Category: Ketamine

Articles About Ketamine from Lori Calabrese, MD | The Ketamine Blog

Breakthrough anesthesia medicine proves life-changing for many who suffer from severe mood disorders.

In the last several years, a medicine began to emerge as a remarkable treatment for mood disorders. It was developed and FDA approved for anesthesia around 1970. Over 25 years later… it began to show its colossal hidden ability. What sort of ability? The power to relieve depression and other psychiatric disorders in a most dynamic way. Disorders like PTSD, bipolar depression, postpartum depression, addiction, social anxiety, and even eating disorders respond to this extraordinary treatment that involves a series of IV infusions. And perhaps the most remarkable of all, ketamine infusions can erase suicidal thinking in a few short hours. These articles about ketamine treatment are presented here to dispel stigma about psychiatric conditions and to give hope about treating them.

Early Testing was Cautious

Researchers tested it with trepidation 10-20 years ago. Then each study built upon the last. Their work revealed more insights about what actually causes depression, and how to treat it effectively. Never before has a medicine helped relieve symptoms in such a wide variety of people and their symptoms.

Researchers Still Learning All Ketamine Can Do

Ketamine works in multiple areas and systems of the brain. It improves the function of mechanisms that have been impaired by the stress of depression and anxiety. It helps the G proteins that pile up on lipid rafts in the cell membrane slide to off. This equips them so they can do their job enhancing signal transmission.

It also turns on the mRNA switch which in turn flips on DNA to build up brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor (BDNF). BDNF then causes synapse connections between neurons to proliferate in turbo mode, transforming and replenishing the connections between brain cells all around the brain, lighting it up with information, cognition, creativity, and insight.

There’s more that it accomplishes, like tamping down the cell bursting in the lateral habenula so you can experience the reward of pleasant moments. We don’t know what researchers haven’t discovered yet, but we look forward to hearing what’s next.

Ketamine Does More Than Bring Relief, It’s Transforming

The results of IV ketamine treatment are transformative. Those who have been weighted under a blanket of lethargic apathy and despair typically find they feel better and better after treatment. They often find they have the energy and motivation to dive into tasks they couldn’t face in recent memory.

More patients with treatment resistant conditions respond to ketamine than any other medicine available. It may sound odd, but the patients it helps the most are those who suffer the most from severe disorders. With continued research, neuroscience researchers and psychiatrists are learning methods of administration that help more and more patients enjoy a rapid and robust response,.

As a result, these individuals enjoy renewed hope. They express amazement at their energy for life and work, and an overall transformation in what they enjoy and are able to accomplish. They report a more balanced and joyful outlook, and the desire to rebuild and strengthen their relationships.

Ketamine is NOT for Everyone

With all the good IV ketamine treatment accomplishes, some people still don’t respond to it at all. The percentage of people who don’t respond is comparatively small, and we need to see more studies that can help explain why.

Why Ketamine Sometimes Doesn’t Work

There are others who have a significant response initially, then the response fades. One reason for that may be they have a deficiency of certain components in their blood. They may have a low folate level, or low testosterone, and some other deficiencies. In cases like this, sometimes replacing those nutrients helps that patient respond to ketamine treatment and experience resilience again. There are even cases where a patient’s blood levels are normal but the levels of certain components in their cerebral spinal fluid is low. By replacing that deficiency, the patient is able to enjoy a very positive and robust response to ketamine treatment.

Neuroscience is gaining knowledge by leaps and bounds in the 21st century. We hope to see more and more medicines that work as well as ketamine for those who have not yet been helped.

These articles about ketamine expand on those things we learn from neuroscience research in the labs, as well as those things we learn from research in our practice.

Reach Out for Ketamine… to Get Better… and Make 2020 Your Best Year Yet

This is the first Monday of the New Year…so how do you start a new year?

With resolutions? A diet? Maybe more exercise? Lots of people do. But what about you? What if you don’t have an appetite…? Might be hard to stick to a diet more than a couple days… and what if you haven’t slept in days…and you’re exhausted… who cares about the new year and any good intentions? When you feel crummy, the beginning of the year seems like just more of the same ol’ misery. Maybe you wonder, why try? You’ve been so depressed, with so much anxiety, and have felt so alone, so vacant, for so looong, it seems futile to try something new… BUT. What if there really IS an answer that could sweep away your misery and you could finally feel like the best you you’ve ever been…? I know, you probably think that sounds impossible. But wait a sec…this is the 21st century, my friend. Treatments have improved. Or a better way to put it, there’s now a treatment that’s a game changer. But it won’t come to you. You’ll have to reach out for ketamine so you can get better now. You’ll have to do something…because this treatment won’t magically show up in your living room. So why not do it now?

IV Ketamine Treatment – The Game Changer for Psychiatric Disorders

Of course, I’m talking about the treatment that came out of the woodwork the last decade. The one that started as a trusted anesthesia medicine listed on the World Health Organization (WHO) List of Essential Medicines. The one that’s been so safe for 50 years that it’s been used in surgical settings for people of all ages across the globe, and also in surgical settings for pets of all sizes.

Like most exceptional medicines that are designed for sedation and/or pain relief, it’s been abused by people on the street and in the club scene for its dissociative side effects. As a result, it’s sometimes been misunderstood as a result.

But under psychiatric supervision, it’s nothing less than extraordinary in its effect on people whose disorder has not responded to traditional medications. Which is one of its many endearing charms.

Why wait any longer? Why not reach out for ketamine now and start this new decade on far better footing..? Stick your neck out and make the call for treatment now because you deserve the chance to live a fulfilling life, free of symptoms that keep your life shackled.

Ketamine Treatment Relieves a Broad Variety of Disorder Symptoms

It happened last week, and it shocked me. Someone asked me about the best treatments for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. As I began to talk about treatments, I saw a blank look on his face when I mentioned ketamine infusions. He’d never heard about them…! And I realized that though this medicine is always in my radar, there are countless people who know nothing about what it can do.

Someone who suffers from unrelenting and severe depression, bipolar depression, PTSD, OCD, social anxiety, substance use disorder, alcohol use disorders – and sometimes eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa – can achieve remission with IV ketamine treatment.

IV ketamine treatment can be a bit tepid in relieving symptoms for those with milder cases. But, let me quickly say that when you feel bad, it doesn’t feel mild. And that’s why we have criteria to help us measure the severity of each case.

Just knowing how severe it is – or not – can guide us in how to treat it. When we see someone who has suffered with symptoms for years in spite of multiple medication trials, in spite of other treatments, who has also been hospitalized for symptoms, and may have attempted suicide multiple times, we realize this patient has suffered severely for a very long time. And patients like this usually experience a dramatic remission after IV ketamine treatment.

Not always. But usually…

IV ketamine treatment doesn’t work like this for everyone… sadly, not even for everyone who’s severely ill. But it has a remarkably fast and vigorously thorough effect on a very high percentage of patients… higher than any other office treatment for these disorders.

And that’s not all.

Freedom from the Doldrums

You know how it is with depression that hangs over you…month after month and year after year… even if you have a few days that are a bit better…and you can actually smile some…as soon as someone says something that hits a nerve – you plunge again…back into the pits. It’s like you have nothing to fight with, like a tightrope performer with no net. So even a lighter feeling for a few days is temporary and you know it. You can feel how fragile it is.

But with IV ketamine treatment, that fragile-ness seems to evaporate. You get offended by the guy at the party who ALWAYS has his foot in his mouth, and it burns you up. But the nosedive you expect floats away, as you think through that guy’s words and realize your peace is too important to jeopardize… and ::::poof!:::: you move on. And it’s forgotten.

One reason may be the resilience ketamine builds. You’re able to adapt and quickly recover from the offenses that happen and you have the power to just snap back and be ok. It’s amazing…in fact, it’s priceless.

So, reaching out may require that you talk to yourself. Maybe you’ll need to “psych yourself up,” but when you do whatever you need to do, and reach out for ketamine treatment, you’ll find yourself surprised at all that happens for you.

Neuroplasticity + Psychotherapy = Peace & Joy in life

Then, to point out yet another talent of this treatment, researchers and therapists have learned that because of the neuroplasticity ketamine creates in your brain circuitry, psychotherapy can be much more effective about 24 hours after an infusion.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we love working with your psychiatrist and therapist to help make that benefit available to you with scheduled infusions coordinated with your therapy appointment 24 hours later.

But, the fact is, that none of this can be available to you unless you reach out. It requires that you call us. Let us coordinate with your healthcare team.

You’re probably thinking, How Can I Do THAT? I Can’t Seem to Get Out of Bed??!!

And there’s the rub.

There is more help available for your tormentous symptoms than has ever been seen by your parents or grandparents or great grandparents…

But the biggest obstacle between you and having a healthy, balanced, rewarding life is actually a characteristic of your illness. To get to that rewarding life (you may have all but given up on,) you have to do something you may not think you can do. And here it is…

PUSH through.

…and make the call.

And you know how you can do that..?

By grabbing on to HOPE.

The drowning man has to take hold of the rope. If he’s passive and tries nothing, he’ll drown.

The mountain climber who loses his footing and careens over the cliff has to reach out and GRAB – something. A rock…a rope…a bush…?

Once you reach out, it gets easier. We step in. You’ll still have to show up, but each time it will probably get easier and easier. And as ketamine goes to work in your brain cells – the systems and circuits and structures – surging hope and strength and resilience will billow from within you.

It doesn’t happen all at once the very first minute…

Maybe it just trickles at first, but then the trickles become waves, and the joy and initiative surges, and you find you’re CAPABLE of doing things you want to do, that you’d all but forgotten about.

For some it’s during the first infusion…for some it’s after the second one. For others it’s after the third… and in some cases it’s even after the fourth.

Your family may notice the changes in you before you do. You may show unexpected initiative before you FEEL all that much better. (Miranda, are you actually folding clothes? Unbelievable!)

Reach Out for Ketamine!

More than likely, you’ve heard of ketamine treatment. Maybe you dismissed it, because you’ve heard of it as “Special K” or thought it was just a horse tranquilizer. You think it all sounds bizarre, or the creepy kind of experimental treatment that happens in somebody’s garage.

