hope

Ketamine Therapy: It Takes Time To Heal The Brain

Ketamine Therapy: It Takes Time To Heal The Brain

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Hello again. This is Susan from myketaminestory.com. 

As a brief summary for those new to my blog, I write about my experiences and journey with Ketamine Therapy. I have a long history with treatment resistant depression and anxiety disorders. My personal mental health care resume includes numerous failed medication cocktails, ECT, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Talk Therapy and hospitalizations. I admit I understand how all of these treatments could potentially help, but they never did for me.

I am quickly approaching to the four year mark since I was introduced to Ketamine for treatment resistant depression. I am alive today because of a drug that is raising many questions and concerns from the professional world.

I have often wondered how Ketamine works on the brain, how long would it take a damaged brain to heal and if such a brain was under distress for substantially long periods of time, or years in fact, would it have any relevance on how ketamine therapy is utilized. Would it?

I know for me, it was several decades before I found ketamine for treatment-resistant depression. I had tried numerous treatments in the past. I have written in the past about the many forms of therapy I tried during my search for a successful treatment. These treatments include psychotherapy, art therapy, music therapy, animal therapy, basically I tried every kind of therapy you can think of, really.

Without lasting results.

Throughout my life, I really struggled to locate some kind of treatment that could lift the symptoms of my depression, in order for me to feel like I was a part of life or that it was in fact worth living. I can honestly say that before Ketamine, that in most instances, I haven’t felt that life was worth all the struggles. I constantly had to go through war zones in order to figure out a way to alleviate the pain that depression caused me.

I question.

How would my life have been different if I had found Ketamine for Treatment Resistant Depression years ago?  I can’t realistically say. Life is unpredictable. I do, however, feel that depression definitely would have had less damaging effects on my brain.

I would have loved to discover Ketamine decades ago, but it wasn’t an option. I had a vast array of life experiences and failed treatments before Ketamine was a common word spoken in my household.

I have had years and years of depression, anxiety and trauma. My brain was bombarded with shock therapy as well as prescription after prescription. I’ve had many doctors attempt to treat me without any lasting success for depression, but lasting consequences and injury to my antamony; especially my brain.

It was also during these lost years that I put in place several unhealthy coping strategies. I found myself often trying to self-medicate with alcohol and later with weed. I have abused food for comfort. I can admit that I have used people for distractions. I have even implemented excessive exercising as an escape. I have tried many methods to alleviate my depression.

Wounding my body and soul.

I have decades of bad habits that I formed in order to cope with my depression. I feel that maybe the longer that you have suffered with Treatment-Resistant Depression without improvements, the more it can jeopardize long term recovery.

It makes sense.

Over the years, I have put in place all the different types of treatment plans, coping strategies, and insights from my psychotherapy trying to understand depression, my depression.

In the past, I have spent much time trying to figure out how I played a part in all the craziness that’s inside my head.

I have always felt like I was behind an 8-ball; like there was nothing I could really do in order to lift my depression.

The depression always won.

I felt like I just couldn’t do enough.

Be enough.

I was being punished.

I also wanted to have all the control, and I didn’t; and I don’t. 

On many levels, I don’t understand. I don’t understand why I felt depressed and anxious when nothing warranted the feelings. I didn’t get why I was constantly plagued by this heaviness, this deep desire to end my life. A plethora of failed treatments to get better will cause you to doubt that you ever will get better. I know this was true for me. I imagine it’s true for many others.

I know that when I found Ketamine I didn’t have high hopes.

However, it remarkably surprised me with its ability to lift, consistently, my symptoms of depression. Ketamine switches off what I like to refer to as my depression filters. You know, those filters that make it impossible to process information the same way others do? 

Ketamine allows me the luxury of clarity.

I know that processing information continues to be an issue for me. I think that when you spend years and years utilizing different techniques, medications, and trying different methods for lifting the depression and the suicidal thinking without success, you start to second guess that healing and recovery will ever present itself for you. I know I doubted it. I started to question everything. 

The biggest problem I kept encountering was whether or not I even had anything wrong with me. I started to believe that I was causing my own suffering. In some circumstances, I was surely not helping. I was at fault. I began to insist that it was because I was a horrible person that I was being punished; daily. I’m sure other people have felt this way as well. I’m sure I’m not unique or special in my outlook on my mental health.

What I assumed was that if you have spent decades trying to find a solution to your problem that you will fail at times, but hopefully you’ll find some successes too. This had not been my experience in the past. I feel like I kept trying new things and getting the same old results: nothing.

Mind and body crushed.

I really felt that I must be the problem. I think this is a disservice to those of us with mental illnesses. I also feel like our society has made it unacceptable, in the past, to talk about just how debilitating depression is for us. 

I know, it was often difficult to get the required help that I needed when I was living in a world of chaos. 

That’s how mental illness feels for me; chaos in the midst of silence.

It saddens me to look back across my past and see all of the therapies that I’ve tried. The investments that I’ve made in my health. All for the sake of being able to function in the world as though I didn’t have these filters in place. 

I only wanted to live as though my world wasn’t obscured and tainted by darkness and evil.

So, knowing that, I would have to think that for someone that has spent decades trying to get better, trying to gain control of their life, that during these times they would also implement unhealthy and damaging effects on their brain.

I truly believe that this is truth for me.

I am hoping that this destruction will dissipate as the Ketamine repeatedly repairs the construction sites known as my hippocampus, habenula, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex.

I am beginning to gain a deeper understanding for the way in which I processed information in the past and how I can change the way in which I perceive my world now that I have Ketamine lifting my depression and restoring various cells in areas of my brain that affects my propensity to depression.

I tend to want to think that in many ways the Ketamine is healing what was broken or severed. It is allowing connections to be made where once was only dead cells or malformed.

Ketamine repairs the mind. 

The more people that I converse with about their experience with Ketamine therapy and their recovery process, the more I’m convinced that time plays a crucial element in how Ketamine works and restores.

What I mean by this is, I’m beginning to see a correlation between age, length of time suffering with refractory depression and how long Ketamine takes to restore functioning to all parts of the mind affected by depression.

Why is that?

I mean, wouldn’t you would think that Ketamine would work the same for everyone that has treatment-resistant depression?

I propose that one element, I feel, is the depth of injury to various parts of the brain or lack of delevopement to those areas affected by depression. Secondly, the side effects of medications used inappropriately when trying to find a successful treatment for depression.

I also have to begin up another element and that being inflammation on the brain. I feel the more I learn about depression, my depression, and other people’s depression is that there is definitely an inflammation component to almost every case that I’ve heard about. 

Granted, I’m not a doctor, I haven’t seen hundreds of cases, but the more I read about Ketamine and have my own experiences with Ketamine to reference, the more I am convinced that inflammation is a factor. I also think it is more about the amount of time a person has had to deal with the inflammation and impairments as to how long it may take Ketamine to repair and heal the sufferer.

Ketamine is phenomenal. 

I am a living example of the success of Ketamine on combatting treatment resistant depression.

As recently as 2016, it was written that studies suggested that Ketamine was believed to have the ability to regenerate the brain cells. In 2018, an article was written that Ketamine was shown to have a muzzling effect on bursting brain cells. Ketamine has been known for years to restore brain connections. In fact, there have been several articles reporting the neuroregenerative properties of Ketamine.

What does neuroregeneration actaully mean? According to a quick google search it refers to the regrowth or repair of nervous tissues, cells or cell products. Such mechanisms may include generation of new neurons, glia, axons, myelin, or synapses.

In elementary terms that I can understand, Ketamine heals the brain and aids in repairing the damaged cells.

Healing takes time.

How much time it takes Ketamine to heal the brain could be linked to the extent to which a person has been afflicted.

It’s perplexing to me that Ketamine can, for some people, reduce depressive symptoms for a couple of months but for others, like me, a couple of weeks. It also appears that those that can get relief for more than a couple weeks are in their twenties or early thirties. So, I ask myself, why is that? Are their brains not as incapacitated by the depression, and is this due to lack of breakdown in the brain? How does the amount of time under intense distress change the recovery outcome?

Which leads me to more questions. There is still so much unknown about Ketamine and how it works and why.

Why is it that Ketamine works so efficiently for some and only mildly for others? Why can some individuals be symptom free for a month or more while others, like me, need Ketamine maintenance or boosters every couple of weeks?

I’m always intrigued by the unknown.

I know that there is more research and papers being written about the science behind Ketamine. There are also many speculations about why Ketamine works for those that haven’t had any success in the past with other forms of treatments. 

I enjoy speculating upon the reasons.

I have tried many treatments such as ECT, psychotherapy, numerous different medication cocktails, and have been hospitalized more than I care to admit. All with the hopes of getting better.

Yet, nothing ever offered me relief, until Ketamine.

I’m not seeing the world so bleakly now. I am seeing hope. I am seeing light and colors. I have a deep desire to want to wake up each morning and start a new day. There have been many mornings in my past that I woke up only to start crying because I had to face another day. 

There’s a big difference between wanting to start a new day and having to start a new day! 

I have had many mornings of unstoppable tears because I was still alive and once again I had to go through yet another day of this grueling and unforgiving disease with no relief.

When I tried Ketamine infusions I was pretty excited to discover that it actually worked for me. I didn’t expect it to. I have written about this many times. Without the risk of sounding repetitive, it’s important to understand the depth of my depression and how it affected every aspect of my life. This is very true for many people. I understand that. I realized that I am not alone in this fight, in this war, in this battle to gain back control of my life, of our lives. It’s not an easy task. It’s frustrating, and for me that leads to anger-provoking thoughts and feelings. There have been countless times when I want to give up; even when I have felt good. It’s just a lot of work fighting depression and I’m not shy about doing the work. I have been for decades!

I can say that I’m immensely thrilled by the prospect of getting better. I am getting better. It is an agonizing process. A painfully slow progression.

It is hard for me to understand how Ketamine is influencing my life sometimes, but I’ve had a lot of deep Insights and growth over the last three and a half plus years because of Ketamine. I know in my heart I would not be alive today If Ketamine wasn’t being used to treat depression.

I have written and shared many tips about my discoveries with Ketamine and how it affects my life, but I always come back to the familiar question spinning around in my mind and that is, why is it that I need a Ketamine shot every two weeks and will that change as my brain heals and repairs itself? Why are other Ketamine users having longer lasting results or have found they no longer need Ketamine?

It was because of these type of questions regarding Ketamine maintenance and recovery that I started to take notice of whom I was talking to, what age they were, and what their personal histories were. I am also very interested in what kinds of therapies had they tried in the past and what their general feelings are in terms of their success with Ketamine therapy. It was during these discussions where I received similar answers that I began to see a common theme. It appeared that those in their early to late twenties using Ketamine infusions were having a higher success rate – in terms of how long they could go between Ketamine treatments and in some cases were even able to discontinue Ketamine treatments all together. Why is that?

It has been close to four years now, and I have determined that the reason that those in their twenties might be more capable of making the period of time between treatments longer or even finding permanent relief might possibly be due to a shorter time frame for which the progression of the illness has injuried the brain cells. Once we hit our late twenties, the brain’s aging process begins and we begin losing neurons—the cells that make up the brain and nervous system, or so some believe. It is thought that the way that the neurons communicate, both electrically and chemically, changes. You may see a decreased number of synapses, or connections, between cells. This could explain why it takes time to heal the brain in older Ketamine patients.

It makes sense to me.

It take time for the Ketamine to do its job, so to speak.

I would love to open this topic up for comments, because I am very curious as to whether I might be on the right path of thought here. 

It could also be that the time between appointments for Ketamine therapy is lengthened because not as many bad coping habits were put in place. 

It could be that they don’t have as many misunderstandings of their emotions due to the fact that they are younger. They haven’t had as many life experiences. They haven’t had to spend decades trying to cope with the depression. It could be because of these added years dealing with coping with the depression that you end up having, or you end up putting in place, thoughts and beliefs about your depression; your life.

It could also mean the brain has continued to fail to make connections or growth in pertinent areas as we age.

Couldn’t it?

I do believe that Ketamine therapy is working the same for people, of all age groups. I do. I believe that Ketamine reduces the symptoms of depression. I think the Ketamine works the same at reducing the inflammation of the brain, allowing connections to be made, growth to occur, perceptions to be clarified, thoughts slow down and clarity to occur; making change possible. These are all positives elements that Ketamine provides for me and many others.

Ketamine aids in the battle of treatment resistant depression. A drug unlike any past treatments for clinical depression. It works on healing and restoring the brain.

As I have stated multiple times in my writings, Ketamine has been the only medication that has offered me relief from the suicidal depression I felt non-stop. I went years trying to utilize those same skills for every aspect of my life without success. 

I would tweak the lesson to fit the situation. I might approach the problem from a different direction. I would get off one road and hop on to another hoping to find the answers for why I couldn’t experience life the same way many people do in our society that don’t have depression blocking them. 

And for me, I continued to go through life with the same disruptive and self-defeating skills with the hopes of one day figuring out where I went wrong.

It wasn’t until I started Ketamine therapy that I discovered that I wasn’t the problem. There was actually something wrong with my brain. It seems obvious that a person that is suicidal pretty much their entire lives may have something wrong with their brain, their chemical makeup. Yes?

I haven’t always thought that I was the problem, but after many failed attempts at combating the depression with traditional methods, I started to have conflicting beliefs. And unfortunately the illness feeds hungrily on those doubts. I would beat myself up for once again messing up or failing.

As though I was responsible.

I was not.

I was just a student of life with a brain lacking in connections and chemistry.

I went through elementary school, high school, college and many years of freelance education trying to improve myself and adjust the way I see the world and how I take my life exams without realizing my impairment. I had obstacle after obstacle to jump over, climb, or walk under because of how I perceived my world through my depressive state. I would switch up my approach, but still the depression filters continued to confuse the lessons and my views. I would think that I was making corrections, and I probably was, but the problem was the chronic suicidal depression was still clouding up my results.

I continued to search for ways to understand the information presented to me. How I understood the world and my place in it. Why I wanted to end my life or how I had a heaviness and cried far too much. I taught myself ways of coping, but failure followed me for decades. I was not fortunate to find a guide or professor that spoke my language. I failed to find the correct medication or treatment to assist me.

Until Ketamine.

Ketamine is my teacher now. I am hearing. I am seeing. I am reprogramming the failed systems from my past. It takes time. Painful time. I have to go back and unlearn those lessons I was sure would benefit me. They did not. I have much chaos to sort through. I now have an excellent treatment, Ketamine. 

I have walls built many feet deep that I must bulldoze. I have had to rebuild my foundation. Decades of buildings to destroy. I am now building a city from all I am digesting from my master, Ketamine. Ketamine is rebuilding from the roots on up….

I feel that if the person is introduced to Ketamine at a younger age, say at the young age of twenty, they have far less history with life. They don’t have as many hang ups or misconceptions. They have less experience living. They have fewer disappointments to sort through and accept. They have fewer buildings to tear down.

I feel those that don’t find Ketamine until they are in their forties, fifties or later may be at a disadvantage.

Why?

Mainly, I feel that age plays a significant role in how often Ketamine maintenance is needed , how much time it may take to regenerate brain cells and because of past coping mechanisms and failed treatments. 

There is history with experiences.

I suppose that it is not how Ketamine works better for one person over another but more so how Ketamine is perceived. What I mean is, the older you get the more cynical you become about finding relief and success. You have many more years of faulty therapies and medications to taint your recovery. Far too many techniques put in place in order to survive the constant noise and desire for death.

Ketamine offers relief from the symptoms of depression. It does. Understanding life without depression is both rewarding and frustrating. That is probably true for everyone. Ketamine is an aid not a cure. You still have to heal. You still have to do the work. Ketamine has a job to do, too. It works in the background. The brain takes time to heal.

You will need time to heal. I have to tell myself that often. My doctor and family remind me of this fact when I get frustrated and can’t see the progress I am making or how my brain is working overtime to build new connections and growth.

The bonus is that the work you engage in, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, begins to help. I have spent hundreds of hours in various types of therapy over the past three decades and just never felt I was making progress. Ketamine suppresses the depression long enough to benefit and allow recovery to begin. It even gives you a glimpse of your progress, if you pay attention.

It is not always easy to see, but it is there. Growth and healing will transform your life.

I truly believe that if I had been told about Ketamine when I was first diagnosed at the young age of 18 my life may not have been so tragic. Please understand that I am not stating that younger people have it easy. This is not an easy illness to be diagnosed with. I am just making an observation. If you find Ketamine at twenty you may have less baggage to sort through. It is a matter of time and experience. Ketamine may have less repairs to make as well.

Possibly.

Ketamine is an interesting treatment. I am constantly writing and investigating. I have grown. I am making progress. It is just slow, slow, slow. And confusing. I am continuously trying to make sense out of this very untraditional form of antidepressant.

I ask you.

Why is it that some people can go a month or more without a Ketamine booster?

Doesn’t the brain age, and damage occur? Does growth and connections continue every time I am treated with Ketamine? Does age affect the Ketamine, and how effective it is, and for how long? Can the brain heal? Can the brain cells regenerate?

Possibly.

I would be interested to hear what you think and what your experience has been with Ketamine therapy.

I hope these personal blogs from a patient that suffered for over four decades with treatment resistant depression will be helpful in convincing you why Ketamine could help you. Also, if you would like to become a provider of Ketamine Therapy try enrolling in The Ketamine Academy‘s online Ketamine Infusion Therapy training course; it is an excellent decision. The Ketamine Academy online program will surely benefit you and the mental health community.

If you know of anyone suffering with treatment resistant depression, like I do, let them know that Ketamine therapy may be an option worth looking into. It has been and continues to offer me relief from my symptoms.

You can also visit my Ketamine Provider & Location List to find a provider in your area.

I have been generating a Ketamine Providers and Locations list and I update it regularly. The provider list can be found on my personal website. This list may help you find a clinic in your city or state.

Feel free to visit The Ketamine Academy if you want to become a Ketamine Provider. Think about enrolling in your dream today. If you are fascinated, but not yet ready to commit, I recommend the free trial to help you determine whether you want to invest in yourself and in this is new online ketamine infusion training course. 

Just think, if you enrolled in The Ketamine Academy your new clinic could easily be added to my directory for the grand opening!

Originaly Posted On Ketamine Academy website.

There Is A Need For More Ketamine Providers: A Ketamine Patient’s Point Of View

There Is A Need For More Ketamine Providers: A Ketamine Patient’s Point Of View

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Hello again. It is Susan from myketaminestory.com.

I am a blogger that suffers with Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD), Anxiety, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I was introduced to Ketamine for TRD in January 2015.  I am forever grateful that I was. I spent the first two years focused on my recovery. I now have an excellent treatment plan in place, but that does not clear me from obstacles or pitfalls.  I journal regularly. I educate and advocate for Ketamine Therapy to help treat chronic depression.

I have written for several Ketamine websites, entirely based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 3.5 plus years in treatment.  I am now adding the Ketamine Academy to my list of platforms I am grateful to use, in order to educate and advocate for this cutting edge therapy for treatment resistant depression.

In this blog, I want to discuss why there is such an immense need for more Ketamine providers.  I feel there is a profound need for more professionals to offer this life saving treatment to those of us suffering with biochemical imbalances in our brains.  There are not nearly enough providers willing to educate themselves on Ketamine in order to administer this quick acting antidepressant to those of us that have been repeatedly unresponsive to the more traditional forms of medicines for battling our illnesses.   

