Ketamine

Crook32 · Mar 01, 2019, 05:33 PM

Well I am finally going to bite the bullet and try ketamine. My appointment is for this Sunday. My pdoc and T are really excited that I made this decision. It was either ketamine or the hospital. I know the hospital never works. So wish me luck.

Mar 01, 2019, 05:34 PM

Good Luck!

tecomsin · Mar 01, 2019, 05:45 PM

That's what I would do if it were available for mental illness where I live. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Merlin · Mar 01, 2019, 05:49 PM

Good luck!

Guiness187055 · Mar 01, 2019, 06:50 PM

I heard that is an expensive treatment that insurance won't cover.

Tryingtobehappy5 · Mar 01, 2019, 07:18 PM

Awesome, I hope it works well for you. I think it sounds very interesting but unfortunately also not available to me at this point but I would try if I could. Let us know how it goes, I sure hope it makes a difference, you deserve some relief!

~Christina · Mar 01, 2019, 07:46 PM

Good luck , let us know how it goes

Crook32 · Mar 01, 2019, 08:06 PM

Yeah insurance won’t cover it. It is $425 per session. The dr said to try two sessions and if I don’t notice any improvement then I can stop. 6 sessions is a full course. He said some people get boosters but it might not be necessary.

Wander · Mar 01, 2019, 08:49 PM

Good luck. I really hope it works for you. I was allergic too it and had a horrible experience. It made me sleep for a week and feel psychologically unstable for two weeks. This is rare though so will probably not happen to you. Just thought I’d offer the worst case scenario.

Crook32 · Mar 02, 2019, 09:00 AM

A little nervous about tomorrow. Not really sure what to expect. I guess nothing can be worse than ECT though.

MickeyCheeky · Mar 02, 2019, 09:30 AM

I'm really happy to hear this, Crook32!

Try not to worry too much. I hope it will work out for you. Your Pdoc and your T are there to help you. Just try it for a bit and see how it goes. If there are any problems, you can always interupt it. Contact your Pdoc or your T if you need it. Hopefully they'll be able to help you. They're there to help you after all. Don't worry, it's actually pretty normal to feel a bit nervous. I'm sure many people can relate tho what you wrote, especially here on PC. I'm sure things will go well. Just try to do your best. That's all you can do after all. Remember that we're here for you if you need it. Feel free to PM me anytime. Let me know if I can do something to help you. Wish you good luck! Let us know how it goes. Sending many hugs to you

PsychoPhil · Mar 02, 2019, 11:44 AM

This sure sounds interesting. I have been passing on any potentially stimulating or hallucinogenic drug since my late twenties for fear of psychotic episodes. But had ketamine in a hospital after breaking my wrist in an accident. I came back to myself in a world consisting of diagonally laid out colorful stripes with me squeezed into one of them, probably because I had my arm in a splint. Pretty powerful stuff and very spooky. Luckily wore off in about two hours and they then sent me walking home alone with my stuff in a plastic bag.

What doses do they administer for bipolar or depression treatment? I don't think I could have gotten much higher on it. Not sure if it lifted depression, but I recall having been in a good mood despite my badly broken wrist.

Crook32 · Mar 02, 2019, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsychoPhil

This sure sounds interesting. I have been passing on any potentially stimulating or hallucinogenic drug since my late twenties for fear of psychotic episodes. But had ketamine in a hospital after breaking my wrist in an accident. I came back to myself in a world consisting of diagonally laid out colorful stripes with me squeezed into one of them, probably because I had my arm in a splint. Pretty powerful stuff and very spooky. Luckily wore off in about two hours and they then sent me walking home alone with my stuff in a plastic bag.

What doses do they administer for bipolar or depression treatment? I don't think I could have gotten much higher on it. Not sure if it lifted depression, but I recall having been in a good mood despite my badly broken wrist.

He said dose was determined by weight and there was a chance I could disassociate during the treatment. I have to stay 15 minutes after treatment for observation.

tecomsin · Mar 03, 2019, 09:52 AM

Let us know how it goes today. Thinking of you.

Crook32 · Mar 03, 2019, 11:39 AM

It was kind of freaky. Couldn’t keep my eyes open everything was like moving around. So I had my eyes closed and this is going sound weird like flashes of anime were playing in my head. A little off balance but he said I should be ok in an hour.

tecomsin · Mar 03, 2019, 11:42 AM

Are you allowed to drive? Glad it went ok.

Crook32 · Mar 03, 2019, 12:01 PM

No can’t drive until tomorrow.

Crook32 · Mar 03, 2019, 12:02 PM

Next appointment is Tuesday.

Crook32 · Mar 05, 2019, 11:58 AM

Just had my second treatment. Not a big fan of how it makes me feel during the treatment. Groggy for about an hour after. Pretty much will be in bed the rest of the day. He wants me to stop taking Xanax because it can interfere. So that will be interesting.

Mar 05, 2019, 12:34 PM

It's very interesting to hear your experience with this! I've wondered about it myself and how it may work. Keep us posted on how you feel!

MickeyCheeky · Mar 05, 2019, 03:28 PM

You can do this, Crook32!

Stay strong. I hope things will get better soon for you. You're a wonderful person. You don't deserve to suffer. You deserve to get better. Remember that we're here for you if you need it. Feel free to PM me anytime. Let me know if I can do something to help you. Wish you good luck! Let us know how it goes. I'm so sorry you have to deal with all of this

Crook32 · Mar 05, 2019, 06:40 PM

Slept through a phone interview today. I should have never scheduled it after an infusion. But she did call 30 late so I will just call tomorrow and say I was unavailable at that time.

tecomsin · Mar 05, 2019, 08:11 PM

Good luck tomorrow. Are you still working at your last job?

The FDA just approved today a nasal spray version of ketamine for treatment resistant depression. It is called esketamine. https://www.washingtonpost.com/healt...=.af111c14a63e

Calla lily12 · Mar 05, 2019, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crook32

Well I am finally going to bite the bullet and try ketamine. My appointment is for this Sunday. My pdoc and T are really excited that I made this decision. It was either ketamine or the hospital. I know the hospital never works. So wish me luck.

Is the ketamine for depression or the bipolar in general? I had ketamine along with ECT for depression.