If so, maybe it’s time you do your own homework? The National Institute of Health funds extensive research about ketamine treatment because it’s so extraordinary.

Esteemed neuroscience researchers around the world submit their research to peer-reviewed medical journals. Conferences of psychiatrists, neurologists, neuroscientists, and physicians in other fields are hosted in major cities like Oxford (UK), NYC, Austin, San Francisco, and more. And this has been going on for years.

IV ketamine treatment is the most effective medicine for psychiatric disorders we’ve ever seen. It’s not FDA approved because no one wants to pay for FDA trials if they can’t make a profit off a patent. And..ketamine is too old…there’s no patent to be had.

So, we lobby for it to be covered by insurance companies, anyway. And until then, you have to pay for this treatment out-of-pocket. However, there is medical financing available everywhere. And your resurrected life, your ability to pursue your dreams, build strong, healthy relationships, and enjoy your hobbies on your terms…isn’t all that worth a small loan? To be able to live again?

Reach Out for Ketamine and Get Better for 2020

This is a new year, and a new decade. Right now, this week, is the perfect time to turn the tables on misery, take hold of your hope, and reach out to get better.

Tell yourself that it’s your turn to get better. And that you’re not going to give in to excuses. That you want to live better, healthier, and more balanced. That you want your life to BE better. Give Hope the benefit of the doubt.

This step can turn your entire life around for the better. But you’re the one who has to take it.

Because it’s not right for everyone. We need to be sure you’re a candidate. And we’ll evaluate that first.

So…you may say, What if it doesn’t work for me?

Well…we say, What if it does??

The likelihood it will transform your life is much stronger than the likelihood it won’t work for you. Much stronger.

Do you really want another decade to crawl by while you’re trapped in the misery and despair of this disorder?

Reach out for Hope and for a better life in 2020 and beyond.

We’ll walk you through the process, answer your questions, and make it as easy for you as we possibly can. We’re here waiting for you to call us because we want to see you enjoying a full life.

Reach out for ketamine and grab onto HOPE.

To the restoration of your best self,

January 6, 2020
Ketamine and Other Breakthroughs in Psychiatry for 2019

Tomorrow is the last day of 2019…and the day before a new year – and a new decade – begins.

Let’s jump in and look back. Let’s celebrate our progress over the last year and consider the impact of new breakthroughs this year. Some of these breakthroughs in psychiatry for 2019 may surprise you.

The World Health Organization says that depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. (This is not a breakthrough–it’s one of the sad facts of our time.) And for at least 1/3 of those who suffer with it, traditional brand name and generic antidepressants on the market don’t work.

In the early 2000’s, researchers discovered that IV ketamine caused a rapid and robust response in people with major depression.

Now, 10 years later, a ketamine derivative is one of our biggest breakthroughs this year. So let’s talk about that, and other breakthroughs in psychiatry for 2019, as well.

Breakthroughs in Psychiatry for 2019

1. Esketamine (Spravato)

In March of this year, the FDA approved a derivative of ketamine, the left enantiomer of the molecule, in a specially designed nasal spray for treatment resistant depression under medical supervision in approved clinics. However, the FDA approved this to be used only in conjunction with another andtidepressant at the same tije.Use of esketamine requires the initiation of a new antidepressant at the same time.

After years of promising outcomes with IV and IM ketamine in treating depression and other disorders as an off-label treatment, FDA approval of esketamine presented a milestone — it’s a novel form of treatment as a nasal spray and it uses a derivative of a medication that we’ve been using successfully and safely for years. PTSD, cocaine use disorder, alcohol use disorder, bipolar depression, social anxiety, and suicidal thinking can all respond to IV ketamine.

While esketamine hasn’t been studied for most of these conditions, it can create a robust add-on response to an antidepressant in some patients who benefit from low doses. And the beauty of it is that because of its FDA approval, esketamine as a medication is covered by many insurance programs.

Although there are tons of hoops to jump through, red tape, paperwork, REMS monitoring (the risk mitigation program that the FDA requires that all doctors and patients participate in).

So… FDA approval marked a new breakthrough in psychiatry for 2019, and a milestone in ketamine’s journey. The quest for wider acceptance as a remarkable treatment for people who’ve remained depressed in spite of traditional medicines.

This 21st century novel and advanced treatment for psychiatric disorders is changing the face of disability.

Growing numbers of people are experiencing not only improvement, but remission from their symptoms, and are recovering to build fulfilling and rewarding lives, relationships, and futures.

Here at Innovative Psychiatry, we offer both IV ketamine treatment and esketamine nasal spray for those patients who are candidates for these treatments.

2. Telemental Health Support

Healthcare services provided by online video or telephone has been growing for a number of years. It has improved medical care for shut-ins and the elderly who have difficulty accessing it in the office. Psychiatric patients in remote areas have received better psychiatric coverage through this means of communication.

By combining technology with new policies, telemental health has advanced in its effectiveness again. Sometimes using a method of treatment reveals new opportunities for improvement as challenges reveal themselves.

So, The National Center for Performance Health in Florida recently established ecare4kids. This tele-counseling program serves public school children in Florida with online tele-counseling. All 50 states provide some amount of tele-health services through Medicaid.

Then in February 2019, Congress introduced the Mental Health Telemedicine Expansion Act. The Ways and Means Committe approved it in June of this year to ensure more psychiatric health care in remote areas throughout the US.

3. Gene-guided medicine

The Human Genome Project completed mapping the genome in 2003.

So what’s a genome?

Good question. It’s the complete set of DNA, or the genetic material, found in a microorganism or the cell of any living thing. In this case, we’re specifically talking about human DNA.

To clarify, DNA is made of a pair of twisting or spiraling strands that consist of four chemical units which we call nucleotide bases. And the bases are made of adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C). These bases are paired in specific patterns, i.e., an A is paired with a T, and a G is paired with a C.

Now imagine this: there are 3 billion of these base pairs in your DNA, which are held within 23 pairs of chromosomes…in the nucleus of every cell of your body.

You can see how ambitious it was for this team to take on the project of mapping all this out.

Well, now that we have that mapping, the obvious next step follows the reduction in price of mapping your own individual genome. The initial mapping project was estimated to cost 30 million dollars.

But the more they use this process, the more the process reduces in cost. The next steps can feasibly include things like getting your own map so your medical and health needs, and even the medicines you take, can be so specifically customized to your genetic profile as well as your environment and lifestyle, that the effectiveness of treatments you need can soar.

Which brings us to the point that the disorders we talk about and treat are, in most cases, inherited to some degree. So you see multiple family members suffering from psychiatric illnesses at the same time…and all too often — severe illnesses.

Imagine if we could better fit a medication or treatment specifically to your DNA profile. And the same for your family members. So much suffering from side effects could be eliminated.

We have important information already available to us about the cytochrome P450 enzyme system (the enzyme system in the liver responsible for the oxidative metabolism of many of our medications) …and at Innovative Psychiatry we use evidence-based genetic information as we have available to help explain your responses and guide your treatment.

4. Genetic Editing

…Say what?? It hasn’t been that long since we figured out what the genome looks like. Now we’re talking about editing it? Like editing a paper?

Well, sort of.

It turns out that this year genetic scientists broke through in a major way with a possible method for potentially removing genetic links to disorders and diseases like Alzheimer’s, ADHD, and autism, and replacing those links in the individual’s DNA with healthy links.

So…scientists at Harvard and MIT took the wraps off a new approach to what they coined, “prime editing.” The chemist/biologist who led the unveiling described its usefulness as a metaphor of Word processing.

A total WOW.

He said these little prime editors search for certain DNA sequences and precisely remove them, then replace them with sequences that don’t produce disease. He says that 89% of disease-causing defects can be resolved by this method…eventually.

Such astounding breakthroughs in psychiatry for 2019 – what can they imagine next?

The potential here goes without saying. What would happen if we would eventually do a little primed editing and edit out suffering? Like the kind associated with severe depression? With bipolar disorder? With alcohol dependence? With anxiety? We get breathless just thinking about it!

5. Psychiatric Healthcare with Cell Phones

A technical/data science/healthcare company (Mindstrong) has secured a handful of patents to develop an innovative method of providing mental healthcare services over cellphones.

By partnering with your health insurance company, services can be provided to you free of charge, including evaluations, psychotherapy, psychiatrist visits, medication evaluations, and support when things unexpectedly come up between doctor visits. Their psychiatrist will work with yours to provide smoother and continuing care. And because it’s designed to be free (for you), more people can receive care for their disorders.

Using a mobile app, text therapy can be provided as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Coping and Emotion Regulation, Psycho-education, Crisis Management, Reflective Listening, and Empathy.

Since 75% of Americans own a cell phone, finding a way to reach a broader audience with mental healthcare is evolving to naturally involve mobile phones. Hmmmm…..

Digital phenotyping collects data from the smartphone to provide measures of cognition and emotion. They say that the way you use your cell phone tells them a lot about your mood and state of mind. They can’t see you but they collect data.

They’re not covering every cellphone in the US yet, but they’re growing…and it won’t be long.

What do you think about this idea? I’d love to hear your comments below.

With all these psychiatry breakthroughs in 2019, it’s easy to get caught up in the sci-fi talk and forget what we have NOW.

We’re living in a new world, and IV ketamine treatment IS sci-fi.

We could not have imagined in the past century that a medicine originally designed for anesthesia would come out of the woodwork and actually provide a solution to major depression, alcohol overconsumption, opiate dependency, anxiety disorders, PTSD, OCD, bipolar depression, and suicidal inclinations. Ever.

Let’s not miss what’s right in front of us.

IV ketamine treatment can resolve depression symptoms.

This is the jarring news we take with us into the new decade.

Depression, PTSD, OCD, social anxiety, bipolar depression, substance use disorders, and suicidal thoughts no longer have to be a final sentence. You can get better. Your life can transform to a new, meaningful, rewarding source of joy…and hope.