We have had to suffer months, oftentimes years, with the demons of depression; all the while anxiously waiting for new medications or the adjustments to the cocktails of medication we were on to take hold of our minds and begin to show signs that it is benefiting us.  Only to discover that these changes have once again failed us; that after constantly fighting and trudging forward to keep our sanity, and not act out in desperation, these modifications in our medications have rendered us no aid. In fact, it has set us back in time.

Once again, we try yet another advised remedy, or worse we undergo another round of Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in the hopes of finding relief.  That is not including or beginning to mention the numerous and horrendous side effects we encounter by being a guinea pig during these trials and errors.  The results are always the same – nil – and we slowly and painfully lose the mediocre amount of hope we have remaining.

Ketamine can and has offered hope to many of us inflicted with treatment resistant depression.  We scrimp and save for the cost of the therapy and travel distances to obtain our Ketamine infusions or intramuscular Ketamine shots so we can reclaim our lives.  The one stolen by this debilitating mental illness. Ketamine is proving to be a life raft to those of us out at sea drowning, weighed down by the chaos depression plagues us with.  We were out of options until fortunately we discovered Ketamine therapy.

There is a massive need for more professionals willing to educate themselves and extend the service of Ketamine therapy to those of us that may end our stories due to the inability to obtain relief from our horrific symptoms.  Many of us have yet to uncover the advantages Ketamine has to bestow upon us.

We need help.  

Many of us are responding positively to the drug; Ketamine.

I am one of those patients that can attest to the grand differences that Ketamine has extended to me.  I am one of the more auspicious cases. I have the opportunity to inform others like me that there is hope.  It is not an easy undertaking. I know what having no desire to keep fighting and searching for relief looks and feels like.  I want to extend an enormous net into the ocean of sorrow and pull up those struggling for a breath and for life. I want to offer light on the waves that threaten to crush them.   I am determined to help. I know how deep and cruel those waters are. There is a reprieve; a safety boat. It may be overturned and difficult to see through the tears and anguish, but it is floating nearby.  Do not give up. Depression is paralyzing. I know. I know all too well what havoc it can create and just how utterly exhausting it is to fight against the sea monsters tugging at your soul begging for you to succumb to the voices in your head pleading for it all to end.  I know. I was lost in that abyss, too. I was, as was so eloquently stated in the Netflix series Stranger Things, living in the upside down. I may not have had Eleven on my side but I was saved with the aid of Ketamine.

I have a voice.  I am using it in the fashion I feel most comfortable.  I am using my words to reach out to those still waging the tides.  I speak and I pray you hear me. I pray you find me. I am carrying loads of flashlights in my raft in order to to shine the light on what Ketamine may be able to accomplish for you that other treatments fail to do.  I am sharing my insidious journey in an attempt to pacify your fears and possibly, maybe, potentially pull you to safety; so you may one day stand strong on the sandy beach and view the beauty of the sun setting over the same waters that insist on claiming you.

Ketamine has given me back the ability to swim, to float, to dive back into life with a desire that I once only read about in well crafted storybooks.  Life. It has given me an appreciation of a full breath. It has rewarded me with countless inhales and exhales free from the terrors and trauma that accompany mental illnesses.   I can breathe without the panic and trepidation of swallowing gallons of saltwater; that same vast ocean that once taunted and eluded me for decades has little power over me now. I may feel tiresome and achy and my muscles and mind want to rest, but I am swimming.   

However, Ketamine is not a very accessible drug for us.  There are not nearly enough Ketamine providers. There is still a vast number of people in the medical field that know nothing of the wonders Ketamine is providing for people like me and you.  

There are more and more articles being written about the effectiveness of Ketamine in treating resistant depression, as well as, other mental illnesses – and not excluding a continuing problem with those serving in the military that return to their families with Post Traumatic Stress Disorders.  This is incredible news for those of us that have been waging a war with our minds for decades. There is also an online Ketamine training course, through the Ketamine Academy to help potentially interested parties learn what they need to know to become Ketamine providers.  The groundwork is there.

Yet more is needed.

When I first discovered that clinical trials were being conducted with Ketamine for treatment resistant depression, I was at the end of my rope.  I had tried practically every drug on the market for treating chronic suicidal depression. I was given drugs that showed possibilities for aiding depressive symptoms but were medications used to treat other ailments.  I had even resorted to and undergone ECT treatments to no avail. I was out of options and lost all faith in ever finding relief from my disease.

I was done.  

I was finished.  

I said my goodbyes.

I left my do not resuscitate note on the counter.

I tried one last time to end my life.

I almost succeeded.

My higher power had different plans for me and I was not at all thrilled with the plan when I awoke after my latest suicide attempt.  Little did I know that help was right around the corner for me.

My husband and therapist, at the time, both found the same short article on Ketamine and the prospects of this drug having positive outcomes for those suffering with chronic depression and a long history of failed treatments.  The key words, treatment resistant depression, sparked interest for them as they read what was highlighted in the two or three paragraphs written about the clinical trials taking place with Ketamine and the positive response they were finding in those afflicted with resistant depression.

That was back in late 2014 and the beginning of January 2015.

It would take months for me to recover, save the money, and locate a Ketamine provider in my area.  It was unheard of and my psychiatrist, at the time, actually considered it to be a new age and questionable approach to treating depression and one in his opinion not be trusted.  For me, it was literally experimental brain surgery or death; and in all honesty death looked like the viable option for me. I was against the idea of risky procedures that included a scalpel and my brain.  I would end up traveling six hours to New Jersey and starting treatments at a clinic offering Ketamine infusions. It would only be the beginning of my journey, but it was a beginning versus an ending.

I am living today because of the help of Ketamine.

I have written of my journey on my website, as well as other Ketamine clinic websites advocating for the use of Ketamine for those suffering from treatment resistant  depression. I want to educate and offer hope.

It has been over three and a half  years since my first Ketamine infusion and I now receive emails from people world wide trying to locate providers in their area.  The issue, the negative – from my point of view, is that the more Ketamine is talked and written about, the plethora of people obviously wanting to know more about this treatment for depression so that they too may find relief are running into a lack of professionals administering Ketamine.  I have read numerous emails asking me for assistance in helping them find clinics in their area.

In the beginning, it was patients in the United States seeking my help in locating Ketamine providers in their state, but over the last six months or so those in Europe requesting information has increased.  They reach out in order to discover if Ketamine is a viable option for them and where they can obtain it. The colossal problem is the lack of professionals offering Ketamine for depression. It always saddens me to send replies back to suffering individuals saying that the closest Ketamine facility is hours away from their home, or worse, that it is not yet available in their state or country.  

I have been fortunate to find a doctor willing to work with me.  I am grateful. I truly am. However, even for me it is problematic.

As I sit here writing this article in the comforts of my home, there is snow on the ground.  My doctor’s office is an hour away. It is no metaphor that I have to travel through the mountains to get to him.  There is three inches of snow outside which is not severe, but only 66 miles away they had ten inches of snow fall yesterday.   My depressive symptoms are lurking and I am using my cognitive behavior skills to calm my nerves. Even after three plus years I am no fan of the times when my depressive symptoms filter my mind and world.

All week long I have been apprehensive about the weather forecast and trying to prepare myself for the fact that getting to my appointment may not be possible if the predictions for snow transpired.  I am in need of my Ketamine therapy. It has been a difficult couple weeks for me. I have been using my tools and managing my life better than in the past, there is no denying that. Nevertheless, I know that a delay in my treatment could mean unnecessary backslides for me.  I work very hard to keep my symptoms at bay as they can take me down the rabbit hole in days. I can’t afford to be out of commision.

The treatments are not cheap and the risk of losing time due to the return of my depressive symptoms makes life grueling for me.  I lose so much. I struggle with perspective. My world is darker and small obstacles seem monumental to me once the depression presents itself.  My tool box that is usually overflowing with mindfulness techniques and cognitive behavior strategies empties. The tools are there. I just can’t see them.  I can’t remember what to do.

I am in a state of confusion.  

I am that lost and scared little girl wandering back and forth looking for her lost soul.  It is buried. I fight to gain the clarity I now know exists for me but it gets hazy and out of focus.  I get fueled with hurt and resentments that I can’t shake or let go of. My thoughts race. I feel like I am losing my footing.

I wish that more doctors or nurse practitioners would be willing to administer Ketamine to me.  I get internally angry that I can’t just go in to see my local primary care person and have them administer my Ketamine shot to me.  

I rage on in my mind.  

I talk to others willing to listen to me.  I try to educate and inform practitioners whenever I have the opportunity.  I want them to be open to learning more and possibly be willing and able to administer my Ketamine injection in an emergency.  However, unfortunately, it is not an uncomplicated issue and many are unwilling to commit to being available to me in an emergency, or for long term care for that matter.  It is frustrating. I have been getting intramuscular Ketamine injections for years and still I run into conflicts.

It is not that cut and dried.

I am aware of that.  I am.

Being a Ketamine advocate has its rewards, but it is not a trouble-free discussion to have with others.  It is difficult to explain to the common person and often times even more challenging to tackle with professionals that Ketamine isn’t a pill I can take.  It has to be given to me through an injection or infusion. I attempt to explain why.

Yes, I want to scream at times.

I want to pound my fists and stomp my feet.

Listen to me.

I have been getting this treatment for over three and a half years now.  I am not a novice. I could give it to myself. I should be able to give it to myself.  It is no different than a diabetic giving themselves an insulin shot.

I feel outraged.  

I understand logically why Ketamine is still controversial, but my emotional mind doesn’t care.  I know more about the world I will be plunged into if I don’t get treatments. It is not a place I want to visit.

When caring individuals in my life don’t understand my predicament and I am unable to explain the quandary I am in, I feel I am doing an injustice to Ketamine, and to others that could aid in its use.  I start to get frustrated explaining to others why Ketamine is not available by just any doctor or practitioner. It is not an easy task. Even as Ketamine is being written and talked about more frequently, there are a throng of professionals clueless about Ketamine and the benefits for patients with treatment resistant depression.  I won’t give up. This topic is too important.

I also know realistically that it is not as easy as just giving me the shot.  I do. I absolutely understand the red tape. Unfortunately, the FDA is involved and not supportive.  Ketamine is classified as a dissociative anesthetic.  It is an old drug and there is no money in using Ketamine, as is, to treat depression.  Instead they will have big pharma create a synthetic version of the drug so they may profit.  It is all about the dollar and they are not interested in what a Ketamine-like drug will cause in terms of side effects.  They will surely discover a drug to counter those effects later. My experience with Ketamine is that there are no long lasting side effects.  The drug is out of my system in less than an hour, yet the antidepressant properties of the drug and its benefits to my mental health continue for weeks.  That is not important, apparently. It doesn’t seem to matter that this “old” drug is helping many patients when no other drug or treatment has and could potentially aid thousands if not more depressive sufferers just the way it is.  I digress. Okay, rant over.

I lied, I will also briefly add, as I don’t want to stray off topic too far,  that I have not even touched on the subject of insurance companies and their refusal to cover Ketamine therapy.  Now I promise I will end my tirade by simply stating that education is extremely important and required.

I will keep writing and informing any professional willing to give me the time.  I think it is one reason I am writing for the Ketamine Academy.  It is a an online training course designed to assist others in the ins and outs of becoming a Ketamine provider.  I know first hand how imperative it is to have more people able and available to administer Ketamine, in a safe environment, in order to reach more sufferers with treatment resistant depression.  I won’t even go into how it could also bring down costs of the therapy and include even more patients that are in need. I will save that for another blog.

I know that winter is only just beginning and these issues with the weather and travel will be a theme for me until Spring.  I can’t express enough how if only there were more provider of Ketamine therapy this would not be an issue for me or others. More importantly, Ketamine could reach more individuals wanting to try this new antidepressant and can’t because it is not offered in their area.  The depressive people this drug could help is limitless, in my opinion.

I hope you will join me in learning more about Ketamine, by reading my blog posts and sharing with friends and family.  I will be posting regularly on The Ketamine Academy website, as well as on my personal website at  MyKetamineStory.com.  I know what a miraculous drug Ketamine is.  I am absolutely confident that I have lived 3.5 plus years (and counting) longer than I would have if my husband had never discovered an article in 2015, about using Ketamine for treatment resistant depression.  I continue to heal and grow with the help of Ketamine.

We all need a platform to stand on and be heard.  I truly believe Ketamine is a worthy topic. I sincerely want to inform as many people as I can.  It is possible that we may all know someone suffering from Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  I believe they might benefit from Ketamine Infusions. I know that I definitely have had, and continue to have, amazing success with Ketamine treatments. I know how frantic I have felt when I had no hope, no light guiding my way.  If one person reads this blog and can help themselves or someone they love out of darkness, it is worth the time I put into my writing. I know from experience how life- altering Ketamine can be.

I have treatment resistant depression and anxiety disorder, but that isn’t who I am.  My blog is my journey. The articles I write are lessons I have learned along the way. I pray that others suffering will somehow find their way to my website so I can introduce them to the possibilities of Ketamine.  I ask a power greater than myself to bring as many practitioners, fighting for their patients and wanting to participate in positive change, to read my words of hope.

Until next time, feel free to comment or shoot me an email. Better yet, if you are a healthcare provider, why not sign up for the Ketamine training course today through The Ketamine Academy.  Be a force of positive change.  Be an option. Be a place for those suffering with Treatment Resistant Depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to turn when all other avenues have been exhausted.  

Ketamine is hope.

If you are interested in educating yourself further on Ketamine therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression, check out the four-part series I wrote answering questions about Ketamine use, based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 3.5 plus years:

My first blog, Ketamine: Addressing Questions & Concerns focused on my early experience with Ketamine Infusions.

In part two of the series, Addressing Questions & Concerns About Ketamine Therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression  I addressed questions and concerns about Intramuscular Ketamine vs Ketamine Infusion therapy.

In my third blog, Frequently Asked Questions: Redefining Depression With The Assistance Of Ketamine Therapy, I was a bit more random. I had emails with several questions and themes, and I addressed as many inquiries as I could.

In my final question and answer dialogue, Pondering Concerns & Questions: The Benefits Of Ketamine For Treatment Resistant Depression, I discussed research, clinical studies, and the need for changes to occur within our insurance companies and federal government so that maybe one day Ketamine will not be so difficult to afford or obtain, from any qualified professional.

I hope these personal blogs from a patient that suffered for over four decades with treatment resistant depression will be helpful in convincing you why Ketamine could help you or someone you love.

Originally Post On The Ketamine Academy

Ketamine Therapy: When Getting Intramuscular Ketamine Injections Does The Size Of The Needle Matter?

Ketamine Therapy: When Getting Intramuscular Ketamine Injections Does The Size Of The Needle Matter?

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Hello again. It is Susan from myketaminestory.com.

I am a blogger that suffers with Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD), Anxiety, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I was introduced to Ketamine for TRD in January 2015. I am forever grateful that I was. I spent the first two years focused on my recovery. I now have an excellent treatment plan in place, but that does not clear me from obstacles or pitfalls. I journal regularly. I educate and advocate for Ketamine Therapy to help treat chronic depression.

I have written for several Ketamine websites, entirely based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 3.5 plus years in treatment.  I am now adding the Ketamine Academy to my list of platforms I am grateful to use, in order to educate and advocate for this cutting edge therapy for resistant depression.

In this blog, I want to discuss whether the size of the needle used when getting intramuscular Ketamine injections makes any kind of difference on the Ketamine session and the effectiveness of Ketamine therapy overall.  The reason I bring this up as a topic is because recently my doctor switched the syringe he was using when administering my Ketamine, and I have a few promising insights.

Initially, my doctor was using a 1cc tuberculin syringe with a fairly long needle,  and the effects following the injection were often extremely unpredictable for me. The Ketamine would allow me to be symptom free for an upwards of two weeks, but while the Ketamine was in my system I had mild to severe differences in effect during my forty-five to sixty minute appointment.

The experiences I had following my injection could range anywhere from an intoxicating feeling, as though I had just slammed a couple of tequila shots, to a more profound dissociative effect.  What I mean by that is, I often perceived my thoughts and feelings outside of my body. The best way to explain this is to say it was like watching a movie, but sensing the thoughts, reactions, and actions of the actor.  That actor was me.

It was bizarre. It was intriguing.  It was not at all scary for me. In fact, in the three years and nine months that I have been receiving Ketamine therapy, I have only had one horrible experience.  I can now reflect back on that incident and know the reason behind it. I can honestly admit that I don’t necessarily handle change very well, and various situations were causing me a tremendous amount of stress prior to that unpleasant treatment.  I will say that even after that event I still benefited from the Ketamine injection, and my depressive symptoms were lifted. That is the ultimate goal.

If I noticed that I was becoming overwhelmed by the scene, I was capable of reminding myself that “this sensation will end shortly” and that “I am in a safe place.”  I frequently closed my eyes during treatments as there was a lot going on for me. In fact, I was not always aware that my eyes were closed because the pictures I would view were very much alive.  I would feel as though my eyes were wide open due to the vividness of the images and colors. Yet, in most of my appointments, I am able to carry on a conversation of sorts.

I continuously try to use the Ketamine to my advantage by engaging in psychotherapy with my doctor.  Ketamine offers me clarity. It is as though I am speaking freely from my unconscious state of mind. A type of free association, which in turns brings about some astute facts about myself.

I can remember many times being obsessed with time.  I would routinely ask my doctor how many minutes have passed since the injection.  It became a theme in my appointments, and I laugh about it now. It gave me comfort knowing how much time had passed and what remained.  

It was interesting; each and every Ketamine therapy appointment was never quite the same.  I would learn so much during these sessions about myself. I still do. I had, and repeatedly have, some intense and incredible insights that aid me wholeheartedly in my self awareness and healing.  

I found it pleasant much of the time.  I used that time under Ketamine to learn more about myself in order to grow and learn to live a more positive and productive life.  These discoveries were not always ones I was ready to learn about myself; sometimes the truth hurts.

As I said,  Ketamine offers clarity.

However, it was very inconsistent in terms of what was going to happen at any given appointment, and that would generally be unsettling for me.  I wouldn’t necessarily be in a state of panic per se, but curious with an underlying level of anxiety. I am a control freak, and I have an insatiable need to predict what is going to happen to me at any given moment. I have recently learned that it is this drive to forecast my life that hinders me from actually living it.

I typically want to participate in psychotherapy during my treatments, but this wasn’t always possible.  I would customarily share what I was experiencing during my session with my doctor. Yet, I wanted to also work on life skills and coping, which wasn’t routinely  an option for me when I was undergoing my Ketamine therapy.

During several of my Ketamine treatments it was as though I was swimming in colors and involved in a variety of themes.  I felt weighed down and cloudy. I would get caught up in what I was seeing and feeling. Yet, at the same time, very aware of my emotions and consciousness. The stories seemed to be happening outside of my inner world or the environment I was in, such as my doctor’s office or the chair I was sitting in.

It is difficult to explain adequately.

