Lori Calabrese, MD

Tag: IV Ketamine Treatment for Treatment Resistant Depression

What Makes Ketamine Work? This Research Team Seeks Answers

We’ve talked about ketamine’s rapid antidepressant effects. Last month we talked about the role of dissociation in ketamine’s antidepressant benefits. Neuroscientists are studying ketamine to find out WHY it provides such rapid antidepressant results. They’re hoping they can determine what exactly ketamine does in the brain, and whether they can isolate that action from the side effects without losing its extraordinary effectiveness. It’s a long road (rife with trials!), but they soldier on… hoping to make new medications that could become more available to more people. So let’s follow this team of neuroscientists through their quest over nearly 2 decades so far, to see what makes ketamine work.

Lisa Monteggia, Ph.D.

A team of researchers, led by Lisa Monteggia, Ph.D., have studied this question for 18 years. Beginning in 2003, she and her team were interested in what makes antidepressants work. At the time, they knew that neurons released the neurotransmitter serotonin to keep the mood stable. Therefore, if the serotonin level was “low,” that was the cause of depression. (Or so they thought.)

A lot of antidepressant medicines at that time were designed to increase serotonin availability. (They worked to prevent serotonin from being taken back up by the releasing neuron, and to keep it around in the synapse.)

However, Dr. Monteggia’s team saw a problem with that whole explanation because those antidepressants (SSRIs and SNRIs–serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) took weeks to relieve depressive symptoms — when the meds worked. So they realized other things must be going on at the same time, since serotonin alone wasn’t the key element.

Next, her team identified an important aspect of neuronal signaling, as well as something vital for antidepressant effects… and that was brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

A variation of the gene that “tells” cells to make BDNF contains an error or oddity that can change what the gene and the BDNF do. And that’s significant. Because further studies showed that people who have this “odd” gene, can have a reduced, dampened effect from antidepressants.

Hmmm..!!

Now don’t miss this next part of her story: As her team was studying this weird anomaly, another team (remember research was going on globally!) published their work about the ketamine, an anesthesia agent that can produce rapid antidepressant effects when given at a low dose — too low for it to produce anesthesia.

Ketamine already had a reputation for abuse when taken in moderate to higher doses.

But this finding was so important! That at a low dose, ketamine can effectively sweep away symptoms in someone who has severely treatment resistant depression. Basically, someone who has not been helped by anything else they’ve tried for their depression.

So this really charged up Dr. Monteggia and her research team. They committed to learning all they could about ketamine. And they say they want to use it as a Rosetta Stone, so to speak. In other words, they want to use low dose ketamine as the key to understanding rapid acting antidepressant action. Why? Because maybe understanding the mechanisms of action of ketamine could fuel the development of new antidepressants without side effects… Ah!

For one thing, it may hopefully show us how effective antidepressants work. (Actually work, not how we assume or think they work.) To learn the actual mechanism behind effectiveness; as in, something we haven’t yet seen or identified.

The other is that ketamine is known to impact a specific protein in the brain…the NMDA receptor. This receptor is found embedded on certain neurons — a lot of neurons!!

The team confirmed that ketamine blocks the NMDA receptor. In addition, ketamine has specific effects on a certain signaling pathway, and when they blocked that pathway, ketamine didn’t work.

Ok…the process of elimination.

But let’s see what else they learned.

Here’s one exciting thing … and we count on it with ketamine treatment. They were able to show that when ketamine blocks the NMDA receptor which affects signaling…it produces a series of downstream effects which trigger a special form of neuroplasticity in the brain cells.

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the connections (or synapses) between the brain cells to change their strength. So ketamine helps those synapses change their strength in new and unexpected ways.

The team has tested other medications to see if they act like ketamine. (For instance, memantine is similar to ketamine in some ways, and it does block the NMDA receptor, but it goes about it in a different way. So interesting, though: despite all that, it does not have the same effect on signaling as ketamine, nor does it trigger this novel type of plasticity that ketamine does.)

They only see this specific type of plasticity with rapid antidepressant action. Eureka!!

(OK, so we’re a little excited here. I know.)

So it occurred to them that perhaps this special form of plasticity may actually be an integral part of rapid antidepressant action.…? And they wonder whether this type of neuroplasticity plays a role in “healing” depression, and demonstrates what makes antidepressants work … Not sure yet.

But here’s something to keep in mind: some experts in the field of neuroscience call ketamine a “dirty” drug.

Don’t panic!

