A Physician’s Journey: How Ketamine Helped Lift My Treatment-Resistant Depression
My first experience with ketamine occurred about 40 years ago as an anesthesia resident. I learned how this powerful and unusual drug could be used in larger doses to induce general anesthesia and in smaller doses to be part of "conscious sedation" for minor procedures. I never imagined that one day it could be used to treat my drug-resistant depression.Living with Depression: When Traditional Treatments Fall Short
I have dealt with depression for most of my adult life (and there is a family history), and despite the helpful interventions by several psychiatrists and therapists, I eventually end up in the fog of depression. I have much to be thankful for. I have a loving and supportive family that has stood by me through the good and the bad times, and I have had the privilege of being a physician and being able to make a difference in the lives of my patients. Yet depression continues to affect me somehow. Medications have sometimes helped in the short term, but often they failed to work or had intolerable side effects. Most recently, I have been working with a psychiatrist via telemedicine for over a year and a half, and we have tried five different medications with no success.Choosing a Safer Path: Why Supervised Ketamine Treatment Matters
Having become curious about the rise of interest in ketamine therapy, I decided to investigate, and my doc thought I owed it to myself to try it. While there are providers who offer at home treatments, as an anesthesiologist who has experience with this drug, there was no way I felt comfortable with that approach. When I investigated Keta Medical, I felt I had found the right way to go about this. Treatment is provided in a comfortable and secure environment by doctors and nurses who are present and monitoring you. My initial experience with the medical screening and evaluation of insurance questions convinced me that I was dealing with competent and compassionate professionals. I am now about four months into treatment, and the fog of depression is lifting with the aid of the medication and ketamine assisted psychotherapy (with Stacey).“Trust the Process”: The Power of Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
My first experiences were like Alice in Wonderland, and I didn't know how this could help me, but following the advice to "trust the process" and just go where my consciousness took me, I was able to see myself in a new light (with the caring guidance of the team).Ordinarily, we are like the driver of the car, focused on the road, the traffic, and the destination. Ketamine puts you in the passenger seat where you have the opportunity to watch the scenery, to notice what you 've been missing.
From Disconnection to Reconnection: Healing as a Physician and Patient
As my responsibilities as an anesthesiologist required me to put my emotions aside during stressful situations in the OR, I learned to disconnect from them, but that disconnect is no longer helpful and with ketamine therapy, I am reconnecting with my emotions. As Aldous Huxley once said, "There are things known.and things unknown, and in between are the doors" (and, yes, Jim Morrison was aware of this!). Ketamine opened the doors for me.The Science Behind the Change: Neuroplasticity in Action
We know now that our brains are not hard-wired and capable of changing as the research in neuroplasticity has shown (not to minimize our nervous system's love of automatic programs, not all of which serve us!).A Brave New Chapter: Moving Through Stigma Toward Advocacy
So, with Shakespeare, I say, ‘‘O brave new world that has such people in it”.I urge you to consider ketamine therapy and do it with a team that puts compassion and safety first. As a patient and an anesthesiologist, I am happy to be an advocate for Keta Medical.
(I have chosen to use my name here because as a physician and someone who has the experience of depression, I think it is important to come out of the shadows and help remove the stigma of mental illness and the hesitancy to seek help. To quote a colleague, "The lies we tell ourselves are the greatest cause of our suffering.")