When I am asked how Ketamine infusions and intramuscular injections differ I never know how to answer.  There have been instances where my Ketamine therapy was exactly the same in terms of having that “trippy” sensation occur.  I have had infusions where very little happened besides feelings of calm and a sense of contentment. The sense that all was right in my world and mind.  This has been my experience with Ketamine injections, too. It is quite unknown to me what will take place during my treatments.

One thing that generally happened and continues to be my outcome is a lifting in my depressive symptoms.  This is my primarily reason for getting Ketamine therapy and whatever happens during a Ketamine appointment is secondary.

Fast forward to three and half years later.  

I return from a twenty-eight day treatment center feeling optimistic.  I am home for roughly five weeks before having to think about resuming my Ketamine therapy.  I find the depressive symptoms returning and dictating my life; my mental illness needs attention once again.  In all truthfulness, it was something I was hoping to escape from permanently with the use of all the new tools and therapies at my disposal.  

That would not be the case for me.  

I have a disease that needs treatment.

I am still working on acceptance.

I decided to continue seeing my doctor for cognitive behavior therapy sessions following my recovery program, and things are going remarkably well for me.

The depression always resurfaces.  It just does.

My doctor and I discuss my resistance to accepting my illnesses.  I fight against giving up control, but what I have discovered is letting go of old ideas brings peace and freedom.  My depression wants to keep me locked in a dark place, but I know the solution and have a medication that relieves me of my depressive symptoms.  

It is okay.  

My doctor informs me, Ketamine is just your antidepressant – and I listen.

I concede.

My doctor then suggested to me that we change the needle size we are using to administer my Ketamine.  I asked him why he wants to change the syringe he is using and I will admit I felt apprehensive. He knows me well and educates me.  In my mind, knowledge is power and I adjust more readily when I have the reasons behind any type of change. I am more willing. I hear him out.  I listen when he explains to me that he wants to use a BD 1cc U100 insulin syringe instead of our standard tuberculin syringe, and why. It is his belief that by using a shorter needle he will have a more consistent and controlled delivery of the Ketamine.

I trust him.

He wants me to take note of any observations I have using the new insulin needle.  I have no problem providing him with an honest assessment, as I have been a wealth of information to him and we work fantastic together.  The use of Ketamine is incredibly new and it is crucial to document the changes we make and my outcomes. My sharing is vital to my recovery.  It is another reason why I write on the subject on Ketamine. I want to educate and allow others to benefit from my experiences.

It has been over two months now that we have been using the new syringe, and I have noticed a huge change in what I experience while in his office.  Needless to say, I want to elaborate on what I mean exactly.

As I have stated previously, the major complaint I had about Ketamine therapy was the inconsistencies during the treatment itself.  I rarely knew what I was going to experience during my office visit. This unknown factor frequently produced, for me, low levels of anxiety.  I enjoy learning about myself. I set goals for myself. I strive to get better and understand how I might be able to cope with my place in the world.  I typically enter my doctor’s office with a topic to discuss or an event I need to sort through so I may move past it.

I classify myself as a type A personality.

I like to use my time with my doctor to my advantage.  If I am getting my Ketamine treatment I also want to use the time to talk about my last couple weeks and the struggles I may have encountered in order to learn from them and hopefully find new methods to manage and better maneuver through similar obstacles in the future.  Or perhaps, discover why I may have reacted the way I did in the first place. I long for a deep understanding of self. I want to change my story going forward. I refuse to stay stuck in unhealthy management skills.

I seek recovery.    

I don’t want to write of nightmares and tragedies.  

I want to offer hope.

I want to engulf myself in serenity.  I need that after decades of not believing that was even a possibility for me.  I was convinced, 100%, that my story would end in suicide. It almost was my outcome.  There wasn’t a treatment, medication, or procedure that ever offered me the hope I have received from Ketamine therapy.  

I digress.

In the past, I would have feelings of apprehension when entering my doctor’s office for my Ketamine injection.  I would have an agenda, a goal, or a frustration I was experiencing, but I never fully trusted that I would be able to converse or that I would be given the opportunity to speak my ideas or concerns.  The Ketamine would dictate the direction the session would take.

Over the last several appointments one thing has become blatantly obvious to me: the size of the needle does in fact make a difference for me.  It is worthy of this rumination of sorts.

The biggest observation I have made over the last couple of months is I no longer find myself closing my eyes.  I don’t need to. My outer world is stable and not altered in any way. I am aware of my surroundings. I don’t feel remotely overwhelmed by the visuals or colors.  I am impressively capable of discussing my agenda.

I can work on me.  I can now participate regularly in cognitive behavioral therapy and discuss mindfulness techniques I can utilize in the coming weeks.

I don’t sink into that heavy pool of water and heaviness.  I am no longer swimming, constantly fighting, to reach the surface so that I may discuss my life instead of what I am experiencing with the Ketamine.

I can work my recovery.

I can delve into my experiences living life.

I don’t lose track of the conversation because my mind wanders and follows another  theme set by the Ketamine. I am no longer explaining what I see and what I am encountering.  

I am present.

I can consistently stay on topic and I am open to hearing feedback.

It was just this past week, on my way to get Ketamine, that I remarked to my husband that it was a blessing that I didn’t feel any concerns about what I would experience during my Ketamine treatment.  I didn’t have to worry about whether I would feel nauseous. I didn’t have to stew or wonder if I would be able to ask a relevant question that could aid me in coping with the coming weeks as I knew I would get the opportunity to question my doctor.  I didn’t have to obsess over time. I no longer needed to have my husband remind me of the things I wanted to share.

I feel a sense of freedom from the experience I once had while under the influence of Ketamine.

The remarkable thing is I am even more attuned to the shift that takes place when I am getting my Ketamine.  

It is fascinating to me.  

I can walk into my doctor’s office feeling intense depression and negativity about myself and life in general, and within a short time I get relief.  

I will be worked up and explaining to my doctor how I am struggling with motivation and dark thoughts and begin to question myself as to whether those statements and feelings are true.  I no longer feel those familiar resentments and despair I get when the depression returns.

I begin to use contradictory statements.  I hear myself. I listen to my intuition.

I no longer have that fight to convince my doctor just how bad I am feeling.  I want to continue on and express how horrible the past day or two have been for me.  It is then that I notice a swing in my thoughts. I am saying words that just don’t feel real or accurate.  The Ketamine works its “magic” and I feel slightly more optimistic. I can recognize this change in my thinking and will make note of it to my doctor.  

I start using past tense in my conversation.

I feel becomes I felt.  

I didn’t want to get out of bed flips to maybe I just needed to recharge after a stressful week.

It still puzzles me how Ketamine works.  

But it does work.

I feel uplifted.  I begin to genuinely see how ridiculous my thoughts were.  

I pause.  It has been less than twenty minutes. I feel like I am back.

The upsetting darkness I walked into my appointment with has faded away.

I am clear minded and hopeful.

What is even more impressive is I no longer have to dive into the abyss, feel that sense of disassociation from my body and mind, or that intense drunkenness I encountered during almost every treatment.

I truly believe that it is because we changed the syringe I was using to get the Ketamine injection that my experience of the Ketamine therapy has changed.  My doctor now has a more consistent and controlled method of ensuring that the complete dose of Ketamine is entering the muscle and not the bloodstream.

I have now had six very similar experiences, using the insulin needle to deliver the Ketamine.  All of these injections have had very little effects of the drug, or have had a really mild feeling of being under the influence of a medication.  I will take it.

I now know what to expect during my Ketamine treatment and that is a consistent shift from the horrors of depression to a more buoyant mood.

What a true gift Ketamine has been for me; clarity and hope.  Add to that positive statement the fact that by using a BD 1cc U100 insulin syringe, the Ketamine effects I was once experiencing are tailored down tremendously.  It has me convinced that the size of the needle for Ketamine injections is vital. It definitely helps to ensure a method of controlled delivery, as well as, minimizes the side effects during the treatment appointment itself.

I hope you will join me in learning more about Ketamine, by reading my blog posts and sharing with friends and family.  I will be posting regularly on The Ketamine Academy website, as well as, on my personal website at  MyKetamineStory.com.  I know what a miraculous drug Ketamine is.  I am absolutely confident that I have lived 3.5 plus years (and counting) longer than I would have if my husband had never discovered an article in 2015, about using Ketamine for treatment resistant depression.  I continue to heal and grow with the help of Ketamine.

We all need a platform to stand on and be heard.  I truly believe Ketamine is a worthy topic. I sincerely want to inform as many people as I can.  It is possible that we may all know someone suffering from Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  I believe they might benefit from Ketamine Infusions. I know that I definitely have had, and continue to have, amazing success with Ketamine treatments. I know how frantic I have felt when I had no hope, no light guiding my way.  If one person reads this blog and can help themselves or someone they love out of darkness, it is worth the time I put into my writing. I know from experience how life- altering Ketamine can be.

I have treatment resistant depression and anxiety disorder, but that isn’t who I am.  My blog is my journey. The articles I write are lessons I have learned along the way. I pray that others suffering will somehow find their way to my website so I can introduce them to the possibilities of Ketamine.  I ask a power greater than myself to bring as many practitioners, fighting for their patients and wanting to participate in positive change, to read my words of hope.

Until next time, feel free to comment or shoot me an email. Better yet, if you are a healthcare provider, why not sign up for the Ketamine training course today through The Ketamine Academy.  Be a force of positive change.  Be an option. Be a place for those suffering with Treatment Resistant Depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to turn when all other avenues have been exhausted.  

Ketamine is hope.

If you are interested in educating yourself further on Ketamine therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression, check out the four-part series I wrote answering questions about Ketamine use, based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 3.5 plus years:

My first blog, Ketamine: Addressing Questions & Concerns focused on my early experience with Ketamine Infusions.

In part two of the series, Addressing Questions & Concerns About Ketamine Therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression  I addressed questions and concerns about Intramuscular Ketamine vs Ketamine Infusion therapy.

In my third blog, Frequently Asked Questions: Redefining Depression With The Assistance Of Ketamine Therapy, I was a bit more random. I had emails with several questions and themes, and I addressed as many inquiries as I could.

In my final question and answer dialogue, Pondering Concerns & Questions: The Benefits Of Ketamine For Treatment Resistant Depression, I discussed research, clinical studies, and the need for changes to occur within our insurance companies and federal government so that maybe one day Ketamine will not be so difficult to afford or obtain, from any qualified professional.

I hope these personal blogs from a patient that suffered for over four decades with treatment resistant depression will be helpful in convincing you why Ketamine could help you or someone you love.

Originally posted on The Ketamine Academy website

Ketamine Therapy And Cannabis: A Potentially Unhealthy Alliance

Ketamine Therapy And Cannabis: A Potentially Unhealthy Alliance

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Hello again. It is Susan from myketaminestory.com.

I am a blogger that suffers with Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD), Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I was introduced to Ketamine for TRD in January 2015. I am forever grateful that I was. I spent the first two years focused on my recovery. I now have an excellent treatment plan in place, but that does not clear me from obstacles or pitfalls. I journal regularly. I educate and advocate for Ketamine Therapy to help treat depression.

I have written for several Ketamine websites, entirely based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 3.5 plus years in treatment.  I am now adding the Ketamine Academy to my list of platforms I am grateful to use, in order to educate and advocate for this cutting edge therapy for chronic depression.

In this blog, I am going to discuss how the use of Ketamine and Cannabis together may not be a healthy combination for treating depression and anxiety disorders.  It has been my experience that Ketamine, by infusion or intramuscular injections, is an excellent drug for combatting treatment resistant depression. Ketamine has worked magnificently for me over the past several years.  However, even with the positive effects of the Ketamine, I was still struggling to manage my anxiety disorders and decided, on my own, to self medicate my anxieties with Cannabis. My initial reaction to this alliance seemed positive. It appeared as though these two drugs were working nicely together.  Nevertheless, over long term use I was discovering complications. This is solely my experience, but I feel it has some merit and is worthy of discussing.

Ketamine has assisted me in my abilities to return to the world of the living after decades of suicidal depression.  In spite of that, I was wrestling with continuous nervousness and trepidation.

I have been fortunate enough to have the help of Ketamine therapy to aid me in experiencing freedom from depressive symptoms for weeks at a time.  In addition, I have gained profound mental clarity, introspection, and self awareness over the past several years using IM Ketamine as my antidepressant.  It continually grants me the ability to make connections between my thinking and behaviors. It relieves me from the hellacious world I once lived in, for decades.  It gives me the ability to explore my inner self and find the self awareness needed to heal.

If you would, please allow me to digress a bit.

I took several months off from writing to work on underlying issues stemming from childhood experiences, self medicating, intense anxiety, fear of failing and succeeding, and complications from past treatments that kept me locked in a cycle of self destruction.

I took a month away and entered myself into an intensive recovery program.  I can now admit that it was the best decision I ever made for myself. I learned such valuable lessons about myself and what was holding me back from living.  Ketamine allowed me to see the truth about myself and yet I was resistant to change. I didn’t know how to not be depressed and anxious. I had been in such a cycle of self loathing that even with the help of Ketamine I was unable to consistently be okay with life.  

I wanted to control every element of my world and often found myself in a pit of despair and hopelessness.  I was fighting against feeling good about my future and sinking further into old behavior patterns. It was killing me.  I was willingly and slowly committing suicide. I could not cope. I didn’t want to be a part of this world, where I had to fight for every sane thought and moment.  I was exhausted.

It was not an easy decision for me.

I did not want to admit to my part in the darkness I was creating.  

Ketamine lifted the depression, but I had years of behaviors and thought patterns to break free from.  My depression and the symptoms that coexist with this hideous disease were helped with my Ketamine therapy.  However, I was unprepared for the success. I was an infant to all the new emotions I was feeling. I have decades of tools hidden in my mind for managing my insidious negative mental states, yet I was refusing to use them.  I was persistently terrified and didn’t understand why.

I mean, I wanted to live a productive, mindful and content life.  I did. I still do. At the same time, I was reluctant to do the work.  I was filled with anger. I was filled with hate; a red hot burning rage and it was nothing Ketamine could fix. I really thought that once the depression was lifted I was going to be free.  I believed that I would be healed and could move on. Let go. Enjoy this life I was given.

That would not be my story.  Ketamine is a remarkable drug for treating depression, but it can’t fix the years of how I fought to stay alive.  I can’t make the hurts, the memories, the grief, the loss of decades of my life disappear.

I still had work to do.

I was pissed.

I didn’t understand these new feelings I was experiencing and I definitely did not appreciate the time that was involved in sorting through them all.  It was too much for me. I was beginning to suffer with panic attacks daily. I would lash out in frustration and self pity.

I felt raw.

All the time.

I wanted badly to numb the anxiety.  I wanted to numb everything. I didn’t realize it at the time, but on reflection it is very obvious that I wanted the familiar back.  I knew how to manage the darkness I once lived in to some degree. It was not a life I wanted back. I didn’t long for the hell I was locked in for over twenty five years, but I felt like the anxiety I was wading in every second was too much to bare, too.  I felt constantly confused and horrified.

I started to self medicate with Marijuana.  

And I thought I had found the perfect combination of medicines.    

Ketamine for the depression.  Marijuana for the anxiety.

It worked for a while.  I was a believer. I thought I had mastered my depression and anxiety.

A perfect blend.

It worked for me.

Then it didn’t.  

It became problematic, and I couldn’t stop.  I was too afraid to not use weed to control my anxiety and I was way too fearful to go without it.  I was petrified of the anxiety I thought would return if I didn’t smoke.

I started using all the time.  I was no longer able to use only when the anxiety was present. I was waking up in the middle of the night and using it to get back to sleep.  I now realize that I was making choices to isolate and avoid life in order to numb myself. I believed, in the beginning, that I was keeping the anxiety away.  On reflection, I can see that I began trying to predict what types of situations would cause panic attacks or even experiences that would create mild anxiety. I would choose to get high to avoid the sensations associated with my anxieties.

In reality, I was discovering that I couldn’t face…. me.

I was finding I needed more weed to get the same effects; to get that reprieve from myself and my inability to cope.  I couldn’t manage my life, especially a life without my enemy and long-time nemesis. I know that sounds counterintuitive.  My depressive symptoms were at bay. I should have been thrilled and at ease.

Yet, I still felt lost and afraid.  

I am familiar with addiction, as I am a recovering alcoholic.  I haven’t had a drink in close to sixteen years. I viewed my alcoholism as a thing of the past.  Despite that, my tolerance for Cannabis was building. I could see the signs. I ignored them. I really convinced myself I had the perfect medication duo.  I made excuses for my behaviors and my mood swings. I wanted to deny I was causing my spinning. I fought the thoughts asking me to investigate my role in my downward spiral.  I got pretty good at avoidance. I was an expert at shifting focus and placing blame. I lied to everyone. I lied incessantly to myself.

I am a pro at lying to myself.  I think a lot of us are.

The problem is that the more I used cannabis the less effective the Ketamine was at fighting the depression.  I had denied this realization for months. I started to blame the Ketamine. I had my doctor increase the Ketamine dose.  When the depression would resurface after eight or nine days I started going weekly to get my Intramuscular Ketamine shots.  I lied to my doctor about my marijuana use. I lied to everyone. Most of all I lied to myself.

I didn’t want to admit I had a problem that I thought I was causing.  I wanted to blame my mental illness. I wanted to target everything outside of my addiction issues.  It worked for some time. Addiction is a cunning enemy. It often wins.

Ketamine gave me hope.  I knew that I could have a better life.

If I was willing to do the work.

Ketamine gives me mental clarity.  It got harder to deceive myself.

It was becoming blatantly obvious to me that I was extremely wrong about my perfect marriage of Ketamine and Marijuana.  I was ashamed. I didn’t want to admit to my doctor that I was trying to get a constant daily reprieve from my anxiety disorder with the help of cannabis.  I also didn’t want to stop. I didn’t think I could deal with the anxiety and their causes. Yet, I could not deny that something was off. I was not right. I started to have a hypothesis that maybe the marijuana was hindering the effectiveness of the Ketamine.  I became very suspicious that maybe, just maybe, my using behavior was not helping me. I was still searching for evidence that I was wrong in my thinking. I didn’t want to give it up.

I talked to my doctor.  I opened up to him. I was as I honest with him as am I being with you by recounting the errors in my thinking and trying to do things my way.  I tried to cut back. I tried CBD oil. I tried going days without. The suicidal thinking returned; it was definitely not helping me with clarity and understanding.  I knew I needed to stop. I wanted to stop. I could not stop. I was hateful and angry. No one understood. The world and everyone in it was against me. I wanted to die.  

I wanted to die.

It was when my son confronted me on my drug use that I could no longer deny the truth.  I saw the pain in his eyes. He saw the promise Ketamine was giving me and what my addiction was costing me and my family.  He stood up to me. He was so incredibly brave. It must have been one of the most difficult positions I have ever put him in.  He could see hope dissolving; a lot more than I was willing to admit to myself at the time. It was his words and love that lead to my seeking treatment.  It was the strength of my family that I finally conceded. I admitted I needed professional help and a safe place to detox and reaffirm my commitment to my recovery.

That was almost eight months ago now.

The reason I am sharing all this history with you is in order to potentially help someone else out there fighting for their sanity as I was.

