- I was experiencing severe depression and chronic leg pain and was looking for a solution.
- After researching ketamine therapy, I tried it and found it worked.
- However, the maintenance cost of intravenous therapy became too high, so I switched to sublingual lozenges.
From July 2019 to December 2021, my sciatic nerve was compressed and my leg was in excruciating pain. I couldn’t sleep without weed — or opiates when the pain was beyond weed’s capabilities. I spent my time drinking Ensure.
During the first 18 months of the pandemic, I lived with that pain while running my own business for the first time. It was a stressful endeavor under normal circumstances, and virtually a heroic feat amidst the world crumbling. During this time, I lost two members of her family to her COVID-19. The stress kept building up and I was at my limit.
I’ve tried antidepressants in the past but didn’t feel like they were right for me
The pain was so excruciating that I didn’t want to be here anymore if I couldn’t control it. My therapist suggested trying medication, but I was cautious. During my teenage years, I tried many drugs, one after another: Prozac, Lexapro, Effexor.
I didn’t know that some SSRIs can make my suicidal thoughts worse. This is, unfortunately, what I experienced with Effexor.In addition to unpleasant side effects such as constipation, drowsiness and excessive sweating, these medications made my depression even more difficult to process.
The pain management doctor I was seeing in Beverly Hills was next door to the Ketamine Clinic, and after limping past the office a million times, I decided to call. I did research and spoke with friends who had their own treatments.
From what I’ve heard, ketamine doesn’t seem to require the kind of “wait-and-see” ambiguity that people experience with SSRIs for months. After a few sessions you will know if it works. The benefits outweighed my particular ketamine-related fear, which was hallucinating.
In addition to hallucinations, Ketamine risks Abdominal pain (sometimes called “K cramps”), seizures, etc. Some people who have used it frequently state that they feel addicted to it.Before starting treatment, it is important to talk to your healthcare provider about your own risks and the veteran ketamine his provider. is.
tried ketamine therapy
The first few sessions were uncomfortable. Covered my face with N95 and eye mask and felt a little claustrophobic. The clinic started slowly as the clinician worked out the right dose for me, and I was told I would have very little out of body experience during this trial.
In these sessions, I was somewhere in between. I was aware of my body, but not fully anesthetized. It was similar to the twilight state I experienced when I took laughing gas at the dentist. I once had a traumatic experience during a root canal and was “out of it” but could feel it all happening to me. Anything that felt like it made me panic.
I spent those sessions writhing and moaning, longing for them to end. The person who gave me the ketamine and the close friend who took me to the clinic thought I was just expressing the sadness that people often bring. Instead, I told them that it was actually very unpleasant.
My dose was gradually increased, and on my third trip, I entered what is often called a k-hole. rice field. I saw endless darkness, as if I were in the depths of space. One outside force said, “Want a place without stimulation, stressors, or responsibilities? Just silence? Here it is.”
On my 4th trip, I got a higher dose. In a good way, I felt like I had died and met God.
Worked well, but learned to need an occasional “tune-up”
By the end of the 6 sessions, I felt better mentally. The pain in my body improved only slightly but became more tolerable and my depression went away for about 6 months. rice field. A $600 tune-up session scheduled six months later was well worth it as it delivered continued easing as promised. However, continuing to receive these sessions was not economically sustainable.
But now that I knew how much I could benefit from ketamine therapy, I wanted to find a way to continue. I was wondering if it could serve as a viable alternative to intravenous sessions.
After meeting with one of the service’s psychiatrists on Zoom to share which intravenous ketamine would work best for me, I was prescribed a sublingual dose. , a blood pressure monitor, ginger pills (to relieve nausea), and a diary. I let it dissolve for a minute, then swallowed it and lay down on the bed.
It wasn’t injected directly into my bloodstream, so it felt calm under my tongue, but not as calm as the twilight-like conditions that reminded me of the trauma of laughing gas. As I enjoyed the meditation, the stress melted away from my body. Meanwhile, a soothing voice urged me to take my medicine and told me the session was over after an hour of listening to binaural beat-like music.
Although I died and never met God, I did experience a few days of wonderful, deeply relaxing meditation sessions that left me feeling hopeful and energized.
Whether ketamine was administered intravenously or sublingually, my brain felt better after my session, as if someone had hard resetted my mental health. Whilst these new medicine is not for everyoneI feel like I’ve definitely found something that suits me.