When they say that, they don’t mean it’s grimy. They mean that it works in many ways to affect many parts of the brain — it doesn’t do just one thing that explains definitively how it relieves depression. If they could develop a drug that targeted the absolute biologic mechanisms that are specifically involved in depression, bipolar depression, PTSD, suicidal thoughts, and the rest, that would be a breakthrough!

So ketamine emerged as a treatment for psychiatric disorders — quite by surprise.

This team of researchers believe that ketamine’s actions are especially important in the hippocampus. They believe that after ketamine affects brain cells in the hippocampus, changes flow back to the prefrontal cortex (this part of the brain is behind your forehead) and other areas.

So they’re hoping they can follow the path of those changes backward…from hippocampus to prefrontal cortex to other area. The more they learn, the closer they may come to understand rapid acting antidepressants better.

They believe that blocking NMDA receptors results in that novel neuroplasticity and call it “homeostatic” neuroplasticity. This is a different form of plasticity than the one involved in learning.

And as they continue forward with these experiments, studying homeostatic plasticity, which they believe is at the core of what makes ketamine work as an antidepressant, then they can work with other, perhaps newer, medications that do the same thing…to find more and better options.

Meanwhile, we do have IV ketamine treatment. And people often experience remission with it. So we’ll keep using it, and celebrating your joy, freedom…and hope.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we happily work with you in hopes you’ll achieve remission with IV ketamine treatment. We’ll joyfully welcome you for your treatment, and you’ll receive that treatment in a safe environment with clean, pure air. Sanitized to 99.99%. We take every precaution, like our intense plasma cell technology, to keep our environment here safe for you.

Innovative. Super modern. Seeking the best.

For you.

IV ketamine treatment is just like that in our hands: innovative, supermodern, seeking your best self. Is it for everyone? Does it make everyone better? Sadly no. Which is why we’re so grateful that there are teams of researchers…around the world…who won’t give up, who seek more options and even better ones, for all of us.

If you struggle with the kinds of disorders we’ve talked about, and treatments haven’t helped, call us.

We’ll set an appointment to help you know whether you might be a likely candidate for this extraordinary treatment. Your rewarding and fulfilling life lies ahead.

We look forward to meeting you.

To the restoration of your best self,

May 10, 2021
Repeated Ketamine Infusions Relieve PTSD Symptoms – New Study

New study demonstrates that with repeated doses of IV ketamine, relief can last up to several weeks.

A deep unfamiliar voice behind Sarah made her jump. In a flash, she turned and bolted down the stairs she’d been climbing, turned left, then left again, knocking into people in her path as she scrambled for a place to hide. A mad dash took her into the restroom, where she locked the door and turned off the lights to hide in the dark. Screams sounded as darkness enveloped the room. Her heart was pounding, sweat pouring from her scalp, down her face, her torso…her armpits. She willed her breathing to slow…so the man pursuing her would not hear her panting gasps. (Poor Sarah. She’s suffering… if only she knew what repeated ketamine infusions relieve…)

Three women exploded out of their stalls complaining about the lights and searching for the switch. Sarah pushed past them to an empty stall and stood on the toilet seat with the door locked so her feet couldn’t be seen below the door.

Sarah’s vision blurred as sweat poured into her eyes. With a quick swipe, she wiped the moisture from her eyes and forehead. And waited. Silently.

By her watch, she saw time passing. She heard women come and go from the restroom…heard their quiet conversation… but she waited, hands trembling.

After 45 minutes crouched with feet on the toilet seat…Sarah began to feel calmer. It washed over her that she’d been hiding in a public restroom for close to an hour… and now she was late to work.

PTSD is Not Only Terrifying, It Seriously Interferes with Daily Living

Again.

Oh noooo.

Reality settled in. After washing her hands without incident, she cautiously opened the door and saw nothing unusual outside the door. She began to realize that it had happened again. Like countless other times. The sound of that voice triggered her memory of the assault…and it was so real. Except it wasn’t.

She was surrounded in the trauma again.

And that was the problem. Yet again, she would clock in late and be reprimanded for it. There must be help to conquer the PTSD symptoms that had emerged after she was assaulted 2 years ago. She had to find peace. Sarah wanted her life back.

Desperately.

Repeated Ketamine Infusions Relieve PTSD Under Controlled Conditions

PTSD can be so entrenched that it is very difficult to relieve — even with therapy, special trauma-based therapies, SRI’s, or a combination of approaches. Very early work with ketamine–and the brilliant neuroscientists behind those studies–showed ketamine could reduce PTSD symptoms.

A recent study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai published January 5, 2021 has made splashing news among ketamine researchers and clinicians as the first randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial of repeated ketamine infusions for chronic PTSD. Adriana Feder and her team deserve applause and admiration, and have just set the bar higher for ketamine clinical trials.