While I was in treatment, and for an additional month after I returned home, I went without Ketamine treatments.  It was not easy. I believe with all my heart it was what I needed to do. I needed to learn just how capable I was at coping.  I needed to rediscover all the tools I have had at my disposal but for whatever reason would not use. In treatment I started using them and discovered a strength I did not know I had.  I learned that I can tolerate much more than I ever gave myself credit for.

When I was finally forced, due to a minor depressive episode, to return to my Ketamine therapy I was a little disappointed.  I had honestly hoped that I would be able to go without the aid of Ketamine in my life.

However, before addiction, I had mental illness issues.  I couldn’t escape that fact. It was because of my depression and anxiety that in the past I sought out alcohol and then more recently weed to self medicate; neither were ever the solution.  I can’t control the reality of my brain chemistry.

I have depression and anxiety.  I am not depression. I am not anxiety.  It is an illness. It is not a personality trait or something I can control.  That was a difficult thing for me to accept. I still struggle with lacking control over it  and the return of the symptoms.

Acceptance is a tough one for me.

I have learned numerous lessons in the past six months.  I am back on track. I am actually leaps ahead of the game.  I am feeling confident in my ability to maneuver through the obstacles in my life.  I have a strong support network. I continue to practice what I have learned during treatment.  I have a list of things I do to keep myself in recovery. I do them all daily.

As a side note, I will briefly mention, as I feel it has helped me dearly in my recovery, is the fact I am now meditating.  I absolutely recommend meditation. I practice meditation every morning and evening. I feel it has been a huge benefit for me and will continue to help me with my anxieties and allow me to grow towards living a content and full life.  

There are several types of meditation.

In the morning, I practice passage meditation.  I sit for 25 minutes repeating a meaningful passage, that speaks to me, over and over again.  There are so many inspiring and spiritual writings to select from too. If my mind wonders I gently and kindly bring myself back to the start of the prayer and begin again. I started this practice in treatment and would do it a couple times a day for two minutes each session.  It was all I was able to do at the time. I slowly built up to twenty five minutes with my goal being thirty minutes.

In the evenings, I use relaxation music; such as Weightless by Marconi Union. It helps me unwind from my day and prepare me for sleep.

I will also add here that, of course, this is only two methods of meditation available but they work splendidly for me.  I strongly suggest researching meditation for the various ways to go about it until you find one that works for you.

I am sure I will write more, in the future, about the lessons from my time in the recovery program and strategies for dealing with stressors, but let me turn back to Ketamine for now.

It was following a depressive episode, about nine weeks after I stopped using cannabis to self treat my anxieties, that I started getting regular Ketamine injections again.  I may have had false beliefs about my ability to keep the depression in the past, but my doctor reassured me that I didn’t cause the symptoms to return. It is biochemical and I still have no control over my brain chemistry.  I have an illness that needs to be treated.

I am working diligently on my acceptance issues.

I can typically go 14-17 days between maintenance shots once again.  I am gaining back my life. I work on my coping skills and what strategies work for me. It is not always easy, but I am slowly gaining a deeper understanding of my thoughts and feelings.  I know that feelings are not facts, and thoughts are definitely bullshit. I am not my thoughts or feelings. They are present to assist me in deciphering the world around me. I see thoughts as invitations to accept or decline.  

I am a work in progress and I always will be.  

I am not as angry as I once was.  I don’t allow myself to participate in self loathing and try to minimize my self destructive tendencies.  It is a daily assignment. I am willing to do the work now. Ketamine takes care of the depression and it is my job to live my life.

I ask myself a lot more questions when intrusive thoughts try to rob me of my serenity.  If I stumble, and I do, I don’t instantly believe everything I think.

My favorite self care questions to ask myself are:

How is this serving me?

How is this helpful to my well being?

Is it kind?

Is it truthful?

What is more true?

I am becoming more skilled at slowing down my thoughts.  I am becoming less impulsive. I take the time to pause and evaluate.  It is absolutely necessary, as it is my goal to be less reactive. I practice letting go of my unrealistic expectations of myself and others.

We are all just human after all.

I would be lying if I didn’t say I still fight the desire to be superhuman.  I want to save the world and everyone in it; including me.

I invest much of my time in being present; living in the NOW.  

When the anxieties resurface I can usually quickly determine that I am either thinking of the past or looking too far forward; both of which I have no control over and can not predict.

Ketamine offers me time away from my disease.  I have been able to be symptom free from my depression during the time between my booster shots.  It is truly a blessing. I am on one medication and one alone, and the results have been remarkable.

I am actually living a fuller life than I ever thought possible.  It still baffles me that had I invested in confronting past issues, not related to my chronic depression, I wouldn’t have lost myself.  I can’t undo the past. I obviously needed to go through the recent turmoil in order to appreciate where I am at now.

I have been told we are exactly where we are supposed to be at any given moment.

Life is a jigsaw puzzles with no picture to go by and probably with several pieces missing too.

I know that when I get Ketamine therapy it helps me discover connections in my thinking and behaviors. It allows me to dig deep into my unconscious and find hope.  It is tremendously beneficial in realizing the positive actions I am taking and how much more capable I am at tolerating my depression, as well as, handling the uncertainties and frustrations that living in the present bestows on me.

Until next time, I hope these musings give you a few insights and that you find yourself asking more questions.

If you are a healthcare provider, and would like to become a provider of Ketamine Therapy, consider enrolling in The Ketamine Academy’s online Ketamine Infusion Therapy training course to learn how.  It would be an excellent decision for you, extremely helpful for others, and possibly save lives. The Ketamine Academy’s online program will surely benefit you and the mental health community.

In conclusion, If you know of anyone suffering with treatment resistant depression, like I do, let them know that Ketamine therapy may be an option worth looking into. It continues to offer me relief from my depressive symptoms.

I have been generating a Ketamine Providers and Locations list, and I update it regularly. Please visit my personal website for the full provider list. This list may help you find a clinic in your city or state. I update the provider list regularly. I highly recommend individuals contact me if you administer Ketamine or if you are aware of a Ketamine provider not in my directory; I will happily add new Ketamine clinics.

Feel free to visit The Ketamine Academy to enroll in your dream today. If you are fascinated, but not yet ready to commit, I suggest the free trial to help you determine whether you want to invest in yourself and in this is new online Ketamine Infusion Training Course. Just think, if you enrolled in The Ketamine Academy your new clinic could easily be added to my directory for the grand opening!

Ketamine offers hope.  Becoming a Ketamine provider allows you to administer this hope to people like me.

Originally posted on Ketamine Academy website.

The Ketamine Academy: Introducing Our New Ketamine Blog & Writer

The Ketamine Academy: Introducing Our New Ketamine Blog & Writer

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Hello and welcome.  My name is Susan. I am a huge advocate of Ketamine therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression.  I write about my experiences with Ketamine treatments on my website, MyKetamineStory.com.   I have also written for several Ketamine Clinics in the past.  I am excited about being asked to now write for The Ketamine Academy website.  It my desire that with my writings I can help those interested in knowing more about how Ketamine can help Treatment Resistant Depression, and other disorders, either for themselves, a loved one, or now even for their patients.

I will be discussing my experiences with Ketamine and how it has aided me in healing from decades of suffering with chronic depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.  

Ketamine, for those that are unaware, is a drug now being used for treating chronic depression and trauma when traditional methods have failed.  It is often a rapid acting antidepressant having a positive effect on those with long term depression. I will say that this is just a simplistic and a very brief description of a drug that has been around since the early 1960’s.  I do not claim to be a scientist or doctor.

I am a patient and advocate of Ketamine for treating depression.

Ketamine can be administered by infusions and intramuscular (IM) shots. I have experienced extremely positive results with both delivery methods.  I have also used intranasal Ketamine to help during times, in the past, when I was unable to make it to my doctor’s office for a long period of time, for whatever reason. I will note here that nasal Ketamine is not my recommended route of delivery, but I mention it because it is still a viable option for those not living close to a Ketamine provider and have a doctor willing to prescribe it.  

Our society is now in a massive need of more educated providers to administer Ketamine therapy.  It is because of my success with Ketamine that I find it very important to educate both the general public as well as physicians and nurse practitioners on the use of Ketamine for treatment resistant depression.  

I was diagnosed with clinical depression and generalized anxiety disorder at the age of 18.  I spent nearly 30 years searching for a treatment to pull me from the depths of suicidal depression, intense and unthinkable anxiety, daily panic attacks, obsessive compulsive thoughts and behaviors, insomnia and agoraphobia without success – but with plenty of horror stories.  

My inner light was completely out. This was back in the beginning of 2015.  My hope and my expectations that my life would improve didn’t exist.  After many attempts, in the past, I tried ending my life for the last time.  I was quite certain I would be successful this time around but apparently it was not my time.  It was while I was barely hanging onto life that my husband and therapist discovered a small article written on Ketamine. Ketamine was being used to treat those suffering with a long history with major depressive disorders.  Ketamine was having amazing results for those, like me, that have tried everything to no avail.

It was when I finally awoke, angry and desperate for it all to end, that I was told about Ketamine.  I had no faith that yet another medication could turn my life around and assist me in fighting back. I only wanted death.  I wanted to be at the finish line, but that would not be my story. Ketamine would thoroughly change my life. These writings are my beginning.

I live in Virginia.  I have a passion for writing and photography.  I also love sewing and crafting. I basically love the arts.  I am at my best when I am creating. I am married and have one child.  My husband and son are my major support system; without Geoffrey and Matthew my life would be completely empty.  It has been through recovery that I have discovered a larger network, and strength.

I enjoy and thrive on learning new things.   It makes me feel I have a purpose in life when I am helping others.  My intention with this blog is to reach out to others with clinical depression and turn on a light of hope.  

I want desperately to inform clinics and practitioners of the hope that Ketamine can offer those with little to no options available to them.  Ketamine is my life preserver and it may possibly be yours.

 I am writing from my own experiences; my journey through hell and back.  I get Ketamine treatments every two weeks and have been for over three and a half years now.  It has thoroughly changed my life. I have had numerous people reach out to me, to share their stories, to get encouragement, to find providers, and to gain understanding of the nature of Ketamine and how it works for me.  

Those of us that struggle daily with major depression have all dealt with plenty of doctors, hospitals, and treatments that have failed to make an impact on our lives.  The side effects from traditional medications alone could be a sci-fi novel no one would want to willingly read and that the big pharmaceutical companies would ultimately want to ban.  Living with chronic depression has been torturous for me and others like me. Ketamine offers hope.

I began writing and advocating Ketamine for Depression in January 2017.  You may question why I waited so long to start discussing my praise of Ketamine. I know I would wonder that, if I found a blog hyping up a new therapy for depression.  In fact, back in 2015, my husband had a lot of convincing to do to get me to believe in Ketamine enough to try it. I have tried numerous treatments, practically every nightmare medication cocktail imaginable, been hospitalized more than I care to admit, I even tried 12 sessions of Electroconvulsive therapy  (ECT) all with the desire of trying to break free from the suicidal depression I felt.  I didn’t want to put my faith into yet another costly treatment only to discover I would never see past the intense suicidal thoughts I had running non-stop in my head.  To be completely honest, I was in a very dark place and even with the help of Ketamine treatments, it has been a long journey to the surface. I was profoundly depressed for decades.  

I am sure anyone that is depressed, and even those fortunate enough not to have a mental illness, can understand that healing takes time.  It also involves immense personal growth and even more cognitive work because of default systems that are put in place in order to survive.  Ketamine allows me the clarity to do all the behavior modifications I struggled with in the past. I have accumulated many tools over the years for battling this deadly illness but found the tools failed me time and time again because the depression engulfed me.  It paralyzed me. Progress was painfully slow, but now I can observe myself and the way I process information. I genuinely know when the depression filters are switched back on. Ketamine gives me a solid 12-14 days of relief before I sense myself sliding and in need of another treatment.  This method of treatment is phenomenal to me. I mean, it is crazy that one drug given every two weeks without side effects is easing my hateful depression. I believe anyone walking in my shoes would want to shout to the world about it. I needed to be emotionally strong in my recovery before I could do that..  

In January of 2017, I felt ready to open up and speak.  I struggle. People ask tough questions. People make hurtful comments.  I won’t back down. I may pull back to lick my wounds and process, but I will not stop educating.  I believe now that sometimes people speak out because of ignorance. I also know and can frankly state that I have met some incredible people over the past year and a half or more.  I am thankful. I am sharing my story and remarkably, my words have inspired. I started my website and have been advocating any way that I can find in hopes of finding those people still suffering who are at a loss for options.  

I genuinely aspire to educate those with the ability to administer Ketamine to reach out, to take the training course offered by the Ketamine Academy and start helping those of us with this debilitating and unforgiving illness find ourselves again.  I have already had many physicians and practitioners reach out to me with questions, praise, offering encouragement and wishes for continued success. All of which reinforce my commitment to write on the subject as well as my continued recovery.

I feel it is extremely important to educate our society on the use of Ketamine for depression. This new treatment for depression needs a voice.  I want to be one of those voices shouting the loudest about Ketamine Infusions, Ketamine Clinics, Ketamine Centers, Intramuscular Ketamine shots, and how spectacular this “old” drug is at combatting treatment resistant depression.  

Lately, new evidence is being released documenting how Ketamine Infusions are helping battle PTSD symptoms.  The history and discovery of how Ketamine works and helps those plagued with depressive symptoms is just remarkable.  I am proof that Ketamine is playing a massive role in allowing me to live symptom free; even if it means I have to return every two weeks to get a booster shot.  I am living.

The way I see it is, the more people discussing Ketamine online the better.  There are still so many, many individuals that haven’t heard of Ketamine and if they have, it is probably the club or street version and not as the Ketamine administered by a qualified professional to treat depression. Education is needed.  I want desperately to help others who are suffering. I attempt to do this through my musings.

I hope you will join me in learning more about Ketamine by reading my blog posts and sharing with friends and family.  I will be posting regularly on The Ketamine Academy website, as well as, on my personal website at  MyKetamineStory.com.  I know what a miraculous drug Ketamine is.  I am absolutely confident that I have lived 3.5 plus years (and counting) longer than I would have if my husband had never discovered an article in 2015, about using Ketamine for treatment resistant depression.  I continue to heal and grow with the help of Ketamine.

We all need a platform to stand on and be heard.  I truly believe Ketamine is a worthy topic. I sincerely want to inform as many people as I can.  It is possible that we may all know someone suffering from Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  I believe they might benefit from Ketamine Infusions. I know that I definitely have had, and continue to have, amazing success with Ketamine treatments. I know how frantic I have felt when I had no hope, no light guiding my way.  If one person reads this blog and can help themselves or someone they love out of darkness, it is worth the time I put into my writing.  I know from experience how life altering Ketamine can be.

I have treatment resistant depression and anxiety disorder, but that isn’t who I am.  My blog is my journey. The articles I write are lessons I have learned along the way. I pray that others suffering will somehow find their way to my website so I can introduce them to the possibilities of Ketamine.  I ask a power greater than myself to bring as many practitioners, fighting for their patients and wanting to participate in positive change, to read my words of hope.

Until next time, feel free to comment or shoot me an email. Better yet, if you are a healthcare provider, why not sign up for the Ketamine training course today through The Ketamine Academy.  Be a force of positive change.  Be an option. Be a place for those suffering with Treatment Resistant Depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to turn when all other avenues have been exhausted.  

Ketamine is hope.

If you are interested in educating yourself further on Ketamine therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression, check out the four-part series I wrote answering questions about Ketamine use, based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 3.5 plus years:

My first blog, Ketamine: Addressing Questions & Concerns focused on my early experience with Ketamine Infusions.

In part two of the series, Addressing Questions & Concerns About Ketamine Therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression  I addressed questions and concerns about Intramuscular Ketamine vs Ketamine Infusion therapy.

In my third blog, Frequently Asked Questions: Redefining Depression With The Assistance Of Ketamine Therapy, I was a bit more random. I had emails with several questions and themes, and I addressed as many inquiries as I could.

In my final question and answer dialogue, Pondering Concerns & Questions: The Benefits Of Ketamine For Treatment Resistant Depression, I discussed research, clinical studies, and the need for changes to occur within our insurance companies and federal government so that maybe one day Ketamine will not be so difficult to afford or obtain, from any qualified professional.

I hope these personal blogs from a patient that suffered for over four decades with treatment resistant depression will be helpful in convincing you why Ketamine could help you or someone you love.

Originally posted on Ketamine Acamedy website.

 

Healing From Treatment Resistant Depression: Utilizing Ketamine Treatments, Breathing Techniques, And Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapies

Healing From Treatment Resistant Depression: Utilizing Ketamine Treatments, Breathing Techniques, And Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapies

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Hello and welcome. It is Susan from myketaminestory.com.

I am a blogger that suffers with Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD), Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I was introduced to Ketamine for TRD in January 2015. I am forever grateful that I was. I spent the first two years focused on my recovery. I now have an excellent treatment plan in place, but that does not clear me from obstacles or pitfalls. I journal regularly. I educate and advocate for Ketamine Therapy to help treat depression.

I write for The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ, entirely based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 3 years.

I have a long history with treatment resistant depression and anxiety disorders. My mental health has been my primary focus; oftentimes without my permission. I wanted normalcy. I craved it. I believe I always will.

I sometimes feel heavy hearted when I reflect on the numerous failed medication cocktails I tried. The months wasted. The horrendous side effects I then had to recover and heal from, not to be outweighed by the withdrawal symptoms these mixtures often produced. To remember the desperation I felt when I went against family and agreed to ECT treatments. The months spent inside frozen walls. I was locked up for safety in multiple psych wards. I would lose years fighting my way to the surface. I would glimpse the light and warmth of the sun only to be torn and unwillingly dragged back to the underworld.

I have painfully expressed myself over the years. I have dissected my life with my toolbox of tricks. I utilized skills I learned through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Talk Therapy, Art Therapy and journaling, just to name a few, and yet I would repeatedly find myself being a prime candidate for hospitalization.

I admit I understand how all of these treatments could potentially help, but they just never did for me.

I was laying in limbo back in January of 2015. My body was fighting to keep me alive while my mind dove straight for freedom. I had given up completely.

I have stated many times before that my husband and son never gave up their search for a way to lift me up and breathe life back into my corpse-like existence.

I am alive today because of a drug that is raising many questions and concerns from the professional world.

It has now been three years, as of March 2, 2018, since I was introduced to Ketamine for depression and received my first Ketamine Infusion, and I am driven to explore and educate myself and others on just how remarkable Ketamine is for me, with the hopes of reaching down into the dungeons to pull others into the light and offer them hope.

Ketamine.

When I first began Ketamine therapy to treat my depression I was also introduced to centering. A valuable tool that has assisted me through many difficult times over the past several years.

I remember the day, as if I were sitting in my doctors office right this second. It was my very first appointment with my current Ketamine provider. My anxiety was parylizing. I couldn’t speak. It was then that he stared straight into my soul, or that is how it felt at the time, to me, and he asked me to locate my center. I had some prior knowledge on meditation and the benefits. I have attempted, very poorly, to sit with myself. I understood what he was asking of me. However, I still felt like such a preschooler.

You can usually find your center by placing two fingers below your belly button. Focus inward.

