Ketamine Therapy

Major depressive disorder affects 8% of adults and of those who take antidepressants, one-third don’t improve. If you have ongoing depression that doesn’t respond to antidepressants, it’s time to consider ketamine therapy at Westwood Psychiatry Associates in Westwood, New Jersey. The highly trained psychiatrists have extensive experience helping patients overcome depression and other mental health disorders like anxiety using a nasal spray or through an intravenous infusion. You can get relief from depression, so don’t wait to seek help. Call the office or schedule an in-person or telemedicine appointment online today.

What is ketamine therapy?

Ketamine is an anesthetic medication with a decades-long history proving its safety when used during surgical procedures. When used in lower doses than needed for surgery, ketamine is a strong pain reliever. And it also effectively treats certain mental health disorders.

Ketamine therapy refers to using the medicine for easing pain and treating psychological conditions.

When would I need ketamine therapy?

When ketamine reaches your brain, it triggers activities that increase levels of a neurotransmitter (brain chemical) called glutamate. Glutamate has several essential roles, one of which is regulating moods.

Ketamine’s ability to balance glutamate makes it an option for:

• Treatment-resistant depression
• Major depressive disorder
• Suicidal thoughts
• Anxiety disorders
• Depressive episodes of bipolar disorder

Ketamine also treats anxiety and depression caused by post-traumatic stress disorder.

What should I expect during ketamine therapy?

Though everyone metabolizes medications differently, ketamine’s ability to quickly influence brain chemicals and improve nerve pathways frequently leads to rapid results.

Ketamine can be given several ways, including intramuscular injections and oral tablets. But when treating mental health disorders, Westwood Psychiatry Associates relies on: 

Nasal spray

Spravato® is a nasal spray containing a form of ketamine called esketamine. This medication is used for treatment-resistant depression and major depressive disorder with suicidal thoughts or behaviors. You have treatment-resistant depression if you were treated with at least two different antidepressants that failed to improve your symptoms.

You take Spravato in the office under the close supervision of your therapist. They monitor your response and watch for side effects like dizziness, anxiety, or dissociation (feeling you’re disconnected from your thoughts or environment). 

Intravenous (IV) infusions

Westwood Psychiatry Associates performs IV infusions of ketamine to treat any of the conditions listed above. During an IV infusion, you relax in a private room while ketamine slowly drips into your vein.

Like Spravato, you’re closely monitored for potential side effects throughout your infusion. Westwood Psychiatry Associates typically infuses ketamine slowly, so it may take several hours. Then you stay in the office for at least another hour to give the medication time to clear out of your body.

Most patients get three infusions to determine how well ketamine improves their symptoms. If it helps, your therapist may recommend a few additional infusions to produce longer-lasting results.

Call Westwood Psychiatry Associates or book an appointment online today to learn how ketamine therapy may improve your symptoms.