Reports indicate that ketamine was first synthesized in 1962, and two years later, it was already being tested on volunteers. The participants in the study to examine the effects of ketamine reported feeling like they were floating in outer space without feeling their limbs. Although ketamine and PCP (phencyclidine) share almost similar anesthetic and analgesic properties, ketamine consistently has fewer side effects. That is why after decades of successful clinical studies, the FDA approved ketamine treatment. Breakthru Psychiatric Solutions offers this innovative treatment to manage chronic pain and psychiatric disorders. Ketamine infusion therapy involves the administration of a single or a series of infusions to manage the condition affecting you.
One of the potential ways ketamine infusions work is by targeting the NMDA receptors in your brain. The NMDA receptor plays a significant role in regulating various neurological functions, including memory formation and learning. Therefore, functional and structural impairment of the NMDA receptor may lead to cognitive and psychiatric disorders.
When ketamine binds to the NMDA receptors, a particular neurotransmitter is released in the spaces between your neurons. That encourages better communication between neurons along new pathways, which may affect your thought patterns, mood, and cognition.
Subsequently, below are common conditions that ketamine infusions may treat.
1. Clinical depression
Also called a major depressive disorder, clinical depression is a mood disorder that interferes with your daily life. Because clinical depression severely affects your feelings, thinking, behavior, and actions, you become at high risk of committing suicide.
If you have clinical depression, you will often feel low, sad, or worthless for at least two weeks.
Depression often resists responding to traditional treatments such as psychotherapy and oral medications. But, ketamine infusions can help significantly reduce clinical depression symptoms within a short time.
2. Bipolar disorder
Also called manic depression, bipolar disorder is associated with extreme mood swings that include emotional highs and lows. Moreover, the brain disorder may cause changes in your energy and ability to function.
Although the exact cause of the bipolar disorder remains unknown, clinical studies reveal that the triggering of an episode can happen due to life-changing events, genetics, overwhelming problems, or extreme stress.
Unlike major depression, it is much more difficult to treat bipolar disorder. But, the stronger antidepressant properties of ketamine infusions can relieve the symptoms of bipolar disorder.
3. PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder is characterized by failure to recover after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic or terrifying event. Events that may cause your PTSD include serious accidents, physical or sexual assault, childhood abuse, serious health problems, losing a baby, torture, or war.
Ketamine infusions can reduce the severity of PTSD symptoms within two weeks.
4. Suicidal thoughts
If you think about committing suicide, you may have a mental condition such as substance use disorder or extreme levels of depression or anxiety. Because you are thinking about suicide thoughts, you may withdraw from family and friends, use drugs and alcohol excessively, and research ways to die.
Ketamine infusions act quickly in your brain and can reduce or eliminate suicidal thoughts.
Additionally, ketamine infusions may help relieve chronic pain due to cancer, Crohn’s disease, migraines, and fibromyalgia.