I was guided to this location because my anxiety blocked my ability to relax and focus. When I was at my center I found it locked. Sealed tight. A massive tight rubberband of a ball sitting in front of my access point. It felt impossible to take a full breath. I can reflect back to the beginning of my practice and smile.

I know. The only way out is through. I did the tough work multiple times daily. When I am in, and I know what I want, I set goals. I am 100% determined to make every effort to get to the other side.

Hope.

I often feel I am not making progress in my recovery. When I allow myself the luxury of a slight pat on the back I can see growth. I am in the process. I am gaining ground. I can see.

Awareness.

Once you have your eyes wide open you can no longer fool yourself. The old messages and toxic behaviors slowly change. It is practically impossible, from my experience, to stop knowing truth even before you are capable of making the changes necessary to grow and heal. I can not undo knowing.

Awareness leads to change and I can not lie, it is painful. I have been told by numerous people in my life over the years that the first step is being aware.

The truth is before me.

I must now select a story in which I know the ending or the one I can write for myself, if I choose, to push through the anger and hurts and accept my condition.

I have decided to learn how to sit with the feelings, the unbearable anxiety. I am pretty sure it will be awful in the beginning, middle, and end, but I will survive.

In the early stages of my centering practice I had to stand in front of a mirror. It was like I couldn’t connect with my body unless I could physically witness my reflection. I think over the years suffering with treatment resistant depression, I became so enmeshed with the belief that I was my depression; every fiber of my being was tainted with fear and the neverending echo of death. Just one gaint ball of elastic. I needed to see where the sensations were originating while also practicing the art of centering.

The mirror helped me reconnect mind and body. I would stand before my image staring at a scared little girl. I would wash her away with tears. Hands above my belly button.

Focus.

Searching.

Reaching.

And breathe.

Just breathe, Susan!

Slow and deep.

I would do this exercise multiple times a day.

I needed that mirror to show me I was attached. I was complete.

I practiced.

It eventually became easier for me to find my center without a mirror and it progressed to where I no longer needed to place my hands on my core. I could easily mentally swim to that solid blockage.

Just an ugly tumor.

Uncomfortable.

I stayed with it.

It has taken literally years to reach a vacant space where my horrors once lived huddled together resisting. I no longer need a mirror. I no longer see that thick ball of rainbow colored rubberbands I saw on my first visit with my Ketamine doctor. It is an empty endless tunnel that I routinely find myself diving into during my Ketamine treatment.

Straight to the center of the universe.

The reason I find this method, centering, so helpful is because of its ability to ground me. It helps bring me back to the present moment. It pulls me away from the thoughts, the panic, the past, and the future. It drives me to that safe empty parking lot. Concrete beneath my feet. Solid. In the now. In touch with me. Breathing in calm.

Breathing.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Look around.

I have a grounding game I found on the Internet long ago. I look around with my five senses. It is another anxiety reducer I keep in my coping toolbox. It is really all about bringing me back to my surrounding and what is happening now.

I get overwhelmed very easily. The grounding game and the centering technique aid me regularly. The most important element to these tools, for me, is breathing. I have told doctor after doctor that I couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t anything physical. I was just a ball of nerves. I know I have a bad habit of holding my breath. Waiting…. Just waiting for that shoe…. to drop.

The depression would be so heavy my body curled in on itself. I tell those that will listen that I feel like the letter C. My head is dead weight. I can’t possibly hold it up. I am intimate with the ground, yet I failed to feel it under my feet.

The mirror served to help me get in touch with my body language. It helped train me to stand tall with shoulders back, just like Superman. It is amazing how much more freely I can breathe. Another gift Ketamine has given to me. I began to connect thoughts to body expression. Depression is powerful. It claims all of you!

Being mindful, even for brief periods of time, slowly it allowed me to evolve.  Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy techniques have given me the ability to help otpimize the Ketamine.

I have discovered that not only was the depression lying to me, I learned I am an expert at lying to myself as well. I am aware now. Ketamine gives me terrific vision. I literally feel as though the world is on autofocus and super sharp. I no longer have to keep adjusting. It’s Automatic.

Nice.

Advantage Ketamine.

Dr. Levine, my original Ketamine Infusion provider, once warned me to be careful what I wished for when I stated through tears that I want to feel like others do; the “normals”. I wanted that. Badly. Basically, I had no idea what Dr. Levine was talking about. I am fully in the know now with positives and negatives to report.

I was unprepared for all the new emotions. I was taken off balance with unexplainable, yet real emotions. My world had been one expression. One theme. One desire. Death. Ketamine switches on emotions, and I have frequently found myself overwhelmed or confused.

I have spent my life talking about my feelings. The realization Ketamine offers me is blantly obvious. Treatment Resistant Depression robs you of all other emotions. Your conversations are not about the vast difference between having a rough day filled with disappointments and a series of months or years where the only topic on your mind is ending the suffering. One emotion. One and only one. That dark place steals your light. What is worse, it rips away your ability to discover and experience everything and anything besides that constant sensation that you are drowning, with sandbags attached to every limb. Holding you down. It is not unrealistic to understand how you might dream of death. It never occured to me that once I was rescued from the murky waters I might be blinded by the contrast. You might think I would be aware that I might need sunglasses and suntan lotion with an outrageously high SPF spectrum to protect my fragile state. I did not. I had no expectations of feeling remotely different after my six infusions. I would learn the painful way. It seems to be my MO. I am not unique.

I am, however, only a first grader in this new language of emotions.

I appreciate them all.

I fight against them without meaning to.

Ketamine helps me experience life instead of watching it happen to others like a Hollywood movie. I have been casted. The movie is LIFE. I think the trailer glorifies a fantasy few can obtain. It highlights the brillant array of colors. It mentions nothing about your ability to cope with the success.

I am still learning.

I do find myself eating foods that are high in sugar or engaging in old unhealthy behaviors to manage the shocking shift into the sunshine, positive outlooks, and the desire to improve and the dreams for death linger in the background waiting for weakness. It is a familar feeling. The devil calling my name.  I also know how that world operates. This new depression-free universe is massive and frightening even for someone like me who is excited to be here. I am thrilled. I am terrified. Changes are happening.

What the hell does that mean for me? I can’t imagine. I am afraid. I am willing. I resist. I crawl forward.

A world where I no longer avoid or mindlessly react.

I have experienced my time here on earth through a devastatingly judgemental, self-critical, unforgiving eye.

I am absolutely confident that the moment I surrender and let change occur I will heal in record speed.

I am there. It took me three years to get here. I stumbled. I trip over my own feet. I have had a few relapses. I kick myself and speak in a critical tone.

I told my husband recently that the Ketamine has kept the Circus from playing and pulling my attention away from this present moment. Ketamine has also fondly introduced a throng of Cheerleaders inside my head. They are my voices of reason. They are rooting for me to win. The only tragedy is now I am the Circus. I am forming arguments against good.

Why?

Am I afraid to find joy? Am I self sabotaging?

Why?

The unknown, is not yet known.

I am no stranger to the horrors of a world with treatment resistant depression dicating my moves. I know what to expect.

I continue to numb myself. Avoidance.

Afraid of change, but desparetely screaming out for growth and healing.

This past week has been a source of insights. The biggest coming directly from my son, with love. Thank you Matthew!

I am heading in the right direction. I just needed a loving finger to point me where I have been dying to go, but have been too petrified to make my feet move more than an inch or two towards a brighter future.

I just took a leap.

I reached out. I asked for more support. It broke my heart. I should probably investigate why I see this as a failure and not the splendid success that it really is. I wanted so badly to conquer this illness my way. I have come to realize that my way may not always get to my destination.

It is okay to ask for help.

I can’t make these drastic changes alone.

I will go through this. I will survive. There will be numerous occasions, I am sure, when I will question my decision to seek more assistance from professionals trained to help.

I want back my life. I want all of it. I will have to fight for it. This time I have Ketamine in my corner. It helps me process with clarity. A gift. It keeps me wanting more.

I am days away from taking a new road. I am about to vomit with nerves.

I am now about to begin the process of eliminating “coping strategies” that I once convinced myself were helping and had “proof” to argue my logic too. I was the fool. I was only kidding myself to avoid feeling.

Say what?

Yes, that is correct. You did not misread that sentence.

These new feelings are mega intense. Truly. I feel uncomfortable. I want to dodge the pain. I want to numb the pain. I want to escape. I want a break. I want down time. I want time to stop so I can catch up. I want to heal, but only if…..

That is not how it works unfortunately.

I am going on a month long hiatus in order to seek treatment from those indivduals trained to help in recovery. I will be writing old school; paper and pen. I am both looking forward to the wellness retreat and longing for it to be the final day. That will be a sight. Susan discarding old baggage. Susan with new luggage packing up and taking the tools she will obtain back home with joy and direction in her heart.

I am hopeful.

I will have Ketamine.

No tricks.

It will be extremely exciting and the most challeging thing I have ever willingly signed myself up for. This time it is for ME.

For me.

ME.

In the past I have been known to receive help for the sake of my family. I stayed for Geoff and Matthew. I fought for them. I wanted death. I fought for my life, but not because I saw anything worth living for.

This decision to seek added professional support is all me; for me.

It is because of the Ketamine, the breathing, and the mindfulness therapies that have allowed me to get here. I am ready to open the lock. There is nothing blocking my way to the absolute center.

Just think of me as though I am going bowling. I will play with the kiddy bumpers up, but I will be playing. One day soon you will probably discover I have joined a league. I hope so. A girl can dream.

This girl is imagining a life with open arms welcoming joy.

Ketamine continues to work its magic.

It is now time for me to be a more willing participant.

I can no longer pretend.

The Ketamine is doing its job. It is time for me to seriously move towards healing and stop expecting the Ketamine to do it all for me.

I am ready.

Thank you Ketamine. I am hopeful that if we work together, I will find the peace I crave.

Ketamine is hope for Treatment Resistant Depression.

If you are interested in educating yourself further on Ketamine therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression, check out the four-part series I wrote answering questions about Ketamine use, based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 3 years, for The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ.

My first blog, Ketamine: Addressing Questions & Concerns focused on my early experience with Ketamine Infusions.

In part two of the series, Addressing Questions & Concerns About Ketamine Therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression  I addressed questions and concerns about Intramuscular Ketamine verses Ketamine Infusion therapy.

In my third blog, Frequently Asked Questions: Redefining Depression With The Assistance Of Ketamine Therapy, I was a bit more random. I had emails with several questions and themes, and I addressed as many inquiries as I could.

In my final question and answer dialogue, Pondering Concerns & Questions: The Benefits Of Ketamine For Treatment Resistant Depression, I discussed research, clinical studies, and the need for changes to occur within our insurance companies and federal government so that maybe one day Ketamine will not be so difficult to afford or obtain, from any qualified professional.

I hope these personal blogs from a patient that suffered for over four decades with treatment resistant depression will be helpful in convincing you why Ketamine could help you or someone you love.

Also, if you would like to become a provider of Ketamine Therapy try enrolling in The Ketamine Academy‘s online Ketamine Infusion Therapy training course; it would be an excellent decision and could be extremely helpful for others like me. The Ketamine Academy online program will surely benefit you and the mental health community.

In conclusion, If you know of anyone suffering with treatment resistant depression, like I do, let them know that Ketamine therapy may be an option worth looking into. It has been and continues to offer me relief from my symptoms.

If you, or someone you know, are considering Ketamine infusion therapy, please visit Jason Duprat’s Ketamine clinic at www.infusionclinicabq.com for low cost Ketamine Infusion and injection options.

If you are not in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area I would also like to suggest that you, or a trusted person in your life, approach a local professional and start educating them on the benefits of Ketamine. Again, it doesn’t hurt to ask for what you need.

There is definitely more education available for you to make a case for yourself and your mental health.

I have been generating a Ketamine Providers and Locations list and I update it regularly. The provider list can be found here.  Please visit my personal website for the full provider list. This list may help you find a clinic in your city or state. I update the provider list regularly. I highly recommend individuals contact me if you administer Ketamine or if you are aware of a Ketamine provider not in my directory; I will happily add new Ketamine clinics.

Feel free to visit The Ketamine Academy to enroll in your dream today. If you are fascinated, but not yet ready to commit, I suggest the free trial to help you determine whether you want to invest in yourself and in this is new online Ketamine Infusion Training Course. Just think, if you enrolled in The Ketamine Academy your new clinic could easily be added to my directory for the grand opening!

Originally posted on The injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ

Ketamine Therapy: Does Age Make A Difference On The Success of Treatment?

Ketamine Therapy: Does Age Make A Difference On The Success of Treatment?

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Hello again.  This is Susan from myketaminestory.com.  Welcome to my Ketamine blog for the Boise Ketamine Clinic website.  I am excited to have another platform on which to share my experience with Ketamine treatments, in hopes of educating others on the potential this drug has for helping those, like me, with Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD).

As a brief summary for those new to my blog,  I write about my experiences and journey with Ketamine Therapy on my personal website, The Injection and Infusion Clinic of Albuquerque, and of course for The Boise Ketamine Clinic.  I have a long history with treatment resistant depression and anxiety disorders. My personal mental health care resume includes numerous failed medication cocktails, ECT, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Talk Therapy and hospitalizations.  I admit I understand how all of these treatments could potentially help, but they never did for me.  It was a little over two and half years ago that I was introduced to Ketamine for depression.  I am alive today because of a drug that is raising many questions and concerns from the professional world.

I have often wondered if age has any relevance on how ketamine therapy is utilized.

I know for me, it was several decades before I found ketamine  for treatment-resistant depression. I had tried numerous treatments in the past. I have written in the past about the many forms of therapy I have tried during my search for a successful treatment.  These treatments include psychotherapy, art therapy, music therapy, animal therapy, basically I tried every kind of therapy you can think of really.

Without lasting results.

Throughout my life, I really tried hard to locate some kind of treatment that could lift the symptoms of my depression, in order for me to feel like life was worth living. I can say that before Ketamine, that in most instances, I haven’t felt that life was worth all the struggles.  I constantly had to go through war zones  in order to figure out a way to alleviate the pain that depression causes me.

I question.

How would my life have been different if I had found Ketamine for Treatment Resistant Depression years ago?  I can’t realistically say.  Life is unpredictable.  I do, however, feel the need to reflect.

I inquire within.

Lost.

I would have loved to discover Ketamine decades ago, but it wasn’t an option.  I had a vast array of life experiences and failed treatments before Ketamine was a common word spoken in my household.

I have had years and years of depression and anxiety.  I’ve had many doctors attempt to treat me without any lasting success.

I searched and dug.

Nothing.

I have been under the care of several different doctors over the years, trying to locate that one treatment that would help me.  Without success.  It was during these lost years that I put in place unhealthy coping strategies. I found myself often trying to self-medicate with alcohol. I reached out and found that I have abused food for comfort. I can admit that I have used people for distractions. I have even implemented excessive exercising as an escape.  I have tried many methods to alleviate my depression.

I have decades of bad habits that I formed in order to cope with my depression. I feel that maybe the longer that you have suffered with Treatment-Resistant Depression without improvements can jeopardize long term recovery.

Over the years, I have put in place all the different types of treatments plans, coping strategies, and insights from my psychotherapy trying to understand depression, my depression. In the past I have spent much time trying to figure out how I played a part in all the craziness that’s inside my head.

I have always felt like I was behind an 8-ball; like there was nothing I could really do in order to lift my depression.

I couldn’t drink enough.

I couldn’t exercise enough.

I couldn’t eat enough.

I couldn’t talk enough.

I couldn’t cry enough.

The depression was winning.

I felt like I just couldn’t do enough.

I wanted to have all the control, and I didn’t; and I don’t.  On many levels, I don’t understand.  I don’t understand why I felt depressed and anxious when nothing warranted the feelings. I didn’t get why I was plagued by this heaviness, this deep desire to end my life. I think it’s when you put years of failed treatments to get better that you start to doubt that you ever will get better.  I know this was true for me.  I imagine it’s true for others.

I know that when I found Ketamine as a form of treatment for my depression, I didn’t have high hopes. However, it remarkably surprised me with its ability to lift, consistently, my symptoms of depression. Ketamine switches off my depression filters.  You know, those filters that make it impossible to process information the same way others do?  Ketamine allows me the luxury of clarity.

I know that processing information continues to be an issue for me. I think that when you spend years and years utilizing different techniques, medications, and trying different methods for lifting the depression and the suicidal thinking without success, you start to second guess that you will ever get better.  I know I doubt it.  I doubted it.  I started to question everything.  The biggest problem I kept encountering was whether or not I even had anything wrong with me. I started to believe that I was causing my own suffering. I was at fault. It was because I was a horrible person that I was being punished; daily.  I’m sure other people have felt this way as well. I’m sure I’m not unique or special in my outlook on my mental health.

What I do know is it makes sense that if you have spent so many years trying to find a solution to your problem that you will fail at times, but hopefully you’ll find some success as well. This has not been my experience in the past. It just hasn’t been.  I feel like I kept trying new things and getting the same old results: nothing.

Nothing at all.

I really felt that I was the problem. I think this is a disservice to those of us with mental illnesses. I feel like our society has made it unacceptable, in the past, to talk about mental illness.  It was often difficult to get the required help that I needed when I was living in a world of chaos.  That’s how mental illness feels for me; chaos in the midst of silence.

It saddens me to look back across my past and see all of the therapies that I’ve tried.  The investments that I’ve made in my health.  All for the sake of being able to function in the world as though I didn’t have these filters in place.  I wanted to live as though my world wasn’t obscured and tainted by darkness and evil.

So, I would have to think that for someone that has spent decades trying to get better, trying to gain control of their life, that during these times they would also implement unhealthy coping mechanisms. This is truth for me.

I have acted out.

I’ve been angry.

I am still angry.

I am hoping that this anger will dissipate as I gain a deeper understanding for the way in which I processed information in the past and how I can change the way in which I perceive my world now that I have Ketamine lifting my depression.

The reason that I mentioned past therapies and coping behaviors is because I feel like the more people that I talk to regarding Ketamine therapy, I am noticing a theme. Maybe.  That theme is age related. Is it possible that maybe age makes a difference in how quickly Ketamine repairs the mind.  The more people that I converse with about their experience with Ketamine therapy and their recovery process, the more I’m convinced that age plays a crucial element in how Ketamine works.

What I mean by this is, I’m beginning to see a correlation between age and how long Ketamine lasts before needing a maintenance schedule or a single booster.  I have asked myself many times why is it that a twenty year old can have six infusions and be able to go three months without needing another infusion or another Ketamine shot.

Why is that?

I mean, wouldn’t you would think that Ketamine would work the same for everyone that has treatment-resistant depression?

I am a firm believer in the fact that Ketamine reduces inflammation. I’m a believer that inflammation is the root of depression. However, I am not sure if the inflammation causes the depression or if depression causes inflammation, but either way I feel the more I learn about depression, my depression, and other people’s depression is that there is definitely an inflammation component to almost every case that I’ve heard about.  Granted, I’m not a doctor, I haven’t seen hundreds of cases, but the more I read about Ketamine and have my own  experiences with Ketamine to reference, the more I am convinced that age is a factor.  I think it is more about the amount of time a person has had to deal with their mental illness.

I am in recovery.  I can totally see how Ketamine plays a major part in my ability to function in society.

