Depression is a condition that makes patients feel worthless and unsatisfied with their life. For this reason, patients contemplate suicide as the only solution to their problems. Leading physicians like Dr. Neal Taub have developed an effective approach to depression involving ketamine. This drug’s initial use in the 1960s was specific to animals. However, the FDA approved ketamine as a human anesthetic in the 1970s. During the Vietnam war, physicians used ketamine to treat wounded soldiers on the battlefield.
How does ketamine work?
Ketamine works by shifting a person’s perception of reality. This effect is similar to having a trip and is why ketamine became a popular club drug. The distorted feeling that depressed patients get upon ketamine administration causes antidepressant effects.
What are the effects of ketamine consumption?
Patients should understand ketamine effects before getting the drug over-the-counter. Although ketamine is a popular club drug known as ‘special K,’ its effects are more anesthetic than amphetamine. A user will feel calm and relaxed while retaining full cognition. Patients might experience slurred speech and feel unable to move freely because the drug causes distortion, almost like being drunk without feeling sloppy. A sense of tranquility that patients gain makes them indifferent to their environment.
Most patients report feeling the effects for about 30 minutes to an hour. The disorientation into the ‘K-hole’ that occurs upon consumption is an effect that causes patients to experience dissociation from their bodies. The main side effects of the drug are audiovisual hallucinations and memory loss.
What should you expect when receiving ketamine?
Although pharmaceuticals are selling ketamine over-the-counter, it would be best for patients to collaborate with physicians when receiving ketamine to enhance treatment predictability. There are many side effects associated with ketamine use. However, working with a specialist can help you minimize risks, such as an overdose.
Ketamine comes in different forms. Most pharmaceuticals sell liquid ketamine in bottle packaging. However, ketamine abusers may put the liquid in a spoon and place it over a candle to transform it into white powder that they can inhale through their nostrils. The only FDA-approved ketamine is in the form of nasal sprays.
Upon ketamine administration, patients need to stay in the hospital for at least two hours for physician monitoring to ensure emergency care for any developing side effects. Patients with treatment-resistant depression will need to take the nasal sprays twice a week for the initial month, then once a week for the next month. Afterward, a doctor may recommend the occasional use of ketamine nasal sprays about once every one or two weeks.
Ketamine nasal sprays come in a black box warning on the packaging to ensure patients remain aware of any potential side effects. However, consult with your doctor if you have any concerns about the treatment to ensure that it is an ideal option for your condition. Do not let depression paralyze you and your loved ones from enjoying life. Contact Charlotte Ketamine Center if you have a positive diagnosis of treatment-resistant depression and begin ketamine treatment to eliminate your suicidal thoughts by changing your perspective on life.