If you wonder whether IV ketamine treatment could work for you, call us to schedule an appointment and come in. We invite contact from your health team, and we’d love to collaborate with them to help your life transform.

We look forward to the opportunities to meet you and discuss options in the new year.

Have a Happy and Healthy New Year in 2020 – full of hope, purpose, and joy.

To the restoration of your best self,

December 29, 2019
IV Ketamine Can Create Resilience For You This Season

This time of year conjures up visions of sugarplums, elves, and Christmas trees guarding piles of gifts.

There are carolers singing on the corner, and menorahs and dreidels and flickering candle light. Families come together, and friends are invited to share in the celebrations. A manger with a Baby surrounded by angels, shepherds, and wise men. Oh the wonders of this time of year. And oh the suffering for those who find it difficult to cope. But, IV ketamine can create resilience for you… Some suffer because of painful losses and deaths brought to mind again by both treasured or painful memories. Others suffer because of disorders that make it difficult for them to blend at family gatherings, whose symptoms impose so much pain and heartache, even chaos, they’re unable to enjoy any of it.

It’s for these loved ones we write today. The ones who’ve suffered for years – even decades – because their symptoms of depression, anxiety, phobias, addiction, eating disorders, PTSD, OCD, and the suicidal thoughts that eventually often show up and threaten have not been helped by the medicines prescribed for them.

Dreading the family gathering, or finding something else to do so they can justify missing it, they’re often ostrasized for “creating a scene and making the holiday about them.” Cruel judgments and short-sighted disapproval abound. But few realize how very much these dear ones wish they could seamlessly fit in.

Their “scenes” may very likely be due to untreated symptoms.

This is the time when IV ketamine treatment can make all the difference. And it’s not just for this holiday season. It’s for all the holiday seasons that will come in the future. For all the school days, business days, birthdays, and everydays that lie ahead. Ketamine can create resilience for facing whatever life brings…

And let’s be clear about something.

IV Ketamine Treatment is NOT Esketamine Nasal Spray

The ketamine molecule is racemic, which means it is made up of two sides, or enantiomers, which are mirror images of each other. This has caused some confusion. Because they’re NOT identical. Each one possesses its own traits, it’s own strengths and weaknesses. It’s own benefits.

Esketamine nasal spray is the left mirror image. We call each side an enantiomer. Esketamine is the left enantiomer. It has strengths and weaknesses, but it’s not the complete ketamine molecule. This is often misunderstood. It’s also a great deal more expensive than ketamine.

However, esketamine nasal spray is “covered” by some insurances, at least partly. (It’s very expensive and eats up most of your high deductible very quickly.) But having the medication pad for may be a benefit that may make it worth trying for you. The office visits required for administration are another fee–and they are very poorly covered by insurance companies.

Ketamine infusions on the other hand, are not usually covered.

We’re joining with others in psychiatry promoting the idea that IV ketamine treatment should be covered by insurance. It should be. Ketamine is the complete compound with all the benefits. When it’s administered properly, it can be — and often IS — transformative.

IV ketamine treatment can liberate you from the symptoms that make the holidays so painful. Those things that make it nearly impossible for you to enjoy family gatherings.

IV ketamine helps build something to make life so much easier, even holiday gatherings.

Ketamine Can Create Resilience: And It Empowers You to Enjoy

It’s resilience. Depression, alcohol use disorder, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, opioid use disorder, social anxiety, bipolar depression…all of these conditions have symptoms that are sometimes hard to treat. You might say “treatment resistant.” And when the symptoms go on and on, they wear down circuitry in your brain in certain regions.

When the circuits are worn down, the dendrites and synaptic connections between neurons are pruned back and the signals are hard pressed to make much progress getting from one area to another. So you feel vacant…numb…dull…and dark.

But ketamine treatment restores those circuits. It stimulates mRNA to turn on DNA to turbo boost your brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor. When that happens it’s as if a rich compost infuses fast prolific growth into those dendrites, and dendritic spines…and your synapses multiply like gangbusters. Suddenly, your brain comes alive with a wealth of signals darting at the speed of light to help you think, create, plan, accomplish…and to bring you joy…and hope.

Then, there are those G proteins floating along on their lipid rafts. Ketamine shoves them off those rafts and puts them back to work, which gets signals moving really fast, too.

That’s where the resilience comes from. Your active brain communication transforms your outlook and cognitive function. And if something comes along to knock you down, you finally have the resilience to think it through, get back up, and snap back. You have energy to face difficulty, energy to be around difficult people. Energy to contribute, and to rebuild strong, healthy relationships.

Ketamine does that. Ketamine can create resilience by working in so many parts of the brain and it works fast.

Think about it like you’ve rebuilt your car’s engine and you have the capacity now to take on difficult terrain, climb mountains, pull trailers, and get the job done. (I sound like a truck commercial but you see what I mean.)

Restoration for the Holidays – Is There a Better Gift?

If you enjoy this time of year, that’s wonderful. It’s supposed to be a wonderful time of year. Enjoy it. Savor every moment.

But if you don’t …if you can’t… call us. Let us help you find the resilience you wish you had. The resilience to rise above the struggles, and the ability to actually enjoy people you care about.

IV Ketamine treatment may seem expensive at first blush, but when you consider how it can transform your life, and give you hope and resilience for the future, it’s worth finding a way. There are opportunities for financing your treatment through medical financing services. We also see families helping financially to get their loved one a chance to recover.

Feeling better changes everything. Everything.

When you’ve felt like this so, so long, it’s hard to imagine what feeling good would be like. No worries. You’ll definitely know it when you see it. And your family may detect the changes in you before you even notice them yourself.

Reach for brighter days, healthier relationships, better performance in your career. Reach out for resilience.

To the restoration of your best self,

December 16, 2019
Even One Dose of IV Ketamine Can Dramatically Reduce Heavy Drinking

It’s the holiday season again and there are parties every weekend, with work, with friends, with family – they crop up everywhere.

Festive gift bags provided at liquor stores make it easy to present a gift of alcohol in the busy bustle of the season. For some, holiday drinking is light and rare. For others, whose habit of drinking so excessively that it’s harmful to their health and to others, it’s almost continuous. In fact, it can be addictive. But it turns out, there is hope for those who would like to drink less, or stop drinking altogether. There’s a way, beyond sheer will, to dramatically reduce heavy drinking, and avoid the shame that goes with relapse.

Take Jerry, for instance. His wife had suffered from breast cancer for 6 years, and every time they thought she had beat it, new tumors cropped up again. He watched her suffer in pain, with vomiting, severe weight loss, worsening weakness, until she just didn’t have anything to fight with anymore.

She had been in remission for a year, finally, and they were planning a trip to Europe, when suddenly she collapsed one day and tests showed an aggressive form of cancer had spread everywhere. In a matter of weeks, she was deteriorating fast. She died less than a month from the time of her collapse.

Just when they thought they had a future to enjoy together, she was gone. Jerry was devastated. He felt lost, without purpose, disillusioned. And so terribly alone.

The Subtle Slide…

At first, he would drink a couple beers to relax after work in his empty, echoing house. The memories of her reverberated from every corner. After the first swallow of the ice cold beer, a relaxed feeling would wash over him. It felt like relief. Relief from the pain, the sorrow…the stress.

It wasn’t long before 2 beers turned into 3 or 4…then a 6 pack. After that, he graduated to bourbon — or adding vodka to his soft drinks. By the time his wife had been gone a year, he was drunk all weekend every weekend…. and most nights after work.

Friends invited him on outings, to dinner, camping and fishing… but he usually turned them down. He just didn’t feel like socializing…

Five years went by, and Although he managed to keep his job, his performance had dropped off. He hated his annoying itchy skin, and had some pain in his belly off and on… but not too bad. He just ignored it.

One night after he had been to the cemetery to visit her, it started raining. Suddenly, an SUV made a sudden turn in front of him. As Jerry slammed on his brakes his car started spinning. When he realized he had finally stopped, he crawled out of his pickup. His head was bleeding onto his shirt… but the SUV was on its side. He could hear the cries of someone laying about 5 yards down the hill in the dark… then he saw flashing lights. Help was coming…

It all began as grief, but spiraled until he committed a crime, and could have been responsible for someone’s death. Thankfully, no one died. But still…

Jerry was in pain, grief-stricken, and depressed. His heavy drinking was his direct response to his terrible experience with his wife’s cancer and death. And the depression that had taken over left him with no reason he could find to take care of himself, or preserve his life.

The other driver had caused the accident. Still, his blood alcohol was above the legal limit. So, he had to face charges for driving under the influence.

Too Much Drinking Hurts You – and People Near You, Too

While awaiting trial, he went to the doctor to find out about the pain he’d been having. The doctor told him he’d have to cut way back on his drinking. In fact, he urged him to quit altogether, if he wanted to live past the next few years.

It was a wake-up call.

He really didn’t want to die. But could he stop drinking..? He’d tried before… and it always went by the wayside. He needed more help than just trying to use sheer will. He needed something that would help him dramatically reduce heavy drinking. And fast.

So, he started with the internet.

He learned about a variety of 12 step programs. And about residential programs to help you not only stop and get the alcohol out of your system, but to also train you to respond to temptation so you could stay sober.

And he read about promising studies with a medicine called ketamine — something he’d never heard of before.

Jerry got the help he needed with IV ketamine treatment, and got stronger and healthier. He also started seeing a therapist. And he’s finding joy in living again…

But now there are new findings that can help someone like Jerry even more. So you can dramatically reduce heavy drinking.

A recent study — just published a couple weeks ago — has demonstrated that even a single dose of IV ketamine can dramatically reduce harmful drinking. As in, drinking so much that it harms your health and can cause harm to others around you, too.

Ketamine Can Reduce Harmful Drinking By Rewriting Drinking Memories

This is so cool.

A group of researchers in London and Amsterdam conducted a study using ketamine applied to maladaptive reward memories, (MRMs) to see if ketamine can help rewrite those memories and thereby dramatically reduce heavy drinking. R. Das, G. Gale, and their team selected a group of 90 beer drinkers who had hazardous drinking patterns, but had not been diagnosed with alcohol use disorder. Also, no one in this group was seeking treatment for their alcohol consumption lifestyle.

