Ketamine Infusion for PTSD

I know folks who have used Ketamine "recreationally"....not my cup of tea...and seemed like it was some strong sh*t...

Hope you get some relief soon Duane...

If/when you come down this way to dive let me know and I'll do my best to get free to join you out OTW...

 

Sincerely,

Jim

So where to begin...ketamine has been used both recreationally, as an anesthetic agent in the ICU setting, as an animal/vet anesthetic, and now as a potential yet untested treatment for major depressive disorder. As the saying goes, the dosage is the poison. In other words, at high doses, it can anesthetize you to the point where someone can perform surgery on you. At low doses, you might experience the euphoria and dissociation associate w special K.

Recently, low-dose ketamine has been used as a treatment for major depressive disorder because of its rapid and dramatic response on depressive symptoms. It is being developed as a nasal mist by Johnson and Johnson but for the time being, it is administered intravenously.

Just note that there is no conclusive large placebo controlled trials w ketamine for either major depressive disorder or PTSD. As someone mentioned, you will most likely pay out of pocket. And finally, because it is an anesthetic agent, the doctor must be equipped and ready to revive you should you have an adverse reaction or you are mistakenly dosed - this is a powerful compound so you want to be careful with who is injecting it into you.

As for cannabis, THC, CBD...of course it's good for meditation and it's the healing of the nation.  But again, there is no good solid clinical evidence of its efficacy except for neuropathic pain and now in some rare seizure disorders. But it's mostly harmless so puff puff give.

As regards to Stephanie's case, ketamine has a unique mechanism of action that is different from the other anesthetic drugs that were keeping her in a medically induced coma, so it's reasonable to try it to see if the docs could wean her off of those compounds, which are not good for the human body when used for extended periods of time.  I'm glad she is out of the hospital and on her road to recovery. Most who end up in the ICU with medically intractable seizures don't make it out.



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Wow thanks guys for all that info. I have a friends brother might benefit from this.

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Ketamine is not good stuff.  1st off its a pharmaceutical so it is synthetic.  It's used more often as an animal tranquilizer anesthesia.   Some folks use it to get high and it's more common on the East coast for that. 
I would use cannabis.  I'm not sure how just CBD oil would help because it lacks any THC.  For PTSD, you would want some amount of THC since CBD isn't psychoactive and doesn't stimulate you CB1 (cannabinoid receptor 1).  THC acts like anandamide, a naturally occurring neurotransmitter that activates your CB1 receptors.  CBD with THC will help reduce the negative effects of THC like anxiety or paranoia.

Not trying to start an online debate here but just because something is synthetic, it doesn't make it bad stuff, same goes for just because it's a pharmaceutical, it doesn't automatically make it bad for you. And just because something is natural, even if the receptors are in our brains, it doesn't make it good for you. Plenty of examples for both of these points.


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