It was brilliantly conceived, elegantly executed. Well done.

Patients with chronic PTSD that had gone on for years, from a variety of traumas, were separated into two groups. One group received 6 ketamine infusions (3 times a week over 2 weeks); the other group received an infusion of midazolam, which was the “placebo” in the trial, but it is was an active placebo–it made them feel something but it wasn’t ketamine.

Ok, now this is important: if you have PTSD, or if someone you love has PTSD, you want it to stop. That would be remission, and that would be ideal. But in the world of PTSD clinical research studies, researchers look for response, and response means a 30% decrease in your symptoms.

That’s how response is defined, and that’s how it was defined for this study: 30% improvement. It doesn’t seem like a lot of improvement, does it? Unless your life is a nightmare. Then a 30% reduction is a lot of improvement.

As it happened, 67% of those in the ketamine group responded after 6 infusions … compared to only 20% of those getting the placebo study drug.

A significant difference.

And possibly even more exciting than that 67%, those who received ketamine infusions experienced significant improvements across 3 of the 4 PTSD symptom clusters: intrusions, avoidance, and negative alterations in cognitions and mood.

So, Repeated Ketamine Infusions Relieve PTSD

Dr. Feder and her team — and all of us, truly — are encouraged by this kind of outcome, and of course, call for more infusion studies using more infusions as well as trials using ketamine infusions combined with trauma-focused therapy. In fact, we can and are imagining all kinds of studies we’d like to see for PTSD — different infusion parameters, different infusion doses, titrated infusions, new medications, new therapies. The GREAT news is that relief for PTSD is under investigation and more effective treatment is on the horizon.

Formal Studies Help to Establish Credibility

Now, it’s important to note that for a study to be replicable, it’s required to use clear protocols and consistent dosing. In real world practice, we have the duty and the responsibility to treat each patient as an individual for the best possible outcome. Sometimes that means using a teeny, tiny dose, tinier that you would imagine; sometimes it means titrating the dose to get a better response.

Medicine is a science and an art.

Since we’ve learned that effective depression relief requires different treatment for different patients, and effective ketamine treatment often requires different ketamine doses for different patients (and different conditions), we might expect the same to be true for PTSD.

The ketamine dose for each of the 6 infusions dose in this study was 0.5 mg/kg — the same dose used in the single-dose and early repeat-dose studies of treatment resistant depression.

But we find clinically, and from our own published work, many patients with depression need higher doses to stop suicidal thoughts, to achieve remission, and to restore hope.

By the way, notice that in the trial above, 67% of participants benefitted from ketamine infusions: they experienced a 30% drop in their symptoms. Ketamine is wonderful for those it helps — when it helps — but for reasons we don’t fully understand yet, it doesn’t help everyone. And it didn’t benefit everyone in the study. Ketamine is not a treatment that works for everyone. There isn’t anything that works for everyone.

In real life practice, we can titrate. By that I mean that we use our expertise, in addition to evidence-based scientific results, to adjust the infusion dose during treatment (within certain parameters) to try to bring forth the most effective results for you.

Because your treatment, of course, is about you. It’s all about you.

New Studies, like this one with a Series of Ketamine Infusions for PTSD, build our Brain Trust about Ketamine so that We Can Provide More Relief to More People Who Need It

One size may fit many, but not most, and one size never fits all.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we treat PTSD with repeated titrated IV ketamine treatment. And we use our deep expertise with ketamine in psychiatry and in the treatment of trauma to give you the best possible results. We’re thrilled that randomized, controlled trials are now investigating this so carefully. Research underscores safety, efficacy, and credibility. The more researchers learn, the more we can help you.

If you’ve suffered with PTSD and other treatments and medications have not helped, repeated ketamine infusions may help remarkably.

And remember, until the COVID-19 pandemic has moved to another solar system (just kidding! — but wouldn’t that be great?), we’re prepared to keep you safe when you’re here with us. We have the technology to keep the SARS-CoV-2 out of the air, and off of the surfaces in our office. We’re vaccinated, we’re tested regularly, we screen everyone. (And we keep the front door locked!) When you come for treatment, you can breathe easy.

We want you safe, and we want you relieved of PTSD and other symptoms.

Because, like Sarah, you need a life that is free to develop. A life that’s not interrupted with unmanaged symptoms.

And we want that life for you.

So you can follow your own dreams, and build the life you want to build.

If you suffer from PTSD and nothing has helped, call us.