The first day of the experiment, researchers showed all the participants photos of alcoholic drinks that included beer and stronger drinks. Then they asked the participants to rate how strong their desire to drink was. Immediately after this, they gave each participant a cold beer to drink.

On the second day, researchers divided the group into three sub-groups, but didn’t offer beer to anyone.

Here’s where it gets interesting.

With the first group, researchers showed them more photos of drinks to stimulate their memories about the pleasures of drinking. Then they gave them a dose of ketamine.

In the second group. the research team showed them the photos of the drinks, then gave them a placebo drug.

And finally, with the the third group, they showed them no pictures at all. They just gave them a dose of ketamine.

Fast forward 10 days.

The people in Group #1, whose memory was stimulated by pictures, followed by ketamine, reported their consumption of alcohol had dramatically dropped. Then 9 months later, a follow-up revealed their alcohol consumption had dropped to half what it had been before the experiment.

Group #3, who received ketamine without photos to trigger drinking memories, reported a smaller reduction in drinking, but still significantly less alcohol consumption. This was the case at both the 10 day mark and the 9 month follow-up.

Group #2, the placebo group, reported a small decrease in drinking.

So what happened here…?

Ketamine Blocks Memory Restabilization

Das and his colleagues explained that maladaptive reward memories (MRMs) play an important role in “acquired overconsumption disorders” such as hazardous drug and alcohol use. Basically, the reward Jerry feels in terms of relaxation and relief from his grief when he drinks forms a memory, and when he thinks of it, he wants to drink again, even though that may not be good for his health or social, economic, and productive life.

There’s a process that happens in a small time window each time Jerry thinks about having a drink to help him feel better. During that window, his recall of the memory of his relief when he drinks becomes rather fluid and changeable. If something can interfere with that association before he drinks, it can “rewrite” that memory so his desire to drink becomes a desire to do something different.

Das and his colleagues explained that they believe ketamine can block specific receptors in the brain (such as the NMDA receptor) that help to RE-stabilize a memory. That blocking causes the memory to weaken. In this case, it’s the memory of the pleasure of drinking. In Jerry’s case, it might be the relief he feels from his grief when he drinks.

If someone wants to stop drinking, this change to that appealing memory of pleasure gives them the chance to rethink what they believe about alcohol, and what they believe about their health.

It gives them time to make a decision without that alluring maladaptive memory.

Das encourages further study using ketamine to rewrite these MRMs. Because ketamine has demonstrated safety at high doses in anesthesia, they encourage studies using doses that can to saturate NMDA receptors to interfere with these MRMs.

Addiction Relief with IV Ketamine

At Innovative Psychiatry, we’re thrilled every time a patient reports relief from addiction to alcohol or other substances. We get to see patients who’ve suffered from severe depression walk into our office smiling, happy, and full of hope. These people never take their new found wellbeing for granted. Their relief, surprise, and joy are palpable.

IV ketamine treatment works in the brain in ways other medicines haven’t before, and it’s restoring and transforming lives like yours.

Don’t hesitate to call us if you’re plodding through a sorrowful, empty, hopeless existence because other medications and treatments you’ve tried haven’t helped. You still can find relief of depression symptoms and dramatically reduce heavy drinking.

So much we’ve learned. So much more work to do.

Ketamine works on newer and better systems in your brain. It doesn’t help everyone, but it helps so many that we just keep studying to learn how many more it can help. Even so, chances are pretty good that it will reverse your depression, your PTSD, you substance use disorder, and transform your life to one of hope, courage, initiative, and joy.

So think about it a bit. And then give yourself the chance to live a rewarding life.

To the recovery of your very best self,

To the restoration of your best self,

December 9, 2019
Each 4-Hours of Exercise Reduces Future Depression

Can you believe it’s already December?

We’re smack in the middle of the holidays! The last month of 2019 has begun. If this December is anything like the past, it will zoom by like a rocket. I hope your Thanksgiving was a joyful time for you. Going forward, it’s part of the tradition at this time of year to overindulge …then let diet and exercise obligations pelt us like hail at the start of the New Year. But I have another suggestion, and it’s related to exercise now. Beginning today, increasing your exercise can reduce your risk of depression going forward. In fact, exercise reduces future depression even in the holidays ahead. Wouldn’t that be nice?

As you know, depression can run in families, and when you’ve experienced recurring bouts of depression all your life, it can seem like an albatross. Something that’s part of your life that robs you of resilience and the energy to face the demands of a busy time of year like this.

If you have other family members who also struggle, you can start to think this is just how life is. And that there is just nothing you can do about it.

Trudging as if in mud, a dark cloud hanging over you…feeling listless and overwhelmed, and just wanting to go to bed.

But it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way.

Inherited Depression Isn’t a Life Sentence

There really are things you can do. Things like eating foods that support a brighter outlook by strengthening the microbiome, and by strengthening circuitry through omega-3 fatty acids.

Another way is to spend at least 30 minutes a day in the sunshine, and in good weather, more than that. Good for your spirit, good for your body as it makes Vitamin D. It’s essential for nearly every chemical reaction that occurs in your body, and especially those that impact your emotions and frame of mind.

And here’s another big one: the E word.

The E word?

That word we dread hearing from our doctorS, and when they ask about it, we look at the floor and mumble.

EXERCISE!!

Now don’t tune me out. Stay with me…

Many of us are on a guilt trip about working out, about not exercising enough on a regular basis. There are those inspiring icons who are at the gym every day, running, lifting weights, building muscle, stretching… the SLEEK ones. You can pick them out anywhere. The mall, the grocery store, your favorite restaurant.

But, my friend, believe it or not, those people are not the mainstream. And you are NOT shameful that your exercise schedule doesn’t match theirs.

The truth is, exercise is for YOU. It’s for your enjoyment (no I’m not kidding), for your own release of tension, it’s for your health to keep your arteries clean and clear and your heart strong…and to ward off diabetes and other diseases.

But that’s not all.

Exercise Reduces Future Depression

Did you know that?

You’ve probably heard it will help you combat depression now…but who feels like getting out and moving anyway? When you feel crummy, exercising is the last thing you feel like doing.

Except that getting outside, breathing in fresh air, and moving your body, your joints, your muscles… can be a lifeline of hope if you let it.

In fact, a biobank cohort study published in Depression & Anxiety, showed that when you’re active it can help prevent depression in the future regardless of your genetic predisposition.

Using a data base of 8000 people of European ancestry, Karmel Choi, Ph.D. and her colleagues determined that an increase in physical activity was associated with decreased likelihood of depression episodes in the future. And this wasn’t just in cases of people with a background of heavy daily workouts or participations in sports.

Whether the activity was intense, like aerobic exercise or the use of exercise machines, or lower-intensity movement like yoga and stretching, each time they added a 4-hour block of activity in per week it was linked to a 17% reduction in the likelihood of a new episode of depression going forward. According to these findings, exercise reduces future depression. It’s worth pushing through.

Exercise – At Least As Important in Fighting Depression As What You Eat

Recognizing this can help your psychiatrist prescribe more movement and activity to reduce depression for you going forward.

When you’re depressed, it goes without saying that you just don’t feel like getting out, being active, pushing through the fog and inertia to initiate exercise, but doing so anyway can open the door to better days ahead.

And even if your doctor tells you to be active 4 hours each week, it doesn’t mean that you will. It can really seem futile, when your outlook is dark. But it’s worth the commitment and the effort.

And if you find you can hardly get out of bed…if at all… and you really do need some sort of a leg up just to start the exercise, you may be a candidate for IV ketamine treatment.

IV Ketamine Treatment Gives You a Head Start

At Innovative Psychiatry, our patients often find they’re so much more able to participate in their own recovery after IV ketamine treatment. By restoring synaptic connections and signaling pathways in key brain regions, returning the lateral habenula to optimal function, your energy can improve dramatically — for getting exercise, building relationships, enjoying your family, doing things with friends, pursuing hobbies, and performing at work.

The G proteins can slide off their lipid rafts to enhance neurotransmitters to do their jobs, and you can enjoy motivation and initiative you’ve lacked for so long…to do things like exercise for the sake of your future health.

It’s true that IV ketamine treatment isn’t for everyone… Some people just don’t benefit like we want them to. But those are the exception rather than the rule. Sometimes when a patient doesn’t respond at first, several weeks later they’ll experience restoration as a sort of delayed response. It can seem to bubble up on its own.

In fact, there has never before been a medicine for depression that has been so quickly and so widely effective. Never.

You Can Enjoy Energy, Initiative, and Hope

If you’ve tried antidepressants without improvement, you owe it to yourself to let IV ketamine treatment show you what it can do. We have financing options to help you access this extraordinary treatment, and we can schedule you within a few days in most cases.

Whether you suffer from depression, bipolar depression, PTSD, opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and/or suicidal thinking, IV ketamine treatment can transform your life. You really don’t have to just endure. You really can have the life you’ve wished for as long as you can remember.

If you want to be proactive toward your recovery with better diet and more exercise… and to invest yourself in the lives of people you love… but you just can’t find the initiative or energy to do it, call us.

IV ketamine treatment offers the most robust, remarkable antidepressant benefits to more people with treatment resistant mood disorders than any treatment we’ve seen in psychiatry to date.

This is YOUR time. 2020 can be your best year yet.

To the restoration of your best self,

December 2, 2019
What Does Loneliness Do To Your Health and Your Relationships?

Thursday is Thanksgiving, and most of us realize what a toll the holidays take on some people. But we may not understand why.

Many of us have at least one loved one who is not comfortable in a family gathering at this time of year. They may be in pain, or mourning a loss, or just otherwise uncomfortable in a crowded room. Maybe you wonder what does loneliness do to someone who is isolated. Sometimes it could be age related: If they’re over the age of 65, they may feel like it’s hard to connect with the younger generation, and if they’re young they may feel like fish out of water.

Or they may suffer from a psychiatric disorder that makes them miserable whether they’re alone or with family and friends. Bottom line, the holidays are a joyous time for many, but we need to stop and consider those who struggle at this time of year.