I have spoken to many people searching for a treatment to help them, and in their investigations they’ve come across my website.  I have had several people reach out to me with many questions.  It is during these communications that I have discovered questions of my own. I have been fortunate enough to have open and honest discussions with sufferers of all ages.  One thing I have noticed is that the younger generation – and keep in mind that I’m 48 – but the younger crowd, the ones in their twenties are responding so well to Ketamine.  It has been remarkable to me that they can have 6 infusions and then go months without needing assistance from Ketamine.

That was not my experience. I wish it was.  Financially.  Ketamine is phenomenal.  How great would it be if it It could last months?  That has not been my story, but I am always grateful for what Ketamine gives me: symptom free days.  It’s perplexing to me that Ketamine can, for some people, last months.  I find this to be true for the lucky few.  It appears that those that can get relief for more than a couple weeks are in their twenties or early thirties.  So, I ask myself why is that?  Why is it that Ketamine works so efficiently for some and only mildly for others?  What I  mean when I say efficiently is that they can go a month, two months, or even three months between boosters of Ketamine.  However, there are many of us, like me, that need to have Ketamine once a week or once every two weeks. I’ve given this some thought.  I’m always intrigued by the unknown. There is so little known about Ketamine and how it works and why it works.

I know that there is more research and papers being written about the science behind Ketamine However, there are many speculations about why Ketamine works for those that haven’t had any success in the past with other forms of treatments.  I have tried many treatments such as ECT, psychotherapy, numerous different medication cocktails, and  hospitalizations.  All with the hopes of getting better.

I’m not seeing the world so bleakley now.  I am seeing hope.  I am seeing light and colors.  I have a deep desire to want to wake up each morning and start a new day. There have been many mornings in my past that I woke up only to start crying because I had to face another day. There’s a big difference between wanting to start a new day and having to start a new day!  I have had many mornings of unstoppable tears because I was still alive and once again I had to go through yet another day of this grueling and unforgiving disease with no relief.

When I tried Ketamine infusions I was pretty excited to discover that it actually worked for me. I didn’t expect it to. I have written about this many times.  Without the risk of sounding repetitive, it’s important to understand the depth of my depression and how it affected every aspect of my life. This is very true for many people. I understand that. I realized that I am not alone in this fight, in this war, in this battle to gain back control of my life, of our lives.  It’s not an easy task. It’s frustrating, and for me that leads to anger-provoking thoughts and feelings.  There have been countless times when I want to give up; even when I feel good.  It’s just a lot of work fighting depression and I’m not shy about doing the work. I have been for decades!

I can say that I’m immensely thrilled by the prospect of getting better.  I am getting better.  It is an agonizing process. A painfully slow progression.

Does it make me irritable?

Yes!

It is hard for me to understand how Ketamine is influencing my life sometimes, but I’ve had a lot of deep Insights and growth over the last three years because of Ketamine. I know in my heart I would not be alive today If Ketamine wasn’t being used to treat depression.

I have written and shared many tips about my discoveries with Ketamine and how it affects my life, but I always come back to the familiar question spinning around in my mind and that is, why is it that I need a Ketamine shot every week or two?  I have spoken to a couple of Ketamine recipients who don’t have to get Ketamine as often as I do.

It was because of this question about why some depression sufferers need regular Ketamine maintenance that I started to take notice of who I was talking to, what age they were, and what their history has been.  I am interested in what kinds of therapies had they tried. It was during these discussions that I received similar answers from several people that I saw a common theme. It appeared that those in their twenties that have tried Ketamine infusions were having a higher success rate – in terms of how long they could go in between Ketamine treatments.  Why is that?

It has been over the last three years and I have determined that the reason that those in their twenties might be more capable of making the period of time between treatments longer.  I would love to open this topic up for comments, because I am very curious as to whether I might be on the right path of thought.  It could be that the time between their Ketamine therapy is lengthened because they don’t have as many bad coping habits put in place.  It could be that they don’t have as many misunderstandings of their emotions due to the fact that they are younger. They haven’t had as many life experiences. They haven’t had to spend decades trying to cope with the depression.  It is because of these added years dealing with coping with the depression that you end up having, or you end up putting in place, thoughts and beliefs about your depression; your life.

To get to my point and clarify, I will use an example of an elementary school student learning to study for a spelling test. These young children don’t have a lot of experience with studying, reviewing, and taking tests.  They are extremely new at it.  They haven’t created bad study habits yet.  They don’t have years of failed exams to cause them worry or fear about the next pop quiz in their lives. Right now, for those elementary kids, it’s all about learning how to take an exam.  It is about learning to prepare for and how to take a test. Everything is new.  They can form good habits and excel.  However if that same student didn’t study, didn’t have the support or someone to teach them the best way to approach taking a test,  to learn new information, those good study skills can quickly be converted into struggles and anxiety.  If a student is not shown the proper way to approach that first spelling test, all subsequent exams will be more difficult.

If you were to take these youngsters, any of them, and teach them positive study habits and special methods of retaining information, I am sure their success on future tests is guaranteed to be significantly better over time.  That would surely be my guess.  Those that have no support at home or are never taught proper pronunciation or ways in which to go about studying, and they were just left alone in the dark and expected to learn 20 new words just like their classmates, the likelihood of failure is compounded.  This is a problem because they were never given the proper tools for readiness. Can we expect them to have the same successes as those that were taught healthy habits for studying?  This can be true for all aspects of our lives, not just studying for an exam.

Now take that same student and fast forward ten years.  They are now ready to go off to high school. A solid foundation is key.  You have two students and both of them were taught differently about how to approach taking a test. These two students are now in high school.  We have one peer that had been taught wonderful study habits and have had great successes throughout their education. You also have a student, for whatever reason, who did not get the support they needed.  They were not taught with love and guidance.  They were, in fact, left to discover how to study on their own.  They have had success, but more failures throughout their education.

The same two students are now in college.

Is it possible to now teach excellent study habits to the student that struggled to figure it out on their own?

They have both had ten years of schooling now, and the one that lacked the assistance they needed to learn for years. Can you offer that student support, educational techniques, or special classes in order to catch them up and change their ability to take exams in the future?

I think it’s possible. They have had the unfortunate experience of learning poorly for several years, but it’s not too late.

The reason I feel that it is possible to rewire or reprogram the way they learn is solely due to the number of years they have been utilizing this skill or habit. I feel, if given the proper tools and support, the likelihood of that student improving their tests scores increases. Granted, change can take place quicker for the students when they are in high school than say in college.  In college you have years of habits to break, so it may become more difficult to learn healthier, more satisfying ways to approach learning.

Years of exams.

Many attempts to conquer and walk away with an A only to slide by with a C-.  This example demonstrates what I think might happen to people with depression that start using Ketamine treatments as an antidepressant.

I do believe that Ketamine therapy is working the same for people, of all age groups. I do. I believe that Ketamine reduces the symptoms of depression.  I think the Ketamine works the same at reducing the inflammation of the brain, allowing connections to be made, growth to occur, perceptions to be clarified, and my thoughts slow down; making change possible. These are all positives elements that Ketamine provides for me and many others.

You have a drug that aids in the battle of Treatment Resistant Depression.  A drug unlike any past treatments for Clinical Depression.  As I have stated multiple times in my writings, Ketamine has been the only medication that has offered me relief from the suicidal depression I felt non-stop.  I was very much like that student that learned poor, unhealthy, unsuccessful study habits. I went years trying to utilize those same skills for every aspect of my life without success.  I would tweak the lesson to fit the situation.  I might approach the problem from a different direction.  I would get off one road and hop on to another hoping to find the answers for why I couldn’t experience life the same way many people do in our society that don’t have mental illnesses blocking them.  And for me, I continued to go through life with the same disruptive and self-defeating skills with the hopes of one day figuring out where I went wrong. It wasn’t until I started Ketamine therapy that I discovered that I wasn’t the problem.  There was actually something wrong with my brain. It seems obvious that a person that is suicidal pretty much their entire lives may have something wrong with their brain, their chemical makeup.

I haven’t always thought that I was the problem, but after many failed attempts at combating the depression with traditional methods, I started to have conflicting beliefs.  And unfortunately the illness feeds hungrily on those doubts.  I would beat myself up for once again messing up an exam.

If we return to the students beginning their education differently you might be able to see how those unpopular and worthless skills would definitely interfere with your recovery.  I went through elementary school,  high school, college and many years of freelance education trying to improve myself and adjust the way I see the world and how I take my exams.  I had obstacle after obstacle to jump, climb, or walk under.  I would switch up my approach, but still the depression filters continued to confuse the lessons.

I have now been out of school for years and yet I was still using the same old patterns. I would think that I was making corrections, and I probably was. The only problem was the chronic suicidal depression was still clouding up my results.

Once again let us return to my example of the student making their way through their education. The individual that received intervention early and was taught the proper way to process information and utilize those facts later may have greater success in their lives.  They received the help they needed and responded in a magnificent way.

They can grow and move on.

Flourish.

If that same student was put in special classes with teachers that lacked passion and whom glossed over your mistakes or misunderstandings the outcome may be completely different. I see myself as the student that was seeking new study habits but had no instructor with the correct teachings mending my past errors and disappointments.

Nothing helped.

I continued to search for ways to understand the information presented to me.  I taught myself ways of coping but failure followed me for decades. I was not fortunate to find a guide or professor that spoke my language.

Until Ketamine.

Ketamine is my teacher now.  I am hearing.  I am seeing.  I am reprogramming the failed systems from my past.  It takes time.  Painful time.  I have to go back and unlearn those lessons I was sure would benefit me.  They did not.  I have much chaos to sort through.  I now have an excellent counselor in Ketamine.  I have walls built many feet deep that I must bulldoze. I have had to rebuild my foundation.  Decades of buildings to destroy.  I am now building a city from all I am digesting from my master, Ketamine.

I realize that this is a long-winded explanation of why I think age plays a part in how Ketamine helps.  I feel that if the person is introduced to Ketamine at a younger age, say at the young age of twenty,  they have far less history with life.  They don’t have as many hang ups or misconceptions.  They have less experience living.  They have fewer disappointments to sort through and accept.  Could it be this reason that they have a greater possibility of going longer periods of time without needing a booster shot of Ketamine?

I feel those that don’t find Ketamine until they are in their forties or fifties may be at a disadvantage.

Why?

Mainly, I feel that age plays a significant role in how often Ketamine maintenance is needed because of past coping mechanisms and failed treatments.  There is history with experiences.

Ketamine, it would be like that struggling student having someone interject themselves into your life at a young age and teach you the proper way to go about taking test, any test, even a spelling test.

You learn.

You grow.

You fail.

You grow.

However,  if you have to keep changing your study style in hopes of doing better in school, but it is never explained why what you were doing wasn’t working for you, it could be excruciating and soul crushing.  You might keep trying to figure it out.  Years of research and trials.  It gets confusing.  It becomes discouraging.

I suppose that it is not how Ketamine works better for one person over another but more so how Ketamine is perceived.  What I mean is, the older you get the more cynical you become about finding relief and success.  You have many more years of faulty therapies and medications to taint your recovery.  Far too many techniques put in place in order to survive the constant noise and desire for death.

Ketamine offers relief from the symptoms of depression.  It does.  Understanding life without depression is both rewarding and frustrating.  That is probably true for everyone.  Ketamine is an aid not a cure.  You still have to heal.  You still have to do the work.  The bonus is that the work you engage in, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, begins to help.  I have spent hundreds of hours in various types of therapy over the past three decades and just never felt I was making progress.  Ketamine suppresses the depression long enough to benefit and allow recovery to begin.  It even gives you a glimpse of your progress, if you pay attention.

I truly believe that if I had been told about Ketamine when I was first diagnosed at the young age of 18 my life may not have been so tragic.  Please understand that I am not stating that younger people have it easy.  I am just making an observation.  If you find Ketamine at twenty you may have less baggage to sort through.  It is a matter of time and experience.

Common sense.

Maybe?

Ketamine is an interesting treatment.  I am constantly writing and investigating.  I have grown.  I am making progress.  It is just slow, slow, slow.  And confusing.  I am continuously trying to make sense out of this very untraditional form of antidepressant.

I ask you.

Why is it that some people can go a month or more without a Ketamine booster?

Doesn’t the brain age, and damage occur?  Does growth and connections continue every time I am treated with Ketamine?  Does age affect the Ketamine and how effective it is and for how long?

Life experiences?  Do they play a part?

I would be interested to hear what you think and what your experience has been with Ketamine therapy.  Comment below or private message me.

If you are interested in educating yourself on Ketamine therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression, check out the four-part series I wrote answering questions about Ketamine use, based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 2.5 years, for The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ.

My first blog, Ketamine: Addressing Questions & Concerns focused on my early experience with Ketamine Infusions.

In part two of the series, Addressing Questions & Concerns About Ketamine Therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression  I addressed questions and concerns about Intramuscular Ketamine verses Ketamine Infusion therapy.

In my third blog, Frequently Asked Questions: Redefining Depression With The Assistance Of Ketamine Therapy, I was a bit more random.  I had emails with several questions and themes, and I addressed as many inquiries as I could.

In my final question and answer dialogue, Pondering Concerns & Questions: The Benefits Of Ketamine For Treatment Resistant Depression, I discussed research, clinical studies, and the need for changes to occur within our insurance companies and federal government so that maybe one day Ketamine will not be so difficult to afford or obtain, from any qualified professional.

I hope these personal blogs from a patient that suffered for over four decades with treatment resistant depression will be helpful in convincing you why Ketamine could help you.  Also, if you would like to become a provider of Ketamine Therapy try enrolling in The Ketamine Academy‘s online Ketamine Infusion Therapy training course; it is an excellent decision.  The Ketamine Academy online program will surely benefit you and the mental health community.

In conclusion, If you know of anyone suffering with treatment resistant depression, like I do, let them know that Ketamine therapy may be an option worth looking into.  It has been and continues to offer me relief from my symptoms.  If you or someone you know are considering Ketamine infusion therapy, please visit the Boise Ketamine Clinic website for low cost ketamine infusion and injection options.  If you are not in the Boise, Idaho area I suggest approaching a local professional and start educating them on the benefits of Ketamine.  It doesn’t hurt to ask for what you need.  You can also visit my Ketamine Provider & Location List to find a provider in your area.

I have been generating a Ketamine Providers and Locations list and I update it regularly. The provider list can be found here and on my personal website.  This list may help you find a clinic in your city or state.

Feel free to visit The Ketamine Academy if you want to become a Ketamine Provider.  Think about enrolling in your dream today.  If you are fascinated, but not yet ready to commit, I recommend the free trial to help you determine whether you want to invest in yourself and in this is new online ketamine infusion training course.  Just think, if you enrolled in The Ketamine Academy your new clinic could easily be added to my directory for the grand opening!

Originally posted on The Boise Ketamine Clinic website.

 

Ketamine Therapy Lifts Depression And Offers Insights Along With Some Confusion

Ketamine Therapy Lifts Depression And Offers Insights Along With Some Confusion

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Hello again. This is Susan from myketaminestory.com. Welcome to my Ketamine blog for the Boise Ketamine Clinic website. I am excited to have another platform on which to share my experience with Ketamine treatments, in hopes of educating others on the potential this drug has for helping those, like me, with Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD).

As a brief summary for those new to my blog, I write about my experiences and journey with Ketamine Therapy on my personal website, The Injection and Infusion Clinic of Albuquerque, and of course for The Boise Ketamine Clinic. I have a long history with treatment resistant depression and anxiety disorders. My personal mental health care resume includes numerous failed medication cocktails, ECT, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Talk Therapy and hospitalizations. I admit I understand how all of these treatments could potentially help, but they never did for me. It was a little over two and half years ago that I was introduced to Ketamine for depression. I am alive today because of a drug that is raising many questions and concerns from the professional world.

I recently wrote a blog, Ketamine Therapy And A New Emotional Language: Don’t Just Stand There, Feel Something, focused on managing and understanding a new emotional language now that Ketamine has lifted the depressive symptoms. It was after posting that article that I felt I needed to elaborate.

I have spent time logging the changes I feel I am making. How am I progressing? Am I? I often need to see it in writing to recognize growth. I have been really looking forward to writing what I have learned. I want to expound on the topic of redefining what depression is for me now. It has been a huge part of my recovery. I really believe that. It has been so incredibly confusing. My depression is lifted with the aid of Ketamine therapy and it leaves me being able to feel. Depression kills. It robs me of expressing myself. I don’t understand simple things. The concept of feeling is new to me. In a way. It is. It is still frustrating at times. I mentally record all the actions and emotions I categorized as part of being depressed. If asked how I felt, my standard replies were depressed or suicidal.

All my life, my world has been colored by the burdens of depression and anxiety.

It is my belief that these illnesses made it impossible to feel a vast number of emotions. I wasn’t aware that my emotional language was so limited. It took Ketamine therapy to open my eyes. I would just pile all types of unpleasant feelings and label them depressed Susan. I mentioned this annoyance in a recent blog. I know that blog entry only barely covered all I have unearthed by paying attention and repeatedly examining my feelings and relabeling my emotions with accurate terminology.

I began to realize after about a year of Ketamine an usual pattern in my assigning my words with the correct emotions. I noticed, for example, if I felt disappointed I quickly classified that sensation as a symptom of depression.

I know now that I habitually mislabeled my body and mind data. I continue to. I paid attention. If I hear my inner voice exclaim, man I am so miserable. I must be depressed. I am depressed. I would later write that I felt frustrated through the day, that must mean that I am depressed and the Ketamine is wearing off.

If I experienced an unsatisfying or unacceptable thought or feeling, it was because I was depressed again. I do this a lot. I am gaining the ability to differentiate. It is not an easy task. I have been defining all my feeling through my illness. I accept that. Maybe.

It is painful. Rewiring the brain is a tough task.

I was watching television the other day and cried during a commercial and automatically thought that must mean I am depressed. I halt everything I am doing and analyze the whys. I am afraid of tears now. My world has been filled with an ocean of tears. The tears represent depression for me. It is not a release or expression. It is a warning sign. It is a predictor of what is to come; debilitating sadness. Pure Hell. A nightmare I am forced to revisit.

It has been confusing.

You mean I can cry to express how charged up a movie made me? You mean, it is not because I am weak and see the world through this fogging filter? I can cry and not fall apart? I can cry and feel okay? I can cry and not have suicidal thoughts? I can cry and survive the pain? I can.

I am rewiring my brain. It is painful work. I keep pointing out flaws in my thinking and that hurts. I can be brutal. I attack. I want to be better than this. I must.

I am learning. I am human. I am flawed. I will not fall apart if I make a mistake. I can write a different ending. Ketamine helps me clarify and understand with hope and not the critical eye I typically view myself with.

Ketamine gives me the ability to disengage.

I don’t personalize my world nearly as much as I once did. I can find that I can get caught up with obsessing over interactions I have with others. When I am in need of Ketamine, which is generally every two weeks, and If I thought poorly of someone, or was hurt by a stranger, I decided my depression was clouding my experience and I am due for another treatment.

This is not alway true.

If I am able to stop and reflect, I may not be depressed. If I am capable of searching for another explanation or seeing the situation from another person’s point of view, I may be mislabeling my feelings or the motives of others.

It is exhausting work.

