Ketamine Benefits and Side Effects
A New Paradigm for Healing
When you are looking to manage treatment-resistant depression, and you have tried every type of antidepressant and therapy, you may find yourself looking towards ketamine infusion therapy.
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There are many benefits of ketamine for depression, as well as for treating suicidal thoughts, OCD, postpartum depression, chronic pain, managing anxiety and PTSD. Clinical trials on the effectiveness of ketamine have found that it has impressive short-term and long-term benefits.
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As is the way with any treatment, medically based or homeopathic, there will be risks and benefits to weigh. When it comes to treatment-resistant depression, you may find that ketamine treatment is the best option for you. Call our team for advice if you have any questions about the side effects.
Ketamine Benefits
One of the key benefits of ketamine is helping people manage and deal with depression.. Both ketamine infusion and ketamine nasal spray offer rapid symptom reduction. The nasal spray option was FDA-approved in 2019 for its use in treating depression and may be covered by insurance.
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When you come to our clinic, a medical professional will administer the doses of ketamine, and any side effects, such as temporary high blood pressure or nausea, will be monitored and treated. One of the many safety procedures that come with this treatment is that, whether it is administered intravenously or intramuscularly, our team will be with you for the entirety of your session. Safety is our number one priority!
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Another one of the many benefits of ketamine is its lack of lasting side effects, especially when compared to typical antidepressants. Many antidepressants can take anywhere from 6-12 weeks to work, and they have potentially lasting side effects such as weight gain, gastrointestinal upset, and sexual dysfunction. One of the reasons why traditional treatment for depression may not work is that the side effects that people experience are off-putting, thereby reducing the efficacy and treatment adherence. It is also worth noting that if you are looking into ketamine therapy to treat depression, chances are that traditional or first-step treatments such as antidepressants have already been tried and haven't worked.
Why does ketamine therapy have so few side effects compared to antidepressants?
Ketamine therapy has few side effects because ketamine impacts a different chemical system in the brain than traditional antidepressants, which work primarily on the chemical serotonin. Low serotonin levels have been linked to depression and other mood disorders, and many antidepressants work to restore its balance over time. However, there is limited evidence to show that low serotonin levels are the cause of depression, and increasing serotonin levels permanently with a daily medication may come with side effects like sexual dysfunction, weight gain, and gastrointestinal upset, amongst others. Ketamine works by causing a temporary increase in glutamate, the brain’s main excitatory chemical, which is not affected by traditional antidepressants. It is believed to be this short term increase in glutamate that produces ketamine’s powerful and lasting antidepressant effects by increasing the brain’s ability to communicate internally, called neuroplasticity. In short, ketamine’s increased tolerability when compared to antidepressants can be attributed to its short-term action on the brain’s chemical environment instead of the long-term manipulation offered by antidepressant medications.
Ketamine Side effects
This is not to say that ketamine does not have any side effects.
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The most common side effect during a ketamine session is nausea, which is likely to dissipate following the end of the infusion. Nausea can be treated easily with medication. If you should experience it during your infusion, let the medical staff know, and they can give you medication to relieve it.
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Dizziness is another common side effect. More of an expected effect of ketamine, the dizziness feeling will also reduce with time following treatment. To ensure safety, we do not allow clients to drive home following their appointments.
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As mentioned earlier, there is a chance that the ketamine may cause temporary high blood pressure. We will monitor this carefully and will make sure that you are not in any danger.
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One of the other side effects is headache. This is usually linked to vasoconstriction or vasodilation, the narrowing or widening of your blood vessels that can come with ketamine, and, as you may have guessed, it will be temporary. You may also experience a bit of blurry vision after we have administered the ketamine.
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Lastly, there is a chance that you may feel anxious, but this is rare and is not one of the long-term effects of ketamine for depression treatment.
Making the decision for Ketamine Treatment
When it comes to choosing ketamine therapy for yourself, for a family member, or for a patient, you will want a team that is passionate about mental health, will listen to your individual needs, and will be able to direct your care in a direction that will offer the most benefit.
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Our team at Daydream MD can offer you compassionate care with a reasonable pricing structure to help alleviate all of your worries about treating your mental health. Our pricing may vary based on how we administer the treatment, but don't worry! You can contact us online to book an appointment to discuss this and your symptoms confidentially with our team. You can also call the clinic at 619-937-2055.
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​If you are a therapist looking to refer a patient, please contact our team. We have expertise in working with therapists and psychologists to deliver and develop a collaborative approach to care. You will need to provide our team with as much information as you can and have your patients' written permission to do so.
Meet Dr. Arslan Azam
We would like to introduce you to Dr. Arslan Azam, our CEO, CMO, and founder of Daydream MD.
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Dr. Arsalan Azam is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician and the medical director of Daydream MD's treatments. He attended medical school as a Deans Scholar at Case Western Medical School and completed clinical rotations at the world-famous Cleveland Clinic.
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His residency in Emergency Medicine was completed at Metropolitan/Harlem Emergency Medicine Residency. He has practiced as an emergency medical practitioner around the US, where he worked as a relief physician to help understaffed hospitals.
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This emergency work led him to oversee many psychiatric emergencies, giving him the idea to start Daydream MD.
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Dr. Azam has worked hard to build a team of exceptional medical professionals who oversee all areas of treatment at Daydream MD, so when you come to us for treatment, you are getting the best.
Ketamine Research
Interested in learning more about ketamine therapy? Click to read sourced third-party ketamine research, and below are a couple of our favorite sources for your ease of finding:
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