Loneliness has been getting more attention lately, because it’s becoming more and more widespread. It’s not just the elderly anymore, although the elderly who live alone or in certain settings still often ache so severely from loneliness that depression takes over and makes it worse.

You know that feeling when you’re lonely in a room full of people? Loneliness doesn’t just attack when you’re by yourself. If you’re mourning the loss of a companion because of death or divorce or breakup, the loneliness is so deep. Being surrounded with people, even people you know well and love, just may not soothe that deep corrosive ache you feel.

But it’s not always about loss.

Tom is 69, has been single for decades, and has Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Tom has always been lonely. Because of his disorder, he doesn’t grasp that he does anything inappropriate, or that he offends others…especially his ex-wife or a girlfriend. His first marriage lasted over 20 years, but the older he got the more inflexible he got.

And because of his disorder, he assumes that every conflict is because his mate doesn’t appreciate how good he is to her. He just can’t see that he causes the misery he does. All he knows is that he’s desperately lonely. So he is constantly on dating sights hoping to find the person who will fill that yawning void he feels.

Aging Sometimes Makes Isolation Worse

Now at 69, he’s in a wheelchair and still looking for romance, but he’s run out of candidates…

One day, he told his sister with incredulously… “I figured out why my wives have all left me… they just didn’t appreciate how good I was to them.”

Tom just couldn’t see what was needed from him for a relationship to be fulfilling to both people.

He couldn’t imagine he had room for improvement. But that can go with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. And as much as he abused the people he loved, and drove them all away from himself, he couldn’t imagine there was anything he could do about their “lack of gratitude.” And so he was desperately, heartbreakingly lonely. And talked about it often.

But maybe that’s not so surprising really, for someone with that particular disorder.

Still, there are other scenarios.

Some Think They’re Flawless, Others Believe Their Flaws Are Irreparable

Either Way What Does Loneliness Do To Your Health, Your Relationships, and Your Self – Image?

However, there are multitudes who struggle on the other end of the spectrum. Those who are unable to accurately assess their own worth to those who love them. They may be overwhelmed with shame and worthlessness. So many people who suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD, panic disorder….

So many feel inadequate, and struggle with feelings of such abject worthlessness, they struggle to receive love and support. When they join their family for a holiday gathering, they feel like they stand out like a sore thumb as the “loser,” the one who has amounted to nothing, the black sheep…They rehearse these self-defeating opinions about themselves in their own minds until it’s all they can imagine.

And they know without question this is the view held by everyone who knows them. (whether it’s true or not) These people are their own worst enemies. So they arrive at a gathering of people they love on the defensive, unable to absorb the love around them because they’ve convinced themselves they don’t deserve it. And they’re even lonelier with their family than they are at home.

It happens that sometimes lonely people are forgotten people. Sometimes they’re displaced people. Sometimes they’re people who have driven others away.

But they’re all hurting.

An editorial by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times recently focused on the rampant, widespread impact of loneliness as a health crisis. He compared loneliness and social isolation with the health risks of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, or of obesity. He made the point that since obesity is associated with 300,00 to 600,000 deaths a year, loneliness must be a serious killer.

What we do know is that loneliness increases inflammation, heart disease, depression, and suicidal thoughts… among a multitude of miseries. Inflammation alone can lead to cancer, a plethora of chronic and debilitating illnesses, and death. We’re social creatures, and fundamentally, we each need to be loved by someone, and to love in return.

We need to contribute, and we need someone to give back.

In a survey taken in the US and Britain, more than half of respondents said they are often, if not always, lonely. With the rising numbers of single adults who never marry, and those who find themselves single again and stay that way, social isolation has become a growing cloud… The connectedness of multiple generations in a household is a thing of the past.

In Great Britain, an effort to counteract this disconnectedness, this isolation, led to the formation of the Ministry of Loneliness, complete with the Baroness of Loneliness to lead it. Baroness Barron’s direction instigated initiatives to bring people together. Things like benches for conversations. Clubs to draw people together who have similar interests. Public invitations to connect, share hobbies and activities.

The Baroness stresses that everyone experiences loneliness at some point in their lives…some more than others. But because of the shifts in our western society away from extended family units, more and more people live alone. They don’t have the built-in structures that keep them connected. And their health suffers.

So she encourages building ways to connect around people’s strengths… like their talents and hobbies. And to avoid focusing on their weaknesses, such as their isolation and lack of friends.

So what is it, actually, that happens in your brain when you’re lonely, and you feel isolated?

Social Neuroscience

A study led by Livia Tomova and her team published in the Journal of Social Neuroscience considered the work of John Cacioppo. Cacioppo was a social neuroscientist who defined this field… what happens in the brain in relation to our connections with others. What if those connections are missing?

He was the first to study the effects of loneliness in the brain. He said that the brain is the organ that creates, monitors, nurtures, and maintains social connections, and that everyone needs them. However, if you have some and don’t feel you have enough, then you’re likely to feel lonely, anyway. Because it’s how you feel about your connections with others that determines whether you feel fulfilled, or lonely.

He compares loneliness to hunger and thirst because it signals you to do something to to help yourself feel better.

We Crave Connection

And it isn’t just knowing people. It’s having someone or a few someones whom you trust, and you can give to, and who gives back to you in a way you can receive. A single trusted friend or a few is far better than a crowd of acquaintances who don’t meet that need.

So in the study, Tomova and her team focused on the dopamine reward system, trying to integrate their experiences with animal and human responses. Their results showed that in lab animals, social isolation typically increased social motivation, which was managed by the brain’s mesolimbic dopamine system.

However, in humans, social isolation or “alone-ness,” can lead to either increases or decreases in social motivation. Put another way, humans may withdraw… or reach out feverishly… in response to a painful rejection. This takes place in a part of the brain called the insular cortex.

But chronic loneliness leads to decreased social motivation., due to changes in the dopaminergic responses in the striatum.

What Does Loneliness Do in YOUR Life?

All of this is to say that loneliness, or that feeling that comes from having unmet social needs, can come from a variety of life circumstances, but it occurs in the brain. And in the brain, we respond.

You’re built to love and be loved. To trust and to be trusted. To be interested in someone else’s life…and for someone to be interested in yours.

There is no medicine that will heal loneliness. But there is help for those things in your life that may contribute to it.

By the same token, as you join with family and friends this Thanksgiving, you can keep your ear to the ground for others in your company who may not be socially motivated…and help them to break through obstacles that prevent connections.

On the other hand, if you feel isolated and alone, and want to withdraw, consider a baby step or two and reach out to someone…anyone…in your world who seems to be withdrawn, too.

Your helping hand just may help both of you.

Happy Thanksgiving

To the restoration of your best self,

November 25, 2019
How What You’re Eating Affects Your Depression

We’ve talked before about how your diet affects your microbiome, and how your microbiome affects your mood.

We’ve also talked about how eating foods rich in fatty acids helps your brain function. Since we know that your eating affects your depression—we know that… and you know that—let’s talk today about how other foods impact your mood, to either fight depression or invite it.

While we all know that sugar isn’t that healthy for you, do you know why? Do you know what it does to your frame of mind and emotions?

Inflammation

We’ve talked about inflammation before, and how it contributes to depression, and even suicidal thinking. Sounds like a dull subject? Well, look at it this way. Self indulgences like desserts, soft drinks…even the unsweetened ones…and blueberry muffins with your coffee, are making you more depressed.

Is that close enough to home?

Did you know that sugar contributes to inflammation? And if you think you’re avoiding inflammation by reaching for a diet drink, think again. Artificial sweeteners also contribute to inflammation.

Sugar and Sugar Substitutes Increase Risk of Depression

A meta-analysis by Xiaoming Bian, et al., published in Frontiers in Physiology in July 2017, showed that long term use of sucralose, which is the most widely used artificial sweetener, alters the bacteria in the microbiome. For the microbiome to function in support of your mental health, the “good” bacteria needs to be strong enough to hold the “bad bacteria” in balance.

Your eating affects your depression. And when you use Splenda, you’re actually fueling the mechanism that makes you depressed, or makes your depression worse.

And there’s more.

Sugar and sugar substitutes also increase your likelihood of developing schizophrenia. In 2004, the well-known British psychiatric researcher Malcolm Peet discovered two mechanisms where refined sugar can potentially have a toxic impact on mental health.

Sugar Interferes with Production of BDNF

To begin with, sugar stifles the activity of an extremely important growth factor in the brain, the brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor (BDNF). Now we know from our discussions of ketamine treatment that BDNF stimulates the growth of synaptic connections in the brain, which improves communication signals. And the more connections there are, the sharper your mind, the richer your associations, the brighter your mood.

However, if you’re eating a lot of sugar, the production of BDNF is reduced, which in turn reduces the growth of synapse connections, dendrites, and dendritic spines, which causes the information highway in your brain to grow darker and darker…then the signaling slows down…and your mood tanks.

We know that in depression and in schizophrenia, the BDNF level is very low. When the BDNF level remains low for an extended period of time, important brain regions begin to shrink. So it’s not too hard to connect the dots and see how you can eat a lot of sugar as a habit, and find yourself more and more depressed.

There’s a vicious cycle there. It may be tempting when you’re feeling low to eat chocolate, or cookies, or cake to cheer yourself up. But after the initial jolt of increased blood sugar, you find yourself feeling worse and worse emotionally. At which point you may be inclined to repeat the sweet treats.

Then add to that the effect of crackers and bread. These are simple starches, which saliva breaks down to sugar. And you experience the same deteriorating mood you did with all that sugar, because it’s just more of the same.

Your Eating Affects Your Depression: Sugar Consumption Stimulates a Chemical Domino Effect

In addition, when you eat lots of sugar..and in the western world the majority of us do…a domino effect of chemical reactions is instigated that leads to chronic inflammation. And that brings us full circle to the destructive force of chronic inflammation in our bodies and our minds.

If you have a history of depression or anxiety, it can be remarkably helpful to keep your microbiome balanced and strong, and to keep inflammation under control. Because you know that once symptoms emerge and increase, it can be so difficult to find the energy and initiative to take the necessary steps to get these components under control again.