In fact, if you suffer from treatment resistant depression, bipolar depression, anxiety, suicidal thinking and nothing has helped, call us.

Let us work with you to help you transform and enjoy your life.

To the restoration of your best self,

January 18, 2021
Strong Support System Can Protect You From COVID-Related Depression

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here’s our hope for you that you’ll find ways to make 2021 a more fulfilling and rewarding year for you and your family.

Let’s talk about the difference in between isolation, solace, and quarantine. People need people, and the pandemic has created an atmosphere where it’s hard to tell if you’re just enjoying solace, or if your isolating yourself and pulling back from socializing in a way that builds the habit of avoiding social interaction. And there there is quarantine, where you isolate yourself to avoid spread of COVID-19 after being exposed to it. But a strong support system can protect you from depression symptoms caused by isolation.

In the hustle bustle world of daily activity in a non-pandemic world, it can be difficult to find peace and quiet for an hour. That works fine for some people, who soak up quiet and refuel in a quiet atmosphere of solace.

You know who you are. Lovely quiet periods help you refuel, and give you energy to get back out there.

There are also people who draw their energy from being with people, listening to and absorbing their energy. If you’re one of those, it can be really difficult to be stuck at home in silence all the time. Without outside stimulation, your battery can run down dead and flat. Both in your personality and your emotions.

This is true even when there is no pandemic to deal with.

However, in a pandemic it can get more complicated and put more people at risk for depression.

We want to get a handle on what can make life better while we see the pandemic through to its resolution. Right? We do!!

Quarantine can cause isolation if it goes on too long, can’t it?

When a family of 5 is exposed to the COVID-19 virus, and all test positive, they need to quarantine until they’ve been symptom free, according to CDC guidelines. But what can be done to help prevent the isolation that can lead to depression…? Interaction is a big and important step.

Online friendships are lifesavers during this time of isolation and quarantine. Family and friends in your support system can help protect you when discouragement threatens to cause depression.

Here are two stories…about two different friends and how their outcomes compared in isolation vs. quarantine with online support.

First meet Tamara. She’s 19 and was attending community college for her first semester when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged.

About 2 months into the semester, her school was closed and all classes were switched to remote online learning from home. Tamara was relieved at this because it’s natural for her to enjoy solitude, and looked forward to the peace and quiet and the chance to read voraciously without interruption.

But there were some unexpected obstacles for Tamara. For one thing, as much as she loved to read, she struggled with algebra and chemistry. Quite honestly, in those subjects she’d always tried to get involved with study groups to help her grasp what she couldn’t seem to wrap her head around on her own.

While study groups were available online, she didn’t benefit as much. However, she tried, and kept reaching out to various people in the group for help to understand the mysteries of those classes.

So… she put in her time, worked on her assignments, and spent most of her free time reading books she enjoyed.

For the first 3 months, her freedom to enjoy the quiet and read one book after another was an indescribable luxury.

However, because her mom had passed away a few years before this, she didn’t have her to talk to anymore. And talking to her dad didn’t go that smoothly. So she didn’t really have a true support group. Her only sibling was a brother who was in the Air Force, and his life was full. She rarely heard from him.

Long story short, Tamara was alone. Quite alone.

And the natural social interactions that had happened on campus before the pandemic weren’t available anymore.

By the fourth month of the pandemic, she noticed she was losing her desire to have contact with anyone. Online or in person. She wore her mask and used hand sanitizer when she went to the pharmacy or grocery store… But avoided eye contact.

As Tamara moved into the summer months, she found she had far less energy she had before. She didn’t want to leave her apartment. It became harder and harder to go to the mailbox. And she wasn’t really keeping up with friends anymore on facebook, text, or email.

Then someone stopped by and realized Tamara didn’t appear to be cleaning up her place — or even showering. She seemed shut down.

Tamara was embarrassed, but honestly didn’t have the energy to do more than she was doing. She was managing to keep her grades up in most of her classes, though Chemistry seemed a lost cause.

Finally, her dad came by to see her. He wore a mask and so did she, and they sat across the living room and tried to talk. Seeing her like this alarmed him. Dishes piled high in the sink, her own hygiene seemed to have lapsed…this wasn’t the Tamara he knew.

And he realized she was missing the support system that can protect against the threats of isolation and depression.

So he asked her to let him help by getting her a telepsychiatry appointment. That was actually a good solution, so she wouldn’t have to see anyone face to face…

Now, meet Carolina. Carolina is 20, and knew Tamara in high school. They’d ended up at the same community college, but had not run into each other before classes closed for COVID-19.

