Depression, PTSD, chronic pain, mood disorders, and migraines have confounded medical professionals for years. These conditions can be very hard to treat, making it hard for patients to move on with their lives.
Ketamine therapy has established a good rate of success in treating some of these illnesses, especially when other medical treatments have not been effective.
Conditions Ketamine Infusion Therapy Can Treat
Anxiety
Many people experience anxiety at some point in their lives. But for some people, extreme levels of persistent anxiety can affect their ability to function properly. This is called anxiety disorder and it’s a difficult condition.
Medical professionals have tried many treatments for anxiety before ketamine infusion therapy. The downside to these treatments is that they could take up to six weeks to take effect and don’t work for everyone.
However, ketamine infusion therapy can reduce feelings of anxiety immediately. It has also shown success in the management of treatment-resistant anxiety, or anxiety disorders where past treatment methods have failed.
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder sometimes called manic depressive disorder. It is characterized by extreme mood swings between mania and depression.
Bipolar disorder has traditionally been treated with antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers. However, ketamine infusion therapy is a successful innovative treatment that reduces symptoms in many patients.
Ketamine is known for its analgesic properties, but the infusion method is also effective for treating mood disorders. Ketamine infusion therapy can succeed in cases where other classes of treatment for bipolar disorder couldn’t. It can help patients with this disorder regain their ability to enjoy activities. It can also improve the symptoms that patients experience and increase in healthy cognitive activity that may have been affected by bipolar disorder.
Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression is a type of mood disorder. Nearly all parents can expect to experience levels of baby blues which are mood changes that occur after a child is born. Baby blues are often characterized by irritation and dips in mood that don’t last long, but postpartum depression involves much more severe changes like anxiety attacks and mood swings. It usually develops in the early stages of childbirth. A parent suffering from postpartum depression often experiences difficulty attaching to the newborn child, among other symptoms.
Usually, healthcare professionals prescribe SSRIs and antidepressants. However, these medications do not always deliver the needed results, and when that happens, the affected parent can feel more helpless and the severity of their mood changes can worsen.
Ketamine infusion therapy can help patients manage postpartum depression more effectively.
Obsessive-compulsive Disorder
OCD is a chronic, common, and long-lasting form of mood disorder. Characteristics include recurring thoughts or behavior that are challenging to control and can interfere with the ability of a person to perform their daily activities. This can put the patient in significant distress.
OCD has been traditionally treated with psychotherapy, antipsychotics, and SSRIs. However, these medications don’t always work, and it can take weeks for a patient to know if it’s right for them.
OCD can be treated with ketamine infusion therapy.
Ketamine has successfully been used in the medical field due to the analgesic properties of the drug. Still, infusion therapy is effective for treating OCD because of its ability and success in treating a wide range of mood disorders.
Cancer Pain
Patients who suffer from cancer often experience chronic pains. Several factors can contribute to chronic refractory pain in cancer patients, including the progression of the disease, the affected areas, and the traditional cancer treatment medications.
Ketamine infusion therapy works as an anesthetic medication that health practitioners recognize for the effective management of pain. It is considered non-invasive and safe for alleviating chronic pain both during and after the course of treatment.
The ketamine infusion slows the pain messages that the NMDA receptors in the body transmit to the brain. It is administered intravenously and helps reduce the levels of pain that a patient feels and promotes calmness.
Conclusion
Living with the above conditions can make life a burden rather than a joy. Ketamine infusion therapy can be used to treat several illnesses. They include anxiety, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, OCD, and cancer pain. Ketamine infusion therapy has a long track record of success in cases where these illnesses have tended to be treatment-resistant.