I, of course, did not become aware of just how many emotions I named depression until I started getting Ketamine therapy. I have no doubt in my mind that this new tool was acquired after I began Ketamine therapy. I feel it is absolutely because of the dissociative effects of Ketamine that I can separate myself from my illness. I get to step outside of myself. Disconnect. I find clarity where once only suicide resided. I am convinced that because of the way Ketamine allows me freedom from my illness, I am capable of feeling an array of emotions now.

I have literally been forced to learn the differences between the simple words. The ones we are taught as children in Kindergarten.  Common terms like sad, happy, good, and bad were all placed behind the primary word dictating my experience: Depression.

In my past, it seems as though I understood feelings only in two categories: depressed and tolerable.

Ketamine has shaken up my emotional vocabulary.

It has been so strange. This is a lesson I was so unaware I needed to learn because of my love of words and their meanings. I prided myself on being a master at expressing myself with words. How could I not know the difference between clinical depression and a bad day?

Unfortunately, I often confuse my emotions. If I am exhausted, I often incorrectly label this emotion as depression. Add anxiety to the mixture, and I have been swimming in confusion. I am grateful for each and every lesson. I wish they were not so painful for me.

I equate many, many feelings for depression. It is sort of embarrassing. Okay, I admit it, I am hampered at times by the knowledge that I misrepresented my emotions. I am grateful not to blame every negative aspect of my life on depression. Perceptions are valuable. Depression plays games. It changes the rules constantly. I can understand how I would be so ignorant about the variances.

Ketamine allows me to recognize the slightest discrepancies in my feelings. I feel this has been crucial and immensely beneficial in my understanding of myself and how depression has affected my life as well as significant others in my world.

A raw experience. It hurts me deeply. Yet, I am appreciative. I know these insights propel me forward. I am not stuck.

I have a goal. I am stating it here for all to read. I want to eliminate the word depressed from my vocabulary. I plan to only allow myself to describe how I am doing as depressed if I am spending too much time entertaining suicidal thoughts. I enjoy the dictionary. I will search my bank of words and try to redefine my perceptions.

I strive to better understand my emotions. I know with education that I can define a brighter future for myself.

I find it interesting that I routinely misjudge my feelings. I have been involved in some form of therapy for three decades. I spent years in psychotherapy discussing and analyzing my actions and emotions. Years.

And I was doing it all wrong?

It has been challenging. I insist on practicing my ability to not tear myself apart for what I did not know at the time. I am making changes.

I am rewiring.

I know I will falter. I vow to be patient during this process. I feel it is a vital process. It is an extraordinary lesson and one that will make living a tiny bit better for me now. I am sure I will be surprised by what doors and windows will open up and assist me in finding inner peace.

More than anything, I want acceptance. I fight it. I am bitter. I have lived with debilitating treatment resistant depression for decades. I don’t want to feel sorry for myself. I want to be better than that.

Acceptance.

Ugh. I am determined to reach a point when I don’t resent the added challenges being mentally ill has. It definitely throws obstacles in my path at the most inopportune times. Disruptions.

I am a long distance away from acceptance, but I am hopeful.

I am a student. Ketamine has been nominated as my teacher. I love my teacher. I hate the exams.

If you are interested in educating yourself on Ketamine therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression, check out the four-part series I wrote answering questions about Ketamine use, based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 2.5 years, for The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ.

My first blog, Ketamine: Addressing Questions & Concerns focused on my early experience with Ketamine Infusions.

In part two of the series, Addressing Questions & Concerns About Ketamine Therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression  I addressed questions and concerns about Intramuscular Ketamine verses Ketamine Infusion therapy.

In my third blog, Frequently Asked Questions: Redefining Depression With The Assistance Of Ketamine Therapy, I was a bit more random. I had emails with several questions and themes, and I addressed as many inquiries as I could.

In my final question and answer dialogue, Pondering Concerns & Questions: The Benefits Of Ketamine For Treatment Resistant Depression, I discussed research, clinical studies, and the need for changes to occur within our insurance companies and federal government so that maybe one day Ketamine will not be so difficult to afford or obtain, from any qualified professional.

I hope these personal blogs from a patient that suffered for over four decades with treatment resistant depression will be helpful in convincing you why Ketamine could help you. Also, if you would like to become a provider of Ketamine Therapy try enrolling in The Ketamine Academy‘s online Ketamine Infusion Therapy training course; it is an excellent decision. The Ketamine Academy online program will surely benefit you and the mental health community.

n conclusion, If you know of anyone suffering with treatment resistant depression, like I do, let them know that Ketamine therapy may be an option worth looking into. It has been and continues to offer me relief from my symptoms. If you or someone you know are considering Ketamine infusion therapy, please visit the Boise Ketamine Clinic website for low cost ketamine infusion and injection options. If you are not in the Boise, Idaho area I suggest approaching a local professional and start educating them on the benefits of Ketamine. It doesn’t hurt to ask for what you need. You can also visit my Ketamine Provider & Location List to find a provider in your area.

I have been generating a Ketamine Providers and Locations list and I update it regularly. The provider list can be found here and on my personal website. This list may help you find a clinic in your city or state.

Feel free to visit The Ketamine Academy if you want to become a Ketamine Provider. Think about enrolling in your dream today. If you are fascinated, but not yet ready to commit, I recommend the free trial to help you determine whether you want to invest in yourself and in this is new online ketamine infusion training course. Just think, if you enrolled in The Ketamine Academy your new clinic could easily be added to my directory for the grand opening!

Originally posted on The Boise Ketamine Clinic

Every Treatment Plan Has Frustrations; Even Ketamine Therapy

Every Treatment Plan Has Frustrations; Even Ketamine Therapy

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Hello again. This is Susan from myketaminestory.com. I am a blogger that suffers with Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD), Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I was introduced to Ketamine for TRD in January 2015. I am forever grateful that I was. I spent the first two years focused on my recovery. I now have an excellent treatment plan in place but that does not clear me from obstacles or pitfalls. I journal regularly. I educate and advocate for Ketamine Therapy to help treat depression. I write for The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ, entirely based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 2.5 years,

It has been a rough couple weeks for me. It makes me humble. I often forget where I once was. I was speaking with a friend recently about how frustrating my recovery has been and how it continues to really mess with me emotionally. I feel so incredible when Ketamine is assisting me. I complained how inconsistent the relief is. I moaned about how the depression was crushing me. I begged her to remind me why I fight so hard. I requested kind, gentle reasons why she thinks that I am a good person. I needed to know my worth. I get discouraged easily. I know much of my insecurities are tied to decades of profound depression and habit energy. I am aware. My friend says to me, “Susan, write.” That was her advice to me after her compliments just caused me embarrassment. It is not easy for me to hear positive insights people see. It is not my strongest ability. It feels impossible to hear and accept kind words about myself when the depression filters are on. I want desperately to know why my friends and family are pleased to have me in their lives. I am eager. When others share with me all the good they see in me I want to reject it even when I need the words and feelings to wrap around me and squeeze tight.

My friend is wise.

Several of the people in my life know what writing means to me. They know how writing has been the foundation to my recovery. It has been one thing I could count on to help me process my feelings and confusion. I have been using my love for language and arts forever to express myself and find clarity. When I responded this way in the conversation with my dear friend, I could hear a smile in her voice as she agreed and pointed out how writing about my black days could also help others understand the journey I am on with Ketamine and perhaps be an inspiration for them.

I was ready to hang up the phone and head straight to my laptop when the last thing she said to me really hit home. I wanted to cry. Her message to me was that I am more than my depression. My friend ended with,  “Susan, sometimes you gotta walk under the hurdles when you can’t jump over them!”

She is absolutely right.

However, I can believe it to be true and logically know it to be fact, but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept it. I do not feel it enough to believe it to be my reality. I don’t want to be outraged by my lack of acceptance. It has been four decades and I am still in denial about not having any control over my illnesses. Ketamine allows me the ability to observe my mind and actions. I can see the difference. I have discovered that the Ketamine works beautifully for me until it doesn’t. I want to be like every other person and not need medication to make sense of the world around me. I resent everything mental health. I pout. I retreat. I fume. I want the Ketamine to never stop working. I don’t want to have any days where I experience a backslide into that all too familiar place. I don’t want to accept this. I want to stop taking any steps back. I falter and the anxiety consumes me. I fear leaving the house. I don’t get it. I was just fine a few minutes ago and now I am fighting to take a breath.

I do have to be told routinely that before Ketamine I never had a symptom free day. The Ketamine shot I get can last up to 12 days for me. It has. I feel if I am eating a vegan diet I find the Ketamine seems to keep the demons at bay longer. I am a vegetarian that strives to be vegan. I have committed to veganism for as long as nine to ten months at a time. Then, in a moment of weakness, I will start to think that cheese and crackers sure do sound amazing! That is all it takes. Dairy foods can be addictive. My body craves cottage cheese. Seriously. Unfortunately, I have become all too aware of how my eating plays havoc on my mood and on how long and how well the Ketamine works for me. I am now re-committed to a vegan diet and plan to write an article on the subject of diet and Ketamine later in the month.

I recognize that many foods cause inflammation. I believe inflammation is directly linked to depression and anxiety. Ketamine works on inflammation. The connection seems obvious. I find when the depression is doing the talking, I want comfort. I am not thinking at my best. I feel miserable and cheated. If I am kidding myself and in denial about the connection between food and feeling good my cravings for a pint of Cherry Garcia outweighs all my memories of past negative experiences. I find myself with a spoon in hand. I pay a high price for those brief glances at pleasure. That sugar will destroy me for days, and what is even worse is the Ketamine is weakening, and the battle is on.

I should be able to control what I eat so I can give myself better chances for feeling great, but habits are locked in place. Great – now I have even more work to do.

Acceptance.

This illness, my nemesis depression, I don’t want to accept it. I don’t want to admit it has control. I am a huge control freak. I don’t want to accept all the issues having treatment resistant depression carries with it. I wasn’t given a choice. This is my history and future. I am beginning to learn to manage the roller coaster I feel I live on most days with the help of Ketamine therapy, but I won’t lie and state I am a master at it. I am gifted with days where I feel like a super hero and I can conquer everything evil. I was never so blessed in the past. I promise not to digress and follow that thought any farther, because I could ramble paragraph after paragraph on how nothing helped me in the past. I could state with hostility that not one medication cocktail or ECT treatment healed my depression enough to give even the slightest relief. Ketamine has been the exception.

I was able to keep that brief. Remarkable.

Back to the conversation I was having with a close friend. I whined to her about my frustrations with feeling great and sinking without a caution sign to warn me. I am exhausted. I am cycling with insomnia. I feel my thoughts never give me peace.  I feel I spend all my waking hours breaking old habits and thoughts. I am not kidding I do spend a fair amount of time working on understanding my illness and how it controls me. I spend even more time utilizing the cognitive behavior therapy tools I already paid for. I am discovering. I am aware. I have learned so much about the differences in my abilities to function in the world when the depression shows its fangs. It is bittersweet, really. I have no control. None. It is like quicksand pulling on me. I am going about my business. I am living life in the light. I am whistling and skipping down the street. I stop in front of a pet store and soak up the glories of the puppies in the window. I feel the sun on my face and life is good. It is really great. I am managing. I feel whole. I giggle at the silliness of the young dogs and then catch a glimpse of myself in the reflection in the store window and it can happen, just like that: sadness and despair. The concrete below my feet turns to water and I am drowning. What the….. Wait. What? Why? What did I do? I promise not to do it again just please allow me another couple days of sunshine and blessings. Just like that I can no longer find the patience I need to deal with Susan when the depression and anxiety take over. I find that I am fighting for the simplest things. Should I go into the pet store, watch from outside, continue walking down the street, or should I, should I? It seems impossible to hear the answers through all the doubts and self hate. It is difficult to hold on to the self assurance I had only moments ago. I want to die. I don’t want to fight. I want to be raging mad that once again I am below the surface. I am frustrated that as much as I want to be able to face the world and its complications, I am reminded that I will always have depression and anxiety filtering my mind and my world.

I was feeling extremely suicidal last week. I was exhausted. I was bitter and resented once again about having to do the constant work needed to keep me grounded and focused. I spend countless hours practicing mindfulness techniques, cognitive tools such as visualization, active thought redirection and behavior modification experiences. Why do I still find myself repeatedly saying I want to die? I wish this would end, I am exhausted, I need a break, stop, please stop? The depression returns. It pains me. I try not to be outraged. I actively plan for the return of my symptoms. It happens. The depression and anxiety return like clock work. I get my Ketamine treatments and I know that I will be more than capable of coping with any stress put in my way. I leave my doctors office 95% of the time ready to take on the world. I am ready to put my illness on the back burner and start cooking. I find myself calm and excited to be participating in this game called life. I am eager to accomplish as much as I can in the next seven or eight days. It is only now as I am writing this blog for The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ, that it occurs to me that I might be setting myself up to fail my second week during the two week period between my Intramuscular (IM) Ketamine shots and the next maintenance dose. It seems obvious that trying to schedule two weeks of activities and recovery work into the one week I know I will feel great may not be in my best interest. However, I worry that if I spread all my obligations over the full two weeks, I will not be able to manage what I planned in my second week. I want to get everything I can taken care of during the frame of time I have absolute confidence the Ketamine will keep my depression at bay. The second week is far less reliable. As I have written before, the Ketamine has turned down the symptoms I have felt all my life due to depression and anxiety disorders regularly. I have been successful in going almost 12 days feeling free from the beast and darkness. I have also had occasions where the illness took back control after only four days of relief. It is frustrating.  I now see the same adorable puppies in a completely obscure light. I can only hear the barking and clawing. I can smell wet pet hair. I cringe. I feel lost. I don’t want to lose hope too.

I really want to not feel rage and bitterness when the spinning begins. I want control. The anxiety and heaviness is too much. It feels unbearable. My son likes to reassure me that I have been further down the rabbit hole and climbed my way up, I can make it two days until my next Ketamine treatment. He is also correct. I know these confusing thoughts and resentments don’t compare to hiding away from life in a closet afraid of myself and the world outside those four walls. In retrospect I would much rather stress over my indecision and thoughts of doom. Trust me. Unfortunately, when the Ketamine goes on vacation, so to speak, that major drop from “all is good with my world” to the opposite feelings of… “oh hell no, not again. It is too soon. Last time I got relief from my symptoms for nine days and today is day six. Please.” I know that once the devil shows his bloody face it is down hill until my next Ketamine appointment.

I want balance.

I want to adjust more smoothly. I don’t want the presence of my depression and anxiety to be so incredibly disruptive to me and my life. I am trying to have a career and social life. I can’t keep retreating into hiding and misery every 9 or 10 days. It feels impossible to understand how I can cope miraculously with the stresses of work, family and more, only to find myself spinning and unable to find the strength to combat the darkness and sorrow the following day. It is painful. It is exhausting work. There is suffering. Every single being has their own war. I get that. I am not comparing. I am sharing. I am better. I still fight. I still get severely depressed; suicidal. I want to give up. I am exhausted. I direct my focus on trying to make it to my next Ketamine treatment and stay present. It is way too easy to lock myself in my home until I can be the best version of me. The acceptable me. As you can correctly surmise, I am a work in progress. I am all too happy to report that I am moving forward, healing, growing, getting stronger. Every day I gain self awareness, worldly knowledge, and strive to be a better healthier me. I succeed with this task more days than not. I love having hope for my future now. I know Ketamine is not a cure for my depression, but it offers me days filled with laughter like I could never imagine before. It seemed that world was for others. I am glad I can be a visitor now. One day an outcast and the next day a queen. It is the inconsistencies that hit me harder than I care to admit. I still wouldn’t exchange the freedom I have now, even if it doesn’t last more than a week. It is a week I never had before I found Ketamine.

I am very fortunate to have the option of Ketamine therapy and that it works for me. This will not be the case for everyone. I understand that. I also think it is important to know that life is difficult. Everyone has “bad” days. I often confuse a bad day with the start of a depression cycle. This is not necessarily the case. I have had a crap day and would believe 100% that the depression would definitely kill me only to wake up the following day and feel fine.

Emotions are complex.

I try to be curious. I work at refraining from judging myself too critically. I win some, and I lose many. What is important for me to remember is, I am winning.

Winning.

So, yes Ketamine is changing my life. I find I desire life more than death. That has been new. Ketamine religiously lifts me from despair. I need Ketamine therapy to tackle my profound depression so I can accomplish the personal growth I need to be whole and maybe one day find peace and acceptance. I look forward to the day I am no longer raging mad about how my mental illness keeps randomly affecting my life so negatively. That will be glorious.

I know that all treatment plans are not perfect. They all need tweaking. They all then need more adjusting. I do feel blessed to have a plan in motion. I love that I am no longer looking for yet another medication to try and have fail. I am always grateful for Ketamine therapy. How do I state this with such passion after all I have shared in this blog? I know in my heart that I just have to make it until my next appointment feeling these intensely negative suicidal thoughts. I went decades thinking this illness would claim my life. Convinced. It almost did. It almost did. I know as upsetting as the return of my symptoms are to me during the second half of the time between Ketamine sessions, I still have it to aid me. I am no longer in an emergency room having a doctor tell me I am toxic from all the medications I am on. Better yet, I won’t have repeat stories about visits to the ER where I had to have a catheter administered because my latest medication cocktail treatment plan had the wonderful side effect of urine retention. I literally could not pee. Really? I don’t miss those days. I still can’t forget them, but I no longer worry that it is my future.

Every treatment plan issued has pitfalls and obstacles to maneuver around. It can be a frustrating recovery while the mind heals, but I am slowly inching forward with the help of Ketamine every two weeks. It still amazes me that one shot given every two weeks can assist me in functioning in a world I could only dream of being a part of just 2.5 years ago.

In conclusion, If you know of anyone suffering with treatment resistant depression, like I do, let them know that Ketamine therapy may be an option worth looking into. It has been and continues to offer me relief from my symptoms. If you or someone you know are considering Ketamine infusion therapy, please visit www.infusionclinicabq.com for low cost ketamine infusion and injection options. If you are not in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area I also suggest approaching a local professional and start educating them on the benefits of Ketamine. Again, it doesn’t hurt to ask for what you need.

I have been generating a Ketamine Providers and Locations list and I update it regularly. The list can be found here and on my personal website. This list may help you find a clinic in your city or state.

Join me again later in the month, when I plan to share my thoughts and experiences about how diet affects mood and possibly Ketamine therapy. I want to send out a special thank you to everyone, from my fellow sufferers to those that love us, that continue to connect with me. I appreciate all the interest and inquiries. I really do. Thank you for reaching out. I hope others will find hope with Ketamine. I will continue to advocate Ketamine for Treatment Resistant Depression and Anxiety Disorders. It continues to work its “magic” for me every two weeks.

Originally posted on The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ

Frequently Asked Questions: Redefining Depression With The Assistance Of Ketamine Therapy.

Frequently Asked Questions: Redefining Depression With The Assistance Of Ketamine Therapy.

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Hello again.  This is Susan from myketaminestory.com.  I am once again addressing questions and concerns regarding Ketamine therapies for treating mood disorders and pain.  I am writing a four part series answering questions about Ketamine use, based on my experience with Ketamine therapy over the past 2.5 years, for The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ.  This is the third post in my Q & A series.