Even though Carolina also enjoys solace, she has a nice group of friends to study with, and talk on her phone and text with. So even though she, too, has been home with remote online learning since a couple months after the semester started, she also has friends she talks to.

She doesn’t see them face to face, but they talk on FaceTime and Skype, as well as Marco Polo just so they can have live interaction. Carolina also lives at home with her family. Her parents are both working remotely from home, and her sister and three brothers are all learning remotely online.

So, in spite of not seeing much of friends or relatives face to face, they meet up on Zoom, have a party, talk about their friends and their classes, music and the food they have delivered to their houses. What’s tasty and what isn’t.

If one of them is exposed to COVID-19 and then tests positive, they all gather online to encourage and offer suggestions for managing it.

The truth of it is that Carolina and her friends really haven’t struggled that much with feelings of depression. Maybe because they keep each other so engaged in daily living. Somebody in the group always has a story to tell. All in all they offer each other a strong support system can protect against the damage that comes from too much isolation.

Maybe it’s because their long term friendships have kept them all feeling more supported, resilient, and less vulnerable.

It’s true that too much isolation can lead to depression symptoms in some people. And as we move into 2021, it’s a good idea to embrace the new year with a willingness to reach out to those who seem to lack support.

A really good idea.

Everyone around you needs a support system right now. Some have it, others don’t really. But you can help with that online.

And there are also those who have been suffering under the weight of depression for a long time, and nothing has helped. Those who are sick and tired of feeling so hopeless, despondent, alienated, and drained.

IV Ketamine Treatment Opens Doors of Hope

For those, there is further hope in IV ketamine treatment. A series of 6 or maybe 8 infusions spread over a few short weeks, and expertly titrated to ensure you get the dose that’s right for you. Ketamine has blown the doors off depression treatment in the last ten years and especially the last 5. It’s reputation has grown from skeptical to celebrated in that time. Why?

Because ketamine treatment does so much. In the brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor, the lateral habenula, the synapses, the G proteins heaped up on lipid rafts, the AMPA receptors and signals flying at high speed around your brain. For so many, ketamine can work so much better than the medications, therapy and treatments they have tried. It targets areas that were otherwise ignored before this.

IV ketamine treatment can be extraordinary in its effectiveness to help you achieve remission.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we’ve been so encouraged by the help ketamine offers that we’ve dedicated a section of our office for treating those who need to receive this breakthrough treatment. We’ve also responded to the concerns caused by COVID-19 by installing and using specialized technology that keeps the air and surfaces free of the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as the other viruses, bacteria, and molds that can threaten your health.

While we’re not attempting to conquer the entire pandemic we are busily at work to help you get better, free of depression symptoms, in an environment where you feel — and are — safe.

In spite of all the other challenges in the world, you can take them in hand best if you’re at your best. It helps so much if you’re strong, functioning, and creative to embrace today’s challenges. You need to be the best you, you can be. And a strong support system can protect you and help you build the resilience you need.

We’re here to help with that, and to get you off to a much better start for the year.

If you’ve been suffering, trudging, and feeling overwhelmed by daily living… if nothing much has helped, call us.

We believe in what you can accomplish without depression symptoms holding you back.

To the restoration of your best self,

January 4, 2021
Wake up and Dream Your Most Heartfelt Dreams This Holiday Season

A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep…

At least that’s what Cinderella sang, in Disney’s classic animated movie. But… the kind of dreams you have when you’re fast asleep are actually different than the dreams your heart makes. This is the week of Christmas, which has filled children’s dreams with sugar plum fairies and their favorite toys for centuries. It’s also the Christmas of the pandemic of 2020, which has had its own impact on dreaming. We’re living history right now; yet we’re also building our futures. So maybe we should all wake up and dream to make our lives better.

But you’re not Cinderella or her Prince Charming. You’re you…and you live in the real world. And in a global pandemic, no less.

You may know Jaxon. He’s been struggling to get his feet on the ground as long as he can remember. He’s tried one job after another, year after year. But during the COVID pandemic with its lack of job security, he’s realized he’s sick and tired of feeling he has no control in his life. So he’s decided to wake up and dream. He plans to take his uncle up on the offer to pay for his training as an airline mechanic. Jaxon is good with engines, and has been studying jet engines. So as soon as the pandemic eases, he’s going to enroll in training. It will improve his life, and the life of his family. And he’s chomping at the bit to realize his dream.

