Tell me if this sounds familiar.
You went to your psychiatrist who spent all of 15 minutes with you to ask you some basic questions about how depressed you are, or try to asses how much anxiety you have and wrote a prescription for Lexapro. Or Prozac. Or Zoloft or Paxil. Maybe you’ve even been down the road of all of these?
Talk about anxiety creating.
Currently, the main mode of treating patients who have depression or mood disorders is with traditional prescription antidepressants. These drugs work with 20 percent more efficacy than placebo but often have terrible effects.
In some cases, these side effects can be debilitating and cause anxiety or even result in suicidal thoughts. Additionally, these drugs can take upwards of 6 to 8 weeks to start working.
What if – instead of going down that path again and again – there was a way of treating your depression or anxiety or PTSD (or all of these) that had an 85% success rate? In addition to that, of those 85% people that it works for, you also learned that 90% of the people who it works for experience relief immediately. As in that day.
Unlike SSRs or SNRIs that take weeks to see if they work, Ketamine works immediately.
Keep reading and learn why ketamine therapy is a better choice for those suffering from depression, anxiety, bipolar mood disorder, OCD and other mood disorders.
Traditional Prescription Medications
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are two classes of medications that are often prescribed by doctors and psychiatrists for treating depression. These drugs are also sometimes used for other disorders and conditions like chronic pain, nerve pain, and certain anxiety disorders.
Top SSRI and SNRI prescription medications include:
SSRIs and SNRIs are contraindicated in people with bipolar disorder as this class of drugs may induce manic episodes. Also, some children and adolescents with depression may experience a sudden and severe worsening of their depression symptoms potentially resulting in suicidal thoughts.
Anyone taking these medications needs to be aware of potential drug interactions. Whenever your doctor or healthcare provider prescribes a new drug, let them know of any other medications, over-the-counter non-prescription medications, supplements or herbs you are taking. Certain substances, such as St. John’s wort, diuretics, (even grapefruit!), and other drugs may increase the toxicity of SSRIs and SNRIs.
With all these potential and scary side effects, it’s refreshing to know that much research is being done looking for alternative therapy options.
Alternative Therapies for Treatment-Resistant Depression
Antidepressant drugs are associated with a variety of other unpleasant side effects such as nausea, dry mouth, weight gain, loss of libido, dizziness and headache and in addition to the downside that they take weeks or months before their full effect is felt.
Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) is defined as a major depressive disorder in adults who have not responded to at least two different antidepressant treatments. For this reason, research scientists and doctors have been looking for alternative treatment methods. Ironically, Ketamine has been FDA approved as an anesthetic for over 50 years, and is in every hospital globally. However, it’s been within the past 15 years that ketamine therapy is one such option offering hope as a viable treatment for mood disorders and other behavioral health issues.
Ketamine Therapy as an Alternative Depression Treatment
Recent research has shown that ketamine produces rapid and sustained antidepressant relief to people with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Dr. Joshua A. Gordon, the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), has written extensively on current ketamine research. He says, “numerous NIMH-sponsored studies have consistently demonstrated that ketamine rapidly reduces depressive symptoms when given intravenously.”
Treat Your Depression Once and For All
Depression is an on-going challenge for anyone who really suffers from it. If you are experiencing depression anxiety, postpartum depression, persistent depressive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and other mood disorders, reach out us and learn more about how ketamine could be right for you.
Dr. Ben Spielberg, Medical Director of Bespoke Treatment, says, “We are thrilled to bring such an effective mode of treating depression to the Los Angeles community. If you are suffering from depression, PTSD, anxiety or bipolar mood disorder, please give us a call. We have built a deep learning resource about how effective IV Ketamine is on our website, and our team is the very best to provide our patients with an outstanding experience where you will receive care like no other facility that you’ve ever been to.”
The Los Angeles-based treatment center offers intravenous ketamine infusions and esketamine nasal spray for safe and effective care with immediate results. Patients are seeing up to an 85 percent success rate using ketamine IV therapy, which can put you back in control of your life.
Contact Bespoke Treatment today to see if you are nearby our clinics to get a psychiatric evaluation and get the help you need and improve the quality of your life.
