Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can turn your life upside down. The feelings of vulnerability and helplessness along with flashbacks can drive you on edge. You become overwhelmed by fear, sadness, and anger which make you feel like the whole world, including your loved ones, has deserted you. Michael Fitzgerald MD asserts that it might be common for you to avoid people and situations which remind you of the traumatic events in the past.
The mindSet has good news for you in your quest to overcome this condition, and it is from the most unlikely medicine; ketamine, once a street drug. Science has established that ketamine, a drug initially thought to worsen PTSD, can offer relief against the symptoms of this condition if used in the right dosage and supervised. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially approved ketamine as an anesthetic, but lately, there has been increasing use of the drug to treat mood disorders including treatment-resistant depression and PTSD.
Below, we examine the reasons why ketamine therapy is proving to be a leading treatment option for PTSD.
Traditional Treatment Methods for PTSD
Mood-altering drugs increase your serotonin levels and are the most commonly used in the fight against PTSD. However, it can take weeks after use before they become potent. This is where ketamine comes to your rescue.
Why Ketamine Therapy is Superior in Treating PTSD
Ketamine is a drug classified under Schedule III and has a low-to-moderate risk of forming dependence. The US Drug Enforcement Association regulates and has approved it for medicinal use only. At MindSet, they usually administer small doses of ketamine using an IV infusion.
The drug starts to work immediately and stimulates your brain’s receptors and increases the production of glutamate, which causes your PTSD symptoms to subside. You will feel much better a few hours after treatment. In the first three weeks of treatment, you will be required to have regular infusions and after that, your doctor will administer maintenance doses every month.
Ketamine infusion therapy will make you sleepy or dizzy. It would be best if you had someone to drive you home after treatment. The dizziness will wane off overnight and you will wake up feeling fine the next morning.
What Are The Effects of Ketamine on PTSD?
Your level of consciousness may become altered during your treatment. You may also feel tingling or floating sensations and experience mild hallucinations during treatment. These effects are temporary and your doctor and his team will be monitoring your vital signs throughout the session.
Besides offering relief against anxiety and depression, ketamine infusion therapy is also helpful in dealing with moodiness, fear, unwanted thoughts, and avoidance. If you are undergoing counseling to help deal with a painful past, ketamine therapy can also help. Ketamine therapy provides an effective complement since it makes you more receptive to one-on-one meetings.
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