Then there’s Cheryl. She’s always dreamed of furthering her education so she can be a nurse practitioner or Advanced Practice nurse. She’s already a registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science degree. It will be a long road to earn the Advance Practice status, or Nurse Practitioner degree. But she wants more out of life. So she decided to not give up but wake up and dream. And the exhaustion of the COVID pandemic has shown her she wants to specialize and do her best work, as well as improve her income for her family’s sake. Her dream is to specialize in pediatrics. So she has begun taking online courses now to move toward that goal.

After 10 months of COVID-19 this year, many have become discouraged and lost the pluck it takes to visualize life beyond this. Dreams of what we want to accomplish, or create…or overcome. These are the dreams that are a wish your heart makes….

“I want to own my own business…”

“My wish is for a promotion..”

“Wishing for a spouse and family…”

“Someday, I’ll have my own daycare center.”

“My dream is to be a doctor.”

“I’m hoping to manage my symptoms so I can feel others respect me and I can build a life I’m proud of.”

A dream is a wish your heart makes… it’s something you don’t have now, but wish you did. Something that you’re willing to wait for…and to work for… that you believe would improve your life.

Your dream is the shape and color scheme of your hope. Hope says, “Life will get better.”

Your dream determines HOW it will get better.

A book published this year called Dream Big, written by the New York Times best selling author Bob Goff, is so timely for the pandemic and the stress you may feel. Actually, it’s called Dream Big: Know What You Want, Why You Want It, and What You’re Going To Do About It.

Of course, it may not be that easy to know what you want. What you wish. What your big dream is. But it’s worth it to dig deep and figure it out. You have to figure out what that dream is to figure out if it’s worth it to you to fight for it.

And figuring out why it matters is a good step toward putting down roots for the future you dream of.

Then, you’ll start taking steps. Because that dream is your lifeblood and fuel.

It’s timely that this book was published this year — 2020 — because so many have been so overwhelmed by the status quo of the pandemic, world economics, and politics, that they’ve given up the fight. Their energy is drained, along with their determination and strength to move forward.

But right now, in 2020, is the time to DREAM. Not hide, not go to sleep. And certainly not give up. But since COVID has seeped into daily life, it may seem to you that it’s too late to fight.

But you can stretch beyond the limitations you see around you in the pandemic. Reach far. Seek new possibilities. Dream big.

It’s never too late to fight for YOU.

Think of the time you have now to reevaluate and restructure your life plan. This is the time to decide if you want your life to continue, business-as-usual, or do you want to find ways to enjoy more, love more, help more.

Right now is the time to make those decisions. The ones that pursue your dreams. Because as the COVID vaccinations reach more people and the presence of this illness is reduced, and society becomes able to move around again… you’ll need to already be in your stride with your new plans, your new life style.

But there’s another facet. And that’s the fact that symptoms prevent some hard working people from pursuing their dreams. In fact, severe symptoms of anxiety or depression can muddle a person’s ability to even form his own dream.

When that happens, that person may need the treatment to get his symptoms under control so he can move forward toward his own fulfilling life.

Depression and bipolar depression are two more disorders that can interfere with your power to pursue your dream. Social anxiety can do that, too.

PTSD is an example of a disorder that can severely block progress toward the fulfillment of a dream…or even forming one to pursue.

IV ketamine treatment has well documented evidence for treating and relieving the symptoms of these disorders. It turns on mRNA which switches DNA to “ON” to turbo boost brain-derived-neurotrophic-factors which go to work proliferating the synapses (connections between brain cells) throughout your brain.

Your brain wakes up, and signals light up your brain as they carry messages everywhere at high speed. You feel joy, you feel creative, you have a renewed ability to invest in your work and healthy relationships. You can wake up and dream because you have hope.

At Innovative Psychiatry, we’re gratified to watch people come alive with hope and purpose after IV ketamine treatment. We offer this remarkable life-changing treatment in a safe atmosphere where we’ve invested in VB Enviro Care’s plasma cell technology that removes all COVID virus particles (in fact all viruses, bacteria, and mold) from the air and the surfaces in our offices.

I know it sounds a little sci-fi and actually… it is. This technology was developed at MIT and NASA to fight biological warfare, and it’s extremely effective. You’re safe here and you can be treated without fear.

We understand that the pandemic has taken a toll both emotionally and physically on so many and we want to help you restore, and achieve remission from your symptoms. So you can wake up and dream, and invest in the life you want to live.

Ketamine doesn’t work for everyone. No treatment or medicine does. But it is so effective for the majority of patients who suffer from severe symptoms. It can be extraordinarily effective when everything else has failed.

If you suffer from symptoms of severe depression, bipolar depression, PTSD, social anxiety, alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, or suicidal thinking, call us.