And this includes processed meats. Because they’re also packed with sugar and chemicals that trigger inflammation. The safest food for strengthening your microbiome and holding inflammation at bay is to eat whole food as it’s grown naturally.

Ideally? No More Sugar Than 25 Grams/Day.

Sounds crazy? It’s so doable.

But Rome wasn’t built in a day. Baby steps. Every week, you could reduce your daily sugar intake by 1 teaspoon. Little by little. But try to be consistent. You may be flabbergasted six months from now by the difference you’ve made in the way you feel.

A study in London led by Anika Knuppel focused on 5000 men over five years who consumed over 67 gm/day of sugar. They found that these men were 1/5th more likely to develop anxiety and depression than their counterparts who consumed less than 39.5 gm/day.

So even though we all know that consuming too much sugar increases our risk for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer, it also increases our risk for psychiatric disorders, too.

More than you know, your eating affects your depression and overall wellbeing.

Nutrient Deficiencies Can Lead to Depression, Too

Things like omega 3 fatty acids, B vitamins, magnesium, and Vitamin D are all needed to maintain well being. Certainly, there are multiple factors that contribute to symptoms of disorders, including genetics, environmental factors, stress, and more. So there is not much you can do to completely prevent depression and other disorders.

But there are foods you can eat to improve your chances of staying healthier, reducing symptoms, or possibly avoiding them altogether.

The Bees

Well, ok, not the bees, or the bees knees. But rather the vitamin Bs, like B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, and B12. When your diet is low in folate (which is a B vitamin), it can increase your risk of depression and other disorders by a whopping 304%!

In 2017, a study was conducted in suicidal teens, and it happened that most of them were deficient in cerebral folate. And listen to this: all of them improved when they were treated with folinic acid.

You brain needs B vitamins. So make them part of your daily regimen to improve your mood and outlook. Because your eating affects your depression and other disorders. It just does.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Another thing you brain needs is omega-3s. Get it from eating wild caught Alaskan salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, and anchovies. If you can, request an omega-3 index test to find out where you stand. In general terms, you’d like that to show 8% or higher.

Magnesium

To keep your thinking clear, your memory sharp, and your outlook bright, include a magnesium supplement that crosses the blood brain barrier. Magnesium is good for your whole body. So eating walnuts, avocados, legumes, dark chocolate, tofu, and seeds can help keep your whole body in better working order. But symptoms of depression need magnesium L-threonate. Some neuroscientists at MIT and Stanford developed that one, and it’s far more effective for your brain than nuts and chocolate.

Vitamin D

This one is needed for most chemical reactions throughout your body. In fact, vitamin D3 is especially in demand. And while you can take supplements for it, your best source for vitamin D is regular, sensible exposure to sunshine. Thirty minutes a day during mid-morning can be an effective way to build your vitamin D stores.

A double-blind randomized trial published in Y 2008 stated in conclusion that supplementing with high doses of vitamin D seems to “ameliorate symptoms indicating a causal relationship.”

It’s wise to request a vitamin D test twice a year to make sure you’re vitamin D level is 60-80 ng/ml. Tell your doctor that you know your eating affects your depression and you want to stay on top of the details.

For decades, our western society has dismissed the vital role nutrients play in our physical and mental wellbeing. At the same time, processed foods have played a larger and larger role in our overall diet primary for the sake of convenience.

But it hasn’t been without a high price. Depression has sky-rocketed in prevalence. Obesity and diabetes have almost become the norm. Only you can recover your dietary fuel by eating whole foods and paying close attention to including foods we’ve listed here, and avoiding processed foods, sugar, sugar substitutes, and fatty meats.

A Thought…

Think about this: What if treatment resistance is related to diet? Just think how much better you might feel by fueling your brain with what it needs!

At Innovative Psychiatry, we encourage our patients to give their brain the best possible opportunities to improve. With nutrients, rest, exercise, relationships, and doing things they enjoy.

And if medicines aren’t helping, if nutrients and exercise don’t help enough, we consider whether a patient is a candidate for IV ketamine treatment. Ketamine treatment isn’t for everyone, but it is effective for the majority of patients who need it. And it’s so remarkable, it can reverse their suicidal thoughts in a few hours, restore their energy for relationships, for investing in their jobs, and enjoying their hobbies. It can replace despair with hope in a big way.

If you feel like you’ve done all you know to do, including a couple or more antidepressant prescriptions for at least 3-4 months each, then call us. You just might be a candidate for ketamine infusions. And if you are, chances are that this treatment can turn your life around and set you on a path of joy.

IV ketamine treatment isn’t magic, but it can restore you to the best you remember ever being.

That’s why we’re here. Because seeing people like you get better is the whole point.

To the restoration of your best self,

November 18, 2019
Side effects mild, brief with single antidepressant dose of intravenous ketamine

Safety data analyzed from five NIH inpatient clinical trials.

National Institutes of Health researchers found that a single, low-dose ketamine infusion was relatively free of side effects for patients with treatment-resistant depression. Elia Acevedo-Diaz, M.D., Carlos Zarate, M.D., and colleagues at the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) report their findings in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Studies have shown that a single, subanesthetic-dose (a lower dose than would cause anesthesia) ketamine infusion can often rapidly relieve depressive symptoms within hours in people who have not responded to conventional antidepressants, which typically take weeks or months to work. However, widespread off-label use of intravenous subanesthetic-dose ketamine for treatment-resistant depression has raised concerns about side effects, especially given its history as a drug of abuse.

“The most common short-term side effect was feeling strange or loopy,” said Acevedo-Diaz, of the Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders, part of the NIMH Intramural Research Program (IRP) in Bethesda, Maryland. “Most side effects peaked within an hour of ketamine administration and were gone within two hours. We did not see any serious, drug-related adverse events or increased ketamine cravings with a single-administration.”

The researchers compiled data on side effects from 163 patients with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder and 25 healthy controls who participated in one of five placebo-controlled clinical trials conducted at the NIH Clinical Center over 13 years. While past studies have been based mostly on passive monitoring, the NIMH IRP assessment involved active and structured surveillance of emerging side effects in an inpatient setting and used both a standard rating scale and clinician interviews. In addition to dissociative (disconnected, unreal) symptoms, the NIMH IRP assessment examined other potential side effects — including headaches, dizziness, and sleepiness. The study did not address the side effects associated with repeated infusions or long-term use.

Out of 120 possible side effects evaluated, 34 were found to be significantly associated with the treatment. Eight occurred in at least half of the participants: feeling strange, weird, or bizarre; feeling spacey; feeling woozy/loopy; dissociation; floating; visual distortions; difficulty speaking; and numbness. None persisted for more than four hours. No drug-related serious adverse events, cravings, propensity for recreational use, or significant cognitive or memory deficits were seen during a three-month follow-up.

To overcome the limitations associated with side effects and intravenous delivery, ongoing research efforts seek to develop a more practical rapid-acting antidepressant that works in the brain similarly to ketamine. These NIMH researchers, in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging, and the National Center for Advancing Translational Science, are planning a clinical trial of a ketamine metabolite that showed promise as a potentially more specific-acting treatment in pre-clinical studies. Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year approved an intranasal form of ketamine called esketamine, which can be administered to adults with treatment-resistant depression in a certified doctor’s office or clinic.

About the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): The mission of the NIMH is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery and cure. For more information, visit the NIMH website.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health^®

Reference

Comprehensive assessment of side effects associated with a single dose of ketamine in treatment-resistant depression. Acevedo-Diaz EE, Cavanaugh GW, Greenstein D, Kraus C, Kadriu B, Zarate CA Jr, Park LT. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.028, Nov. 10, 2019, Journal of Affective Disorders.

November 16, 2019
KRIYA Conference 2019: The Flexibility of Ketamine

We’ve come so far in ketamine treatment for depression, and we still have so far to go.

KRIYA held the first conference on ketamine treatment for depression in 2015. Now, 5 years later, there are several medical conferences that support the exchange of information in this field. Raquel Bennett, the founder of KRIYA – The Ketamine Research Institute – says that ketamine is a flexible tool and should be used with freedom and skill. She urges clinicians to make the most of the flexibility of ketamine.

This is the last conference by KRIYA that will be held in this format, according to Dr. Bennett. She plans to possibly shift to an online format next year to accommodate the huge numbers of clinicians who wish to be included.

What’s more, KRIYA has supported, from the beginning, the use of ketamine by different routes and for varied conditions, and encourages participation from providers across the gamut of ketamine applications. So we’re a wonderfully diverse crew who come together for these conferences. As for me, I know that I’ve learned so many things and forged new friendships and collaborations from KRIYA conferences.

And…my own contributions have been so warmly received. As far as the educational gathering, there are psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, ER physicians, pharmacists, anesthesiologists, neuroscientists, nurses, and experts in consciousness medicine.

Raquel Bennet, Psy.D. Stepped Up as a Leader in the Field of Ketamine for Depression

Dr. Bennett reminds us she has created a “tasting menu,” if you will… from

all corners of the field. At this conference, she opted for breadth vs depth to make us privy to all that’s happening in the field of working with ketamine. And she emphasizes that speakers are working from different paradigms. So, she urges us to listen for the paradigm they report from….and learn.

And she’s right when she says that ketamine is a flexible tool that contributes to a variety of needs. When a patient is too depressed to talk, ketamine lightens depression so they can participate in talk therapy. To help manage severe pain and the depression that goes with it. It can help the patient go deeper into therapy, and explore their traumatic experiences gently. It can treat acute suicidal thoughts and prevent hospitalization. And she says, it can induce mystical visions for existential exploration.

Raquel had much, much more to say, but I want to mention some of the other speakers.

Brent Turnipseed, MD and Lindsey Slater, LPC, from Austin, TX talked about their use of EMDR in ketamine-assisted therapy.

In PTSD, the body’s own reaction to a patient’s traumatic memories activates adrenaline , which prevents their ability to process their trauma. Ketamine can calm the body enough that they can process the trauma without the distraction of adrenaline. As a result, it can help relieve their fears.

