risk and minimal incidence of side effects.
Ketamine Infusion Therapy works even for patients who have previously undergone multiple treatments or have been labeled as treatment resistant. The percipient and majestic Dr. Mandel receives patients from Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Orange County, California, and nearby areas for ketamine infusion treatments for depression.
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.