You can schedule appointments for IV ketamine treatment without a long wait…usually just a few days.

Start 2021 hopeful, and empowered to live your life as your best self.

We’re here to help so you can live a truly rewarding life.

To the restoration of your best self,

December 21, 2020
Reduce Stress and Stay Safe This Holiday Season

Although some things are easier said than done…

Cecilia and Ben have been working remotely since March 2020, so they both work in their home. They’ve faced the challenge of setting up work spaces in their home so they both have privacy for their online meetings. It took some doing, moving furniture, opening up areas and storing what they could when they’d rather be relaxing on the weekend. It’s all been about reduced stress and staying safe and healthy.

So they’ve adapted. And have designed their lives around working remotely in their own spaces. For their own wellbeing and for everyone else.

They’re very careful about avoiding exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Twice a month trips to grocery store with gloves and masks. Very cautious.

Cecilia also has concerns about managing her bipolar disorder. With the help of medication, she manages fairly well. But she and Ben are careful about avoiding stressful situations to help with her stability.

They were invited to share Thanksgiving with Jake and Robin, Cecilia’s brother and sister-in-law…so they discussed–again, at length–how careful Jake and Robin were about isolation and precautions, and were assured they were extremely cautious. Both couples agreed to a COVID test the week before the holiday. All four tests came back negative.

Halfway through the day on Thanksgiving, they were enjoying a quiet time together chatting as they prepared the meal.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Jake and Robin looked at each other puzzled as if to say, Are you expecting anyone? No… are you?

When they answered the door, a jovial group of 8 more people roared Happy Thanksgiving!!! and charged through the door. The eight people included the Robin’s cousin, his wife, their 5 children, and Cecilia’s elderly mother.

Jake and Robin stepped out of the way, baffled, shocked, and horrified; Ben and Cecilia were equally horrified. Grandma came in with her walker. Four children ran through the house, and a baby in a carseat wailed from her position on the floor.

After quick greetings, and well-intended but strained smiles, Jake asked the parents of the wild offspring if they’d had recent COVID tests and they laughed and said, “No, of COURSE not!! Don’t you believe that whole COVID propaganda, Jake!! Relax! It’s Thanksgiving and it’s time for family!!!”

The new arrivals then commenced to talk about a party at another cousin’s house a few days before and what a great time they had.

“A party? How many were there?”

They held their breath.

“Aww, I don’t know… 30 or so. You should see Tom’s oldest. She is really grown up!”

So Robin said, “You know what? We love you guys and it’s great to see you…but we take this pandemic pretty seriously. We each got a COVID test last week to be sure we didn’t have the virus to expose to each other.

“We don’t want to hurt your feelings but until this COVID thing is resolved, we’re not letting anyone be here in the house who isn’t carefully isolating, using precautions, and can show a negative test result. We’re really concerned about Mom, too, because she’s high risk–she’s vulnerable to the virus and all kinds of complications. And she’s being exposed to you guys today. You’ve been with at least 30 people who may or may not have COVID, so now she has been exposed to those 30 people, too.

“To tell you the truth, you should all put on masks, and you should take her home. We can see that you don’t feel as cautious as we do, but we just have to protect our health and others the best we can.”

With bruised feelings, the cousins and Grandma all accepted masks to wear and loaded back into the car. They weren’t happy about being sent away without welcome. To say they took it personally would be an understatement.

The following week, Callie got a phone call from her mom. Her mom had not been feeling well for a couple days, so she went to the ER. With a history of heart trouble and asthma, she was worried. The hospital COVID test was positive, and Grandma was admitted to the ICU. Within 4 days, her breathing had deteriorated, and become very difficult, so her diagnosis was upgraded to COVID and pneumonia. Doctors said it was grave.

About the same time, Ben started feeling symptoms of severe fatigue, shortness of breath, and intestinal cramping. Cecilia drove him to a drive through testing center for another test. It came back in two days — positive.

Ben was the sickest he’d ever been. So weak he could barely walk to the bathroom. Cecilia tried to keep him quarantined in the bedroom. And she wore a mask and gloves and washed her hands often. After about 16 days, Ben began to improve. And Cecilia was weary and discouraged.

Cecilia’s daily calls to the hospital to check on her mom were frightening. Heartbreaking. Her mom was now on a ventilator. And her cousin’s wife was also sick with COVID.

After taking every precaution, Ben and Cecilia still found themselves exposed to COVID and were facing the possible loss of her mother. Their fear and grief were only surpassed by their profound frustration and powerlessness. They really thought they could reduce stress and stay safe for Thanksgiving.

You just never know, do you?