EMDR works by helping the patient desensitize by brief exposures to the trauma, then by redirecting the patient’s attention, EMDR induces a relaxed neurological state similar to rapid eye movement (REM).

Elias Dakwar, M.D., psychiatrist and the addiction researcher we’ve often talked about before, gave a wonderful presentation.

He presented a thought -provoking talk on meditation and mindfulness as it relates to ketamine in treating addiction.

The field of ketamine for psychiatric disorders, including addiction treatment, continues to wrangle with how to take ketamine into psychiatry but that’s because our paradigms are problematic. Mainstream psychiatry has tried to cut ketamine down to size instead of using this extraordinary medicine as a DISRUPTOR.

Dr. Dakwar entered addiction research after a long time practice of meditation and with great compassion for the patients he sees.

He described his previous and current work in detail–look for it in the journals.

Ian Mitchell, M.D., Emergency Medicine in British Columbia,

spoke about the uses for ketamine in the emergency department. He spoke about its use for sedation during an emergency procedure, such as setting bones, repairing wounds, or the removal of foreign bodies, pediatric sedation for the same types of procedures, sub-dissociative dosing for pain management, especially for neuropathic pain, to prepare a patient for intubation, sedation for the out of control, prehospital pain relief, and to manage an overstimulated patient.

In British Columbia, ambulances are equipped with intranasal ketamine for prehospital pain management as a result of the PAIN-K trial. More of ketamine’s flexibility.

Wesley Ryan, M.D., psychiatrist from Marina del Ray, CA, Parria Zarrinnegar, M.D., psychiatrist in Portland, OR, and Daniel Barton, M.D., psychiatrist from Nashville, TN all presented riveting case reports.

Kelan Thomas, Pharm.D,

spoke about adverse reactions and drug-to-drug interactions that have been documented with ketamine. So important and so well-done.

Annie Oak, a journalist from the Bay area, spoke on the use of ketamine outside the medical setting.

Gita Vaid, M.D., psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, spoke on using ketamine in psychoanalytic psychotherapy in very long session. She talked about how she has witnessed ketamine help patients relax and defenses soften so they can have freedom to talk. The psychotherapist builds relationship with the patient and it can be transformational.

Jason Wallach, Ph.D., is a pharmacologist and neuroscience researcher whose energy and depth of knowledge captivates us every time he speaks. He spoke about the neuroscience and pharmacology of ketamine. Gave an update on some of the other dissociative drugs he’s tested. (I think he’s tested them all!) He made the point that ketamine has been called a dirty drug because of the receptors it hits ex-vivo and in animal models — but that’s not true. It’s really one of the more selective drugs of this class at the doses used in people.

Jessica Katzman, Ph.D., and Harvey Schwartz, Ph.D., spoke about bumps in the road they’ve discovered with ketamine assisted psychotherapy and in the integration work that follows treatment… What is integration? It comes from a latin word that means “to make whole” or “to begin again.” Bring your clinical compass, but don’t forget your humanity. A beautiful duo talk with lots of clinical examples.

Eli Kolp, M.D., a pioneer in ketamine treatment, gave a beautiful talk on the phenomenology of ketamine-induced dissociative states.

There were so many other speakers and so much to absorb–my computer battery kept dying down, so between Surface notes, handwritten notes, and photos, I can’t do justice to the breadth of expertise in the room, and the excitement.

Greg Wells, Ph.D. Sylver Quevedo, M.D., Veronika Gold, M.F.T., Eric Sienknecht, Psy.D. presented as a panel on their model of coordination of care between prescriber and psychotherapist. Peter Koshland, Pharm.D. talked about how to work with a compounding pharmacy for varied compounded preparations of racemic ketamine. Nate Schmidt, A.R.N.P spoke about scheduling and billing logistics.

Sunday was a treasure with a very special presentation by Francoise Bourzat on the Use of Sacred Medicines in the Age of Technology and Medicalization. It was a delight to meet her. She captivated the audience, and her new book, Consciousness Medicine, is a wonderful synthesis of her life’s work.

Kelley O’Donnell, M.D. and Christian Yavorsky, Ph.D. are doing yeoman’s work with KRIYA and presented an excellent (and not dry!) talk on Measuring Clinical Outcomes: Scales and Assessment Tools. And in addition to the training for Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy that Raquel Bennett presented and discussed earlier in the conference, Jennifer Dore, MD presented a model of training for Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy developed by Phil Wolfson, MD and Julane Andrews, that they have used around the country.

IV Ketamine can STOP suicidal thoughts fast…Now that’s flexibility of ketamine!

On the last day, and as the next to the last speaker, I took the podium to share my data in working with patients in my own practice, and showing how IV ketamine infusions can stop suicidal thinking, and save patients from having to go to the ER or be hospitalized.

With heartfelt gratitude. These are my people–the clinicians and many of the greats in the field (who were in the audience) who launched my interest, encouraged my work, supported my writing–and showed me how to apply for an IRB. It’s amazing how much can happen in a year. So I saved the newest data and my newest results (using a new protocol and a new rating scale) for my colleagues and my friends here at KRIYA. I wanted them to hear it first.

I wanted to give back to those who have sparked my imagination, nurtured my interests, given wind to my sails.

It gives me such joy to share how this remarkable medicine that can do so much, can also save a life in a short time. And to see clinicians in practice eager to take this information home.

And that’s the beauty of meeting together at KRIYA and swapping stories and describing outcomes and victories that have restored the lives of people we work with.

Looking Back…and Reaching Forward – Preserving the Flexibility of Ketamine

It’s been such a busy fall with travel and speaking engagements each month… along with treating patients. (I’m sure my colleagues are as tired as I am. We need a vacation. Seriously.) But it’s gratifying to look back and know all this information that’s been shared will improve the lives of people we each cross paths with after KRIYA and all the other conferences.

I know these reports “from the front” can seem science-y and vague, but I want you to see how hard clinicians, neuroscientists, and practitioners of all types are constantly working to learn the breadth and depth of what ketamine can do to help people live better, improved lives. That’s really what it’s about. Ketamine’s flexibility allows for treatment that can turn your life around.

And if you’ve been reading along, and wondering if there is help for you, call us. In spite of all the travel and bustle, we’re still in all this to help you get better, live better, and have the ability to build a truly fulfilling life.

You owe it to yourself to try, if you’ve not found a medicine that works for you. It’s not that ketamine is a cure-all for everyone, but it works in so many areas of your brain, that it can restore areas damaged by stress and trauma in most people who are treated with it.

As the holidays approach, give yourself the best chance you can to enjoy the time ahead and the new year that follows.

To the restoration of your best self,

November 12, 2019
Gratitude, Suicide Research Scientists, and the AFSP

Welcome to November… this is the month each year we dedicate to thankfulness and gratitude.

I’m going to share with you some experiences I’ve had this week with gratitude, suicide research scientists, and the AFSP. No matter where you are in life, no matter your circumstances…if you think about it..look around you…there is most likely something you can be grateful for.

It may be something fundamental…like clean air or clean water…if your circumstances seem too dire to redeem. But start where you can. And acknowledge gratitude. Because when you do, something happens inside you. Something happens in your brain. It’s almost as though a barely perceptible fragrance emerges. Something that soothes your circuitry… and a partial drop of wellbeing falls into the pool of your spirit.

We’ll be talking more about this as the weeks go by. But think about it. Try to think of something…anything… each day that you can be grateful for.

I attended an inspiring conference last week. It was a gathering of over 400 scientific researchers from all over the world who gathered to exchange their findings and present their work on suicide research.

These are the highest level super scientists, who perform the purist research with the tightest controls and the most elegant statistics to reliably measure their results. And it’s their work that feeds the world’s understanding of suicidality. What is it? And what causes it? When does the risk spike? In whom? And what can we do to prevent it? Without these bright and dedicated men and women, we’d still be in the dark ages with our response as a society to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Yes, I’m grateful.

And we’d also be in the dark ages about how to respond or help.

In terms of suicide research, these are the finest minds who’ve worked together and separately, tenaciously analyzing their data …and collaborating for decades.

Gratitude, suicide research scientists, and the AFSP have filled up my week and it has me spinning in it all.

An Invitation to Speak

Much to my surprise, I was invited to speak to this stunning gathering. It humbled me, and I felt so privileged that I could contribute to this body body of hard-won knowledge.

I presented my findings from my own retrospective chart review taken from the population of my own practice. Mine wasn’t a prospective randomized placebo-controlled trial. It was a gathering of data about IV ketamine’s impact on suicidal thoughts. Its ability to stop them. To prevent injury or death… or hospitalization — or trips to the ER.

It’s not my intent to make a name for myself as a research scientist… that ship sailed a couple decades ago. I just want to share my experiences treating my own patients in truth…honestly...inviting peer review.

This group received me well, as well as my presentation. I met some wonderful people. And it all got me thinking about what my place is in this universe of psychiatric treatment. Research. And ketamine administration for psychiatric disorders.

Where I Fit

I’m not a researcher. I don’t carefully tease apart large data sets, or curate a cohort to remove mitigating factors or symptoms that could taint the results.

Quite the opposite, actually. I’m a practitioner, caring for my patients, and always seeking ways to help each one get better so they might have access to a fulfilling life. My heart is in helping patients enjoy improved lives…and in healing.

From the earliest part of my training all those years ago, my heart was to find answers, methods, diets, nutrients, medicines… anything that could play a role in restoring these broken-hearted people, one patient at a time.

And that’s what motivates me still. To see sick people get well. To see suffering people get better. For those who can’t function to function again. With all their complicated, intricately confusing pieces to their personal puzzles… to see those pieces relax…integrate…and thrive together in a restored and hopeful person.

So this is all the more reason why I was so honored to be received by this exclusive group of scientists. I felt so privileged that my own work contributed to the body of knowledge on suicide prevention.

My Gratitude, Suicide Research Scientists, and the AFSP

I want to talk about the organization that fuels so much of this research with their funding. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) was founded in 1987 by beloved actress Mariette Hartley because of her own personal and family struggle with suicide and suicidal thinking.