My first blog, Ketamine: Addressing Questions & Concerns focused on my early experience with Ketamine Infusions. In part two of the series, Addressing Questions & Concerns About Ketamine Therapy for Treatment Resistant Depression  I addressed questions and concerns about Intramuscular Ketamine verses Ketamine Infusion therapy.  Today I plan to be a bit more random.  I have had emails with several questions and themes recently.  I want to address as many inquiries as I can and decided to approach this current series in a more hopscotch fashion.

I will preface this series of questions with an obvious disclaimer.  I am answering all the questions posed in this blog, as well as the two previously mentioned, based on personal experience with Ketamine treatments and my own continued readings.  I want to advocate the use of Ketamine for Treatment Resistant Depression because of my results from the therapy.  I want to share my success and how I have benefited from the new form of treatment.

It has been through my Ketamine advocacy that people have approached me via email with questions and concerns. I have been fortunate enough to have providers reach out to me asking me about my results and my writings.  It is because of these inquiries I am rarely at a loss for writing material.  I have appreciated the interest and encouragements.  I have enjoyed the offers to write about my story for other websites.  I have.  I am human.  These interactions have not all been pleasant.  I am always shocked by how insensitive “professional” people can be.  What is even more baffling is the fact they are reaching out to me.  Odd.  They clearly seem to forget that I am a patient writing and not a doctor or other provider.  I am flabbergasted at times.  I could share numerous incidents that would surely puzzle the best conversationalist.  The demands and expectations have been insane.  I will briefly state that I can not simply be purchased and added to your business expenses.  I am a human sharing personal experience.  Please be respectful.

I need to add a special thank you as a side note.  I have been known as a woman that expresses her feelings regularly.  If I am overcome with strong emotions, I share them. I work incredibly hard on focusing on positive action and thoughts.  If I am impressed or treated well I will make a point of saying thank you for your kindness.  I am appreciative to Jason Duprat with The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ for constantly being sensitive of my story and feelings.  He repeatedly treats me with respect and honor.  Jason allows me to feel comfortable and valued.  We work with each other professionally with a twist of mutual fondness I think.  I am grateful that his Ketamine clinic strives to bring more affordable infusions.  I would love to see more Ketamine centers following his example.  It really benefits everyone.  If a center is willing to lower prices, then this massively successful therapy could be offered to more individuals suffering with Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD).  Think about it.  If you charge 500 and, say for example, only 10 people can afford treatment from your clinic each month making your total income 5,000.  Now, for sake of easy math, think about charging 200 dollars per session. You can now service and provide hope to numerous of my fellow sufferers.  Let’s follow this logic to the end.  At 200 dollars per treatment you might book 30 or 40 clients per month giving you 6,000-8,000 in profits.   You also get a bonus…. a full heart.

I admire Ketamine providers that understand the desperate need for Ketamine therapy for depression, but clearly care more about patient long term care.  It is crucial to keep in mind that the majority of your client base will need to return repeatedly for booster/maintenance Ketamine thus also increasing your bottom line. Remember the 10 patients I mentioned in my first example? They will definitely find it even more financially stressful if not completely unrealistic to return for follow up care. My guess is maybe 1 out of 10 could manage the compounding cost of routine boosters of Ketamine therapy.  Insurance companies do not currently cover the charge of Ketamine treatments.  The numbers add up.

I once again digress.

I have had friends question my motives for writing for Ketamine clinics, and the motives of the providers requesting my help.  To be completely honest, I have to say that I have no issue using keywords and letting the readers know about a specific Ketamine Clinic by name.  It benefits everyone involved.  However, I am very selective.  I ask a ton of questions.  I want to inform.  I also am not a fool and I realize it is easier to spread your message when you have help.  I admit that there are specific answers I am looking for when approached to write about Ketamine for sites other than my own.  It means asking tough questions.  I need to know the motives, the whys, behind the offer.  I want to know how people act and react to my questions.  I investigate.  I approach each center as a patient and an advocate.  I want to build a genuine relationship with my reader.  I am writing on a very personal subject matter. A relationship built on trust and honesty is important to me.  I also want and see the importance in establishing a relationship with Ketamine providers.  We are all important and valuable.  We can spread the news about Ketamine and give hope back to those in darkness.

Advocacy is a new adventure for me.

I wasn’t expecting to go on that rant.  I apologize.  It has been on my mind a lot recently.  I do not want to be a bought and paid for direct advert.  I definitely don’t want to appear insincere in my writings.  Ketamine has offered me life.  I want to educate and possibly offer change to those that don’t think their lives will ever improve.

My words, my language, and self expression mean so much to me.  Please don’t script my feelings.  I want to inform the public.  I have my story and my style.  If you really want to share my passion to educate the world on the benefits of Ketamine for depression then I suggest not editing my words to serve your hidden agenda.  I did not approach you.  Please remember that when you are slaughtering my message and find yourself shocked when I opt not to work with your Ketamine facility.  I am advocating Ketamine for Treatment Resistant Depression.  I am pretty confident that is why you contacted me.  Yes?  Readers are intelligent after all.   They will recognize bullshit.  I would.

Ketamine has and continues to breathe life into me.  I started my personal website in January of 2017.   I wanted to share and advocate the use of Ketamine to treat depression.  It has been through my writings I have discovered how truly powerful words can be.  In the recent months those words have been reaching more fellow sufferers.  It is thrilling to know that more professionals are reaching out to learn more about Ketamine therapy, too.  I have learned that I have value when I share and educate.  Many times I am consciously aware that my writings are only me ruminating and desperately trying to make connections so I can heal.  The idea that I may actually be helping others; that is fascinating and exciting.

I am immensely grateful to have The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ as a platform to educate.  They definitely have met all my personal standards for a Ketamine provider.  Their Albuquerque, New Mexico Ketamine center is one of the lowest costing Ketamine providers in the nation. The also passed my “must offer” quiz by informing me that they will be offering Intramuscular Ketamine shots to clients at a reduced cost, for those that can’t afford the infusion boosters/maintenance programs.  Oh, if I ever relocate!

I will be announcing another exciting development on myketaminestory.com website later this week.  I also have a board full of blog topics to discuss and ponder.  I am feeling creative and looking forward to writing several articles this month.

Okay, surprisingly I was finally capable of wrapping up that tirade on proper etiquette when asking a blogger for personal writing content for their Ketamine business.

Onward, to the latest question and answer blog; part three in this four part Q & A series.  I hope you find it helpful.

What is Ketamine?

My life-preserver!  It really is.  Ketamine is basically an anesthetic drug that blocks pain. It was first developed in the 1960’s and was used to operate on soldiers during the Vietnam War.  In the past, Ketamine, has also been used as an animal tranquilizer.  However, in more recent years, Ketamine has been a common theme in nightclubs and parties because of the “hallucination” element users have repeatedly enjoyed.

What do you mean by “hallucination” element?

Well, in addition to dulling pain, Ketamine has been known to allow users to feel like they’re detached from their own body.  This sensation is often written and explained as a dissociative effect.  These feelings are often associated with a variety of drugs known as hallucinogens.  This class of drugs are frequently known to distort perceptions of sight and sound.  It produces feelings of detachment from the environment, mind, and self.  The reason this can even occur is because the drug is reducing or blocking signals to the conscious mind from other parts of the brain. This out-of-body experience has made it a popular club or party drug, and is commonly called “Special K.”

How is Ketamine given?

If you have done any research on the subject you will probably get this answer; Ketamine is given as an infusion.  An IV line is put in place and directly delivers the Ketamine into your vein.  The needle is typically placed in your arm or hand.  It is reported that this method is the quickest route for the medicine to get to the brain.

You may have also read that most people start with about six doses over a period of 2 weeks, and then they sign up to get booster Infusions once every 3 to 5 weeks.

The facts have alluded to the idea that you may need to continue treatments for a year or more to see long-term results.  My experience has proven to me that long term use is absolutely necessary to continue to fight this demon, to recover and lead a productive life.

I agree with these findings, to a point.

Research online misses the fact that Ketamine is also now being given in many other forms.  As many of you know, I started out with 6 Infusions and transitioned to IM Ketamine.  I get Intramuscular Ketamine shots every two weeks.  I do not see this regimen changing any time soon.

I have also used nasal Ketamine spray in an emergency situation.  I keep a bottle on hand in case my symptoms show their hateful presence before my next appointment. I appreciate having this option even if I am notoriously known for consistently complaining about this delivery method.  I admit that I still find the value of it, and if some horrific event took my beloved doctor away I wouldn’t hesitate to count on the glories of this spray if it meant I could be free of depression for days. I am truly grateful that is not my situation.

There are also pharmacies making Ketamine torches otherwise known as Ketamine lozenges to help patients between their boosters or to extend their maintenance time frame to help reduce costs.  I have not yet tried lozenges.  I may switch from the spray to torches in the future.  However, I am super comfortable with my treatment plan and can’t see convincing my doctor to prescribe the lozenges over the nasal spray.  Plus, the lozenges would double my monthly cost because my compounding pharmacy charges more to make lozenges.

How much does nasal Ketamine spray and/or Ketamine lozenges cost?

The cost for the nasal spray ranges between 65-125 a month.  My Ketamine spray cost is 65 dollars.  The Ketamine lozenges, in my area, cost 125 dollars a month. I had and have to consider my total costs for my maintenance care.  This, I imagine, will be the case most of the people seeking help from mood disorders with the use of Ketamine will discover for themselves and adjust.

How does Ketamine work?

Researchers don’t know exactly how Ketamine works to treat depression, but they have some ideas. Unlike antidepressants, which work by shifting the balance of brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, Ketamine is thought to change the way brain cells communicate with each other.

Ketamine blocks a type of receptor in the brain, known as NMDA, thought to play a role in depression.  Recent studies find that Ketamine can have long-lasting effects on depression, even though the drug only stays in the body a short time.

Ketamine also acts on other brain receptors very similar to those opioid receptors, which affect pain and depression.

I, personally, accept this but I want to expound on the subject.  I am planning to write a blog in the coming weeks on this topic.  It is my understanding over the years that depression was linked to chemical imbalances in the brain and that was the cause of all my misery.  I am now rethinking my beliefs.

The more I read about inflammation and diseases makes me convinced that depression is caused by inflammation and not an imbalance of chemicals.

I truly believe that the Ketamine reduces the swelling in my mind and on some levels my body.  The Ketamine reduces the inflammation in all the damaged areas of the mind and it is, in my opinion, because of this reduction phenomenon that normal brain flow begins and repairs can be made.  As I stated, I will be addressing this remarkable belief in my next blog.

How well does Ketamine work?

It works remarkably well for me.  I can be in a really bad place emotionally before my Ketamine therapy and a few hours later I am motivated and willing to take on all the challenges life keeps insisting on throwing my way.  Unlike traditional antidepressants, which can take weeks or longer to take effect, Ketamine starts working within a few hours.  Personally, I can go into a session feeling extremely suicidal and discouraged only to find myself leaving my doctor’s office pondering how I could have felt so desperate only moments ago.

In the past,  I can vividly remember, I had an active suicide plan in place as I walked into the building to get my Ketamine Infusion. Depression hurts.  It kills everything.  It makes believing in possibilities nonexistent.  I am a fighter.  I push back.  I question.  I think of myself as pretty open minded and self aware.  However, I am still, after over two and half years of routine Ketamine therapy, incredibly amazed that I can walk out of my doctor’s office shaking my head that only a short time ago suicide felt like the best and only solution to this insidious disease that constantly takes ownership of me.

It is frustrating and immensely discouraging to continuously battle for mind control.  I know that for people who are suicidal, this rapid effect can be lifesaving.  It constantly pulls me away from the edge.

Ketamine is also helping people who haven’t found relief from other more traditional depression treatments.  I am one prime example on the benefits this drug, Ketamine, is providing.

My personal experiences have been similar to many individuals that find themselves wanting to try this new treatment for depression.  I am no different from others that have been to several psychiatrists, therapist, cognitive modification behaviorists, and have tried half a dozen, to a dozen or more, medication cocktails without success.

It is sadly noted that many people with Major Depressive Disorder have attempted suicide and again I am not unique.  I have scars on the outside and even more on the inside.  Suicide has always felt like a valid and logical solution to me and I found myself attempting plan after plan mainly craving relief.

I write now, and I get so sad thinking back on those decades of darkness and self loathing.  The depression can sometimes still lead my mind to suicidal idealizations. It is uncomfortable.  I trust that the Ketamine will win the battle for me, but thoughts can be powerful and habitual.  I keep my doctor informed.

What do you notice about your mood after receiving a Ketamine Infusion?

I have been reading that most patients are reporting a lightening of their mood with Ketamine treatments. They feel that the dread they have been carrying for years begins to lift.  If there was anxiety before, all of a sudden there is less anxiety.  It’s also not uncommon for people to feel like Ketamine allows them to get out of bed and face their obstacles for the first time ever.  I can concur.  This has been my experience too.

What are the “side effects” of Ketamine therapy?

I laugh at this question.  In my mind there are no side effects.  What effects the Ketamine causes during the infusion time are not, in my mind, a side effect.  It is the medication working.  It is Ketamine showing you that mind and body are one and at the same time they are separate.  I will explain.

I would say about 7-9 minutes after getting IV Ketamine, I often experienced “dissociative” effects.  These sensations were very similar to what I imagine a spiritual awakening would be like.  Many people have reported having an out-of-body experience while under the effects of Ketamine.  These feeling subside as the drug wears off.  It is roughly about 45 minutes where you will probably feel slightly off.  I felt fairly “loopy” at times.  Textures in the wall, door or clothing appeared to pop; like a 3D movie without the need for the trashy glasses.  Things may look and sound a little bit different than they usually do for you.

Colors appeared very vibrant to me. Some people have mentioned that things might look blurred. I feel my eyesight sharpens with Ketamine.  I had this amazing peaceful sensation and awareness.  I was observing myself without that familiar harsh judgmental mind I detest.

In the beginning, I did have the unusual experience of looking down at my body and not really seeing it.  I made a remark to my husband that I will never forget.  I glanced nervously at him and shyly smiled and exclaimed, “Where is my body? I can’t see my feet or hands.  I am feeling like a fish in a huge aquarium.”  I was laughing at the silliness of my thoughts and observations.  My hubby reassured me that I was still sitting in my chair; all of me.  The next moment I glimpsed down and giggled and shouted, hey there my feet are!

The feeling lasts for about an hour after the IV, and then it should wear off, while the drug’s benefits continue.

The drug can possibly cause a spike in blood pressure and heart rate in the short term. I imagine that for most people, that’s probably not a huge problem.  It was never an issue for me. It is something to be aware of.

Doctors don’t know much about the long-term effects of Ketamine because they haven’t been able to study it over long periods of time.  However, more and more sufferers are finding relief with the assistance of Ketamine therapy.

There have been studies that are carelessly reporting that they have linked regular Ketamine use to memory issues and other problems related to thinking.  I can state with confidence that after more than 2.5 years of Ketamine given to me regularly, every two weeks, I have not had any memory issues.  However, I did lose months and months of memories with ECT treatments.

I am speaking with a genuine heart.  I have had no side effects worthy of mentioning. I will comment again that in the beginning I had issues with nausea.  I could have easily requested an anti-nausea medication but I tend to be a purist about all medications I take now.  I honestly feel it is a small price to pay for multiple symptom free days.

The memory loss that has been a concern and reported as a potential reason to never offer Ketamine widely to the public doesn’t seem to be the case with the doses being used to treat depression.  Yet,  those against the use of Ketamine for Treatment Resistant Depression insist on claiming that it does.

Doctors also worry that the drug might lead to abuse, but this hasn’t been proven either.  I have an addictive personality and have a history of becoming obsessed and massively addicted with a number of coping clutches in the past.  For example, I am a recovering alcoholic and had been sober for over ten years when I started Ketamine therapy.  So, yes, I did worry about addiction.  I admit that I did fret about my tolerance level and whether over time I would grow intolerant or need more Ketamine to achieve the same results.  My history has made me cynical. I worried unnecessarily.  I have never craved Ketamine physically like I did with alcohol or other devices I used to manage my depression and anxiety over the years.  I admit that I have heard myself say, “I am in critical need of Ketamine. I want it right now; fast. Please!”  I have no doubt in my mind that desire and need is all about wanting to be symptom free again and not an actual feeling that would lead to abuse.

If the Ketamine is administered accurately, I feel the relief for 8-10 days and then I find that my illness creeps back in and takes over again.  The return of my depression and anxiety can begins slowly at first.  I notice it is harder to correct my thoughts or redirect them.  I lose all patience with myself.  Decisions become impossible to make. Frustrations and anger.  I appreciate the slow build.  It is when I go to bed feeling great, and I awake the next morning afraid to leave my house and quickly my resolution drives me straight to suicidal thoughts and plans.

It doesn’t make sense to me.  I was fine when I went to bed.  Why, oh why? What happened?  The OCD thinking takes the wheel and drives my every action.  It is days like these that I am forever grateful for Ketamine.  I know these emotions and fears are temporary.  I also know I have the Ketamine spray for days like these and that helps pacify me.  I don’t ever really feel the need to abuse the nasal spray either.  I feel and have found for myself that If you are feeling symptom free from that nightmare you thought only suicide could cure, you probably won’t be sticking around the house getting high.  You will be out there living the life you were meant to.  Having said that, I do understand the risks and concerns.  Ketamine is no different to me than Benzodiazepines and Opiates.  Doctors write a Xanax script without blinking and trust me I worry more about the abuse with anti-anxiety medications than I ever will with Ketamine.

How much does it cost?

The price can vary based on the doctor and location. Generally, each IV costs $400 to $800.

As of 2017, Insurance companies often don’t cover the cost of treatments.  I am aware that Kaiser Permanente has recently started testing a Ketamine program.

There are also more and more centers opening every few months.  I have located several offices, such as The Injection & Infusion Clinic, offering Ketamine Infusions for as low as $299 per infusion.  I suggest doing your homework.

I would also consider IM Ketamine shots or Nasal Ketamine spray which are both typically more cost efficient.

In conclusion, If you know of anyone suffering with treatment resistant depression, like I do, let them know that Ketamine therapy may be an option worth looking into.  It has been and continues to offer me relief from my symptoms.  If you or someone you know are considering Ketamine infusion therapy, please visit www.infusionclinicabq.com for low cost ketamine infusion and injection options.  If you are not in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area I also suggest approaching a local professional and start educating them on the benefits of Ketamine.  It doesn’t hurt to ask for what you need.

You can also visit my Ketamine provider list to find a provider in your area which is located here.

Join me again next month, when I address more questions about Ketamine Infusions and Intramuscular Ketamine in the final blog of my Q & A series.  I plan to share my thoughts and experiences about how diet effects mood and possibly Ketamine. I will revisit any unanswered questions about the different delivery methods, the effects of Ketamine, Ketamine Advocacy, and concerns over what I have been reading during my research and studies on the drug.  I appreciate all the interest and inquiries. I really do. Thank you for reaching out.  I hope others will find hope with Ketamine.  I will continue to advocate… Ketamine for Treatment Resistant Depression and Anxiety Disorders.  It continues to work its “magic” for me every two weeks.

Originally posted on The Injection & Infusion Clinic of ABQ.

 

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