But all the more difficult, Cecilia’s bipolar depression symptoms were rearing up in the face of the deep frustration she felt. First frustration, then anger, then rage…at her cousin who ignored all the warnings and put her mom and everyone else at risk.

She could feel her mood moving from neutral to a dark melancholy… bipolar depression was looming… she could feel it coming on.

Oh no. How would she get through this and when her mom was in ICU? What if her mom died? It was all just too much. Her hope was dwindling. She felt both agitated and defeated… Even though she didn’t contract COVID, those around her who did played a role in her own condition worsening.

Reduce Stress and Stay Safe at the SAME Time

We’ve talked about how stress has become a traditional element of the holiday season, as we’ve allowed our traditions to become obligations. And how the stress that results from all those insurmountable obligations actually creates misery, sickness, and destructive conditions like depression and anxiety symptoms. So that to reduce that stress we need to make some hard decisions that put relationships and our own peace before the race to “get it all done.”

We’ve also talked about how this holiday season 2020 is unique because COVID cases are increasing so fast that we’ve been asked not to travel, and to limit the gathering in our homes to those who live there–and possibly one or two who’ve tested for COVID and received a negative result, and who are extremely careful about isolation and protection.

Of course, this appeal ricocheted around the internet and news media before Thanksgiving, and some heeded it. Many others ignored it.

Aside from the precautions for limiting spread of the virus that is causing the COVID pandemic, there is another issue that deserves attention. That’s the tension, anxiety, and depression symptoms that can be relegated to the ongoing news about the virus and the damage it can cause.

Add to that the conflict that arises when individuals hold opposing opinions about their decisions for celebrating the holiday… and the disagreements that erupt. Yikes.

This time of year is celebrated as a time of giving and receiving love and connection with friends and family. To worship true to your conscience, and hopefully be refreshed. Don’t you agree?

So what can you do when friends and family stir up conflict?

We all know someone who stirs up conflict wherever they go. The Button Pusher.

Then there are those who find their fuel by subtly inflicting guilt. We love them but we hate the guilt trips.

And every group has someone looking to push the crowd into doing something they don’t want to do…

Yours isn’t the only family with these delightful people.

Aren’t you glad?

The Good News. Disconnect your buttons before you have contact with the Button Pushers… Turn off your guilt switch and let the guilt purveyors buzz away while you walk away. And those Mr. Pushy types? Just say NO.

More good news: This is the pandemic year and it’s not recommended that you travel or join other households for the celebration. So contact could be limited to a ZOOM meeting. When it’s over, it’s over…!

This is a year to consider fewer gifts and more emails, cards, letters, especially those cards with pictures enclosed or attached. Share your news without exposing yourself, your family, or the vulnerable family members to potential illness.

Let the pandemic die down. Give the vaccinations some months to do their job. And let’s save Winter 2021 to hopefully move around the country and spend time with those we love.

Reduce Stress and Stay Safe — Enjoy the Holidays and Enter 2021 Healthy and Happy

And… if your efforts to reduce stress and stay safe are undermined like Cecilia’s and Ben’s were, you have options. They may be as simple as isolating and watching Christmas movies together, with popcorn and mugs of hot chocolate. But if you symptoms rise and intensify, if your medications aren’t effective in managing your symptoms of depression, bipolar depression, PTSD, alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder… IV ketamine treatment may be a very real and lasting help for you. It doesn’t work for everyone — because nothing works for everyone — but it can be extraordinarily effective even when everything else has failed.

With a series of titrated ketamine infusions personalized specifically for you and your response, you can feel like your best self again. Think back to the last time in your life when you were at your best self for a good stretch. Ketamine treatment can help you feel like that again.

It can be amazing, and has a remarkable effect on the structures in your brain. You can feel restored, with the energy to give your best on your job and in your relationships, with improved creativity. And hope.

At Innovative Psychiatry, people with these conditions and more come through every week. We have an atmosphere we keep safe from the spread of COVID due to 21st century plasma cell technology we’ve installed that destroys the COVID virus in the air and on surfaces. With the technology available anywhere to keep our air and surfaces COVID-free, and meticulous procedures in our office, you can come for treatment with confidence, and relax in a quiet private treatment room with reduced stress where you can stay safe.

Above all, take very good care of yourself, your health, your outlook, and the wellbeing of your family.

We care about you, and we’re here to help you experience relief of symptoms and the power to enjoy this time of year by enjoying what you love and those dear to you.

If you want to see what IV ketamine treatment can do for you, call us.

We understand and can help.

To the restoration of your best self,

December 14, 2020

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