Her intent was to bring hope and intervention to those who suffer in silence and die alone.

Now, nearly 33 years later, AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states, and offices in NYC and Washington, DC.

They’re busy at work to create a culture that’s informed and prepared to “be smart” about mental health, and the potential for suicide. They teach society in general, and the family and friends of those at risk in particular, constructive methods for finding those with suicidal thinking, and helping them get treatment. To keep them safe.

Gratitude, Suicide Research Scientists, and the AFSP

AFSP maintains a presence in Washington, DC to influence policies geared to save lives, and educate people in all walks of life about suicide intervention and prevention.

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day is an annual event when people who’ve been impacted by suicide and loss can come together at events around the world to find support, healing, understanding…and to give back.

Thanks to AFSP, when your loved one dies by suicide, you don’t have to bear the pain in withdrawn silence. And if you’re having suicidal thoughts, AFSP provides extensive resources to help you get better and live a healthier and happier life.

As I attended this conference, I realized how far reaching the funding AFSP provides is. How much research they fund. The resources they offer to survivors to help bring healing and restoration. Like the online memory quilt, where survivors can create a “quilting square” to remember and celebrate their loved one’s life, through photos, videos, prose, and poetry.

AFSB also created and supports the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1(800)-800-273-TALK (8255) and the Crisis Text Line reached by texting TALK to 741741.

Carry It Forward this Holiday Season

As the holidays lie ahead over the next two months, be aware that this time of year is not only a difficult time for so many, but also a dangerous one. Let’s be tuned in to identify those around us who may be in need of a listening ear, support, or intervention. Research has shown that you won’t put someone at higher risk if you ask them directly whether they’ve considered hurting themselves or of wanting to die.

Being direct, it turns out, actually saves lives. People who are suffering need hope. And they need to feel included. And that they matter.

Because you DO matter. Your pain matters. You’re not invisible.

If you have thoughts of suicide, or the thought that you don’t want to live LIKE THIS anymore, reach out.

And if you’d like to see if IV ketamine infusions can help, call us.

IV ketamine treatment can erase those thoughts in an afternoon, and leave hopeful thoughts in their place. It can help you want to build your life. It can increase your energy so that you can.

You can feel amazed. Astounded at the change and new hope.

Does it do this for everyone? Well, no. Nothing does. But it does this for most people who have not been helped by medicines before. The more severe your symptoms, the more effectively it seems to work. It does it for far more than any other medicine has.

And there’s financing if you need it.

Let us help you find your life again.

To the restoration of your best self,

Lori Calabrese, M.D.

November 4, 2019

Category: Ketamine

Articles About Ketamine from Lori Calabrese, MD | The Ketamine Blog

Breakthrough anesthesia medicine proves life-changing for many who suffer from severe mood disorders.

Early Testing was Cautious

Researchers Still Learning All Ketamine Can Do

Ketamine Does More Than Bring Relief, It’s Transforming

Ketamine is NOT for Everyone

Why Ketamine Sometimes Doesn’t Work

This is the first Monday of the New Year…so how do you start a new year?

IV Ketamine Treatment – The Game Changer for Psychiatric Disorders

Like most exceptional medicines that are designed for sedation and/or pain relief, it’s been abused by people on the street and in the club scene for its dissociative side effects. As a result, it’s sometimes been misunderstood as a result.

Why wait any longer? Why not reach out for ketamine now and start this new decade on far better footing..? Stick your neck out and make the call for treatment now because you deserve the chance to live a fulfilling life, free of symptoms that keep your life shackled.

Ketamine Treatment Relieves a Broad Variety of Disorder Symptoms

IV ketamine treatment can be a bit tepid in relieving symptoms for those with milder cases. But, let me quickly say that when you feel bad, it doesn’t feel mild. And that’s why we have criteria to help us measure the severity of each case.

Freedom from the Doldrums

One reason may be the resilience ketamine builds. You’re able to adapt and quickly recover from the offenses that happen and you have the power to just snap back and be ok. It’s amazing…in fact, it’s priceless.

Neuroplasticity + Psychotherapy = Peace & Joy in life

Then, to point out yet another talent of this treatment, researchers and therapists have learned that because of the neuroplasticity ketamine creates in your brain circuitry, psychotherapy can be much more effective about 24 hours after an infusion.

You’re probably thinking, How Can I Do THAT? I Can’t Seem to Get Out of Bed??!!

There is more help available for your tormentous symptoms than has ever been seen by your parents or grandparents or great grandparents…

PUSH through.

The drowning man has to take hold of the rope. If he’s passive and tries nothing, he’ll drown.

The mountain climber who loses his footing and careens over the cliff has to reach out and GRAB – something. A rock…a rope…a bush…?

It doesn’t happen all at once the very first minute…

Maybe it just trickles at first, but then the trickles become waves, and the joy and initiative surges, and you find you’re CAPABLE of doing things you want to do, that you’d all but forgotten about.

Your family may notice the changes in you before you do. You may show unexpected initiative before you FEEL all that much better. (Miranda, are you actually folding clothes? Unbelievable!)

Reach Out for Ketamine!

If so, maybe it’s time you do your own homework? The National Institute of Health funds extensive research about ketamine treatment because it’s so extraordinary.

IV ketamine treatment is the most effective medicine for psychiatric disorders we’ve ever seen. It’s not FDA approved because no one wants to pay for FDA trials if they can’t make a profit off a patent. And..ketamine is too old…there’s no patent to be had.

Reach Out for Ketamine and Get Better for 2020

Tell yourself that it’s your turn to get better. And that you’re not going to give in to excuses. That you want to live better, healthier, and more balanced. That you want your life to BE better. Give Hope the benefit of the doubt.

This step can turn your entire life around for the better. But you’re the one who has to take it.

So…you may say, What if it doesn’t work for me?

Well…we say, What if it does??

Do you really want another decade to crawl by while you’re trapped in the misery and despair of this disorder?

Reach out for Hope and for a better life in 2020 and beyond.

Reach out for ketamine and grab onto HOPE.

Tomorrow is the last day of 2019…and the day before a new year – and a new decade – begins.

Breakthroughs in Psychiatry for 2019

1. Esketamine (Spravato)

While esketamine hasn’t been studied for most of these conditions, it can create a robust add-on response to an antidepressant in some patients who benefit from low doses. And the beauty of it is that because of its FDA approval, esketamine as a medication is covered by many insurance programs.

This 21st century novel and advanced treatment for psychiatric disorders is changing the face of disability.

2. Telemental Health Support

3. Gene-guided medicine

The Human Genome Project completed mapping the genome in 2003.

Now imagine this: there are 3 billion of these base pairs in your DNA, which are held within 23 pairs of chromosomes…in the nucleus of every cell of your body.

Which brings us to the point that the disorders we talk about and treat are, in most cases, inherited to some degree. So you see multiple family members suffering from psychiatric illnesses at the same time…and all too often — severe illnesses.

Imagine if we could better fit a medication or treatment specifically to your DNA profile. And the same for your family members. So much suffering from side effects could be eliminated.

4. Genetic Editing

So…scientists at Harvard and MIT took the wraps off a new approach to what they coined, “prime editing.” The chemist/biologist who led the unveiling described its usefulness as a metaphor of Word processing.

Such astounding breakthroughs in psychiatry for 2019 – what can they imagine next?

5. Psychiatric Healthcare with Cell Phones

Using a mobile app, text therapy can be provided as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Coping and Emotion Regulation, Psycho-education, Crisis Management, Reflective Listening, and Empathy.

We’re living in a new world, and IV ketamine treatment IS sci-fi.

IV ketamine treatment can resolve depression symptoms.

Have a Happy and Healthy New Year in 2020 – full of hope, purpose, and joy.

This time of year conjures up visions of sugarplums, elves, and Christmas trees guarding piles of gifts.

Their “scenes” may very likely be due to untreated symptoms.

IV Ketamine Treatment is NOT Esketamine Nasal Spray

We’re joining with others in psychiatry promoting the idea that IV ketamine treatment should be covered by insurance. It should be. Ketamine is the complete compound with all the benefits. When it’s administered properly, it can be — and often IS — transformative.

Ketamine Can Create Resilience: And It Empowers You to Enjoy

Restoration for the Holidays – Is There a Better Gift?

Feeling better changes everything. Everything.

It’s the holiday season again and there are parties every weekend, with work, with friends, with family – they crop up everywhere.

The Subtle Slide…

It wasn’t long before 2 beers turned into 3 or 4…then a 6 pack. After that, he graduated to bourbon — or adding vodka to his soft drinks. By the time his wife had been gone a year, he was drunk all weekend every weekend…. and most nights after work.

It all began as grief, but spiraled until he committed a crime, and could have been responsible for someone’s death. Thankfully, no one died. But still…

Too Much Drinking Hurts You – and People Near You, Too

It was a wake-up call.

So, he started with the internet.

And he read about promising studies with a medicine called ketamine — something he’d never heard of before.

But now there are new findings that can help someone like Jerry even more. So you can dramatically reduce heavy drinking.

Ketamine Can Reduce Harmful Drinking By Rewriting Drinking Memories

The first day of the experiment, researchers showed all the participants photos of alcoholic drinks that included beer and stronger drinks. Then they asked the participants to rate how strong their desire to drink was. Immediately after this, they gave each participant a cold beer to drink.

Fast forward 10 days.

The people in Group #1, whose memory was stimulated by pictures, followed by ketamine, reported their consumption of alcohol had dramatically dropped. Then 9 months later, a follow-up revealed their alcohol consumption had dropped to half what it had been before the experiment.

Group #3, who received ketamine without photos to trigger drinking memories, reported a smaller reduction in drinking, but still significantly less alcohol consumption. This was the case at both the 10 day mark and the 9 month follow-up.

Group #2, the placebo group, reported a small decrease in drinking.

Ketamine Blocks Memory Restabilization

If someone wants to stop drinking, this change to that appealing memory of pleasure gives them the chance to rethink what they believe about alcohol, and what they believe about their health.

**Exercise Reduces Future Depression**