Ketamine Treatment Safety
A New Paradigm for Healing
Are Ketamine Treatments Safe?
When you contact our team at Daydream MD, what you will undoubtedly want to know is, are ketamine treatments safe? Is ketamine IV treatment safe? Ketamine infusion therapy is indeed safe; the nasal spray administration is also FDA-approved, and when it is overseen by medical supervision, it can help long-term with treatment-resistant depression.
Ketamine treatment was originally used as an anesthetic, with ketamine infusions being used to treat adult and child patients during operations and in emergency rooms. Ketamine is approved by the FDA in these settings, in which much higher doses are used than for the treatment of depression, anxiety, PTSD, or complex PTSD. Its use as a treatment for depression is relatively new. Still, it has been found to be beneficial in the treatment of major depressive disorder that has not responded to traditional therapies. So fear not. It is safe: it is FDA-approved!
How Does Ketamine Work?
One of the most common FAQs we receive is how this therapy works. To understand how ketamine treatment works, you have to understand how typical treatments for major depression work. They impact the brain chemical serotonin, which is low in those with depression. However, rather than acting on serotonin, ketamine therapy works on another brain chemical, glutamate, giving it a broader range of applications.
What To Expect
Ketamine clinics are designed to offer this treatment via IV infusions, intramuscular injections, and nasal sprays. Those receiving ketamine will likely experience ketamine side effects, which is why our team will be on hand to help. These side effects may include feeling detached and feeling ‘spaced out,’ a feeling often referred to as ‘dissociation.’ We understand that this can be frightening, but at Daydream MD, we believe this dissociation to be a valuable part of the therapeutic process. Medical supervision ketamine is to ensure that your heart rate and oxygen levels stay within a safe range, which is why we will always ensure you are being watched by one of the clinical members of our team.
After the treatment is over, you will likely experience a lift in mood and feel a drop in your depression symptoms. Ketamine works for many people within about 40 minutes of receiving the injection, making it one of the fastest treatment options available for depression. You may still feel disoriented and dizzy for a few hours, but this will fade with time and rest. It is worth noting that some patients experience a shift in their consciousness and may feel that they are floating on a different psychological plane during the infusion.
You may need to attend multiple infusion sessions for the ketamine therapy to work properly to treat your depression, but our team will assess this at your initial consultation.
At Daydream MD, we aim to ensure that the infusions given are the most appropriate for our patients. We strive to administer ketamine at a fraction of the dose required for anesthetic administration.
Meet The Team
Our CEO and founder, Dr. Arsalan Azam, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and our medical director. During his rotations, he oversaw many mental health emergencies using traditional medicine, prompting him to explore alternatives.
Click to meet the rest of our compassionate and supportive team members and get to know us.
Book a Consultation
If you have had enough of suffering from the symptoms of treatment-resistant depression or anxiety, then call our team at Daydream MD today. We can be contacted via our website, on the 'Contact' or 'Book a session' tabs, as well as via telephone at (619) 937-2055. So, begin your healing process with our team today.
Ketamine Research
Interested in learning more about ketamine therapy? Click to read sourced third-party ketamine research, and below are a couple of our favorite sources for your ease of finding:
-
National Library of Medicine: How Ketamine Relieves Depression Symptoms
-
Yale University: How ketamine drug helps with depression
-
Forbes: The truth about ketamine therapy
-
Oxford University: First UK study of ketamine for people with severe depression
-
The Washington Post: Ketamine depression treatment research
-
Harvard: Ketamine for treatment-resistant depression