THE MEDICINE
What is Ketamine?
Ketamine is a powerful medicine that is safe, widely used and has been used clinically for over 50 years. It has been listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organization. It was used first in animals as a surgical anesthetic in the 1960s, and then FDA-approved for use in humans in the 1970s. It has been used in many ways, initially for treating injured soldiers in the battlefield, and more recently for mental health conditions.
What mental health conditions can be treated with ketamine?
Over the last few decades, lower dose ketamine has shown great promise in the treatment of mental health conditions, such as:
- Treatment-resistant depression (it is FDA approved for this) Anxiety
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Substance use disorders
- Bipolar I and II depressive phases
- Existential Distress – the psychological distress linked to chronic or terminal conditions
What form of ketamine is right for me?
Ketamine can be given in many forms. It can be given intravenously in a controlled setting, via nasal spray or through a shot in the arm under direct supervision in a doctor’s office or clinic, or by mouth. We provide sublingual, which rapidly dissolves under your tongue) and intramuscular. The sublingual formulation can be taken in a therapist’s office or retreat setting. It comes on more gently, within 10-15 minutes of ingestion and allows you to be more lucid for the therapeutic process.
Intramuscular (a shot in the arm) is a more powerful internal experience, and would be performed with medical supervision, and optimally would be followed in 1-2 days by a therapy session for integration.
Physician Psychedelics prescribes only the sublingual and intramuscular formulations.
Is ketamine a psychedelic?
Ketamine is a dissociative, which means that it produces visual and sensory distortions and is considered by most to be a psychedelic (literally, “mind changing” or “mind manifesting”).
- Treatment-resistant depression (it is FDA approved for this) Anxiety
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Substance use disorders
- Bipolar I and II depressive phases
- Existential Distress – the psychological distress linked to chronic or terminal conditions
How often do you take ketamine?
Ketamine does not need to be taken daily like other antidepressive/psychiatric medications. Based on studies done on the intravenous formulation, it is recommended that ketamine be taken six times over the course of 2-3 weeks to start. Less frequent doses can be used subsequently as needed to maintain benefit, but are not always necessary.
Is ketamine safe?
Ketamine has been widely used and studied since the 1960s and has an excellent safety profile. That said, it can interact with certain medications and health conditions, so it is necessary to have a medical evaluation to ensure that you can safely take it. Ketamine has been classified as a Schedule III medication by the FDA, which means it must be prescribed by a medical practitioner. It is FDA-approved for use as an anesthetic and for treatment resistant – depression, but is also safely and legally used off-label for many Intramuscular (a shot in the arm) is a more powerful internal experience, and would be performed with medical supervision, and optimally would be followed in 1-2 days by a therapy session for integration.
Physician Psychedelics prescribes only the sublingual and intramuscular formulations.
What are the side effects of ketamine?
Possible side effects of ketamine (these could be present during the treatment session):
- Altered sense of time, space and touch
- Blurred vision
- Dry mouth
- Elevated blood pressure or heart rate
- Loss of appetite
- Confusion
- Nausea/vomiting
- Restlessness or anxiousness
- Elevated eye or intracranial pressure