There’s a lot of talk about ketamine therapy out there, but much of it is misleading at best. When many people think about ketamine, they think of people using it recreationally, as a party drug. While ketamine can be used recreationally and can be dangerous when taken at extreme levels, ketamine therapy is a beneficial treatment carried out under medical supervision. It is a safe and effective way to treat chronic pain, depression, and other physical and mental conditions.
What is Ketamine Therapy and How Does It Work?
Ketamine is an anesthetic that is often used for the treatment of depression and for pain management. Scientifically speaking, it is what’s known as an NMDA receptor antagonist—meaning that it is designed to inhibit a specific amino acid from acting in the brain. This leads to a dissociative anesthetic effect that can prevent the patient from feeling pain and produces a pleasant, trance-like state in the patient. Its traditional medical use has been for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia, but at lower doses, it has been shown to be effective at treating depression and chronic pain.
This is where ketamine therapy comes in. When you visit a professional ketamine clinic, you are given a low dose of the drug under close medical supervision. Typically, a patient will return for several visits and it may take a few sessions before they reap the full benefits of ketamine. Ketamine has been shown to be especially effective in patients who have been resistant to other treatments.
Some Common Myths about Ketamine Therapy
- Ketamine is dangerous. Because of ketamine’s reputation as a party drug, many people think of it as being dangerous and even addictive. While it’s true that it can have negative consequences when taken in large quantities, it is perfectly safe when administered at an appropriate dose by a trained medical professional.
- Ketamine is illegal. Again, because of ketamine’s use in recreational settings, many people are under the mistaken impression that ketamine is illegal. In fact, it was first approved as an anesthetic by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1970 and ketamine therapy is 100% legal in the U.S. today.
- Ketamine is only for severe depression. Many people think of ketamine as only an option for severe depression. While ketamine therapy is effective for people with more severe mental illness, particularly those who have been resistant to other medications, it has been shown to successfully treat a whole range of mental conditions of all levels of severity. These include anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It is also effective at treating a wide range of chronic pain conditions.
Contact JoyDeVie Infusions
If you have any questions about the benefits of ketamine therapy or are interested in scheduling an appointment, please call us at (920) 264-9256 or fill out the form below.