What is Ketamine?

Ketamine is an “NMDA receptor antagonist” and “AMPA receptor stimulator” that was developed more than 50 years ago and has been safely used in chronic pain management for over 20 years. Ketamine provides relief by blocking NMDA receptors which creates a favourable chemical environment for neuron growth.

Ketamine has had an ongoing presence in the clinical industry since the 1960s and is an essential component of the anesthesiology field because it can maintain cardiorespiratory stability in patients who need to be sedated, while also offering a certain level of numbness towards pain.

Other treatments for depression such as traditional drugs focus on regulating serotonin in the brain, which has an effect on an individual’s moods, anxiety, and other cognitive abilities. However, these medications can take a while to begin working regularly and they come with a laundry list of side effects. Some of the most common side effects of traditional antidepressants include:

• Constipation
• Dry mouth
• Skewed or blurred vision
• Increased anxiety or aggression
• Dizziness
• Weight gain
• Nausea
• Diminished sex drive
• Drowsiness
• Insomnia

Within the last 15 years it has been safely used in the treatment of mood disorders: depression, treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, PTSD, psychiatric disorders, and chronic pain when administered at precise, carefully controlled sub-anesthetic dosages by a skilled and licensed medical provider.
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In the last 10 years, prominent institutions all over the world including Yale University, The Mayo Clinic, Mt. Sinai Medical School, The National Institute of Mental Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Stanford University regularly reported a 70% success rate or higher in IV ketamine’s efficacy in the treatment of these medical conditions.

Ketamine has taken on a new life and has started to be used more often to treat chronic pain, mood disorders, major depressive disorders, and other conditions that can make a person feel helpless or lost.