Ketamine was first developed (and later approved by the FDA) as an anesthetic. For over a decade, it has been heralded as the biggest breakthrough in depression or PTSD treatment in decades. When infused at a low dose into the bloodstream, research shows that Ketamine may be up to 80% effective at providing relief for symptoms of PTSD.
The primary benefit of Ketamine Infusions for PTSD treatment is its ability to sometimes bring relief to PTSD symptoms within minutes or hours, rather than the weeks or months a typical medication may take.
Research into Ketamine infusions for treating PTSD is still ongoing, but it is generally believed that Ketamine helps foster connections between synapses and helps to restore damaged connections between nerves, essentially rewiring the brain. Because of this, Ketamine infusions are helpful for not only depression and PTSD, but also chronic pain disorders.
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is an anxiety disorder that a person may develop after a particularly frightening or life-threatening event. The person does not have to be directly involved, because of even the shock of witnessing an event happening to someone else that the symptoms of PTSD may set in.
The most commonly reported symptoms of PTSD are flashbacks, low self-esteem, insomnia, and persistent unpleasant emotions. You may lose your memory of the traumatic event, or you may also have constant intrusive thoughts about it. PTSD comes in many forms and affects everyone differently.
While outlook can be understandably grim when suffering from PTSD, it can be treated and the symptoms can be lessened. There is a multitude of options available for treatment, but pairing two treatments together often yields the best results.
If you find yourself unable to live the life you want to live, you should know there is no shame in seeking medical help. Somewhere around 7% of American adults have suffered through PTSD before, and up to 8 million American adults have it each year.
When seeking treatment from a doctor or healthcare professional, they will likely put you through a few diagnosis tests to confirm that PTSD is what is affecting you. These tests may include:
Physical Exam: This will check to see if there are any underlying medical problems causing your PTSD symptoms
Psychological Evaluation: Your healthcare professional will usually discuss your symptoms and any traumatic events you went through.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5): Published by the American Psychiatric Association, this includes a set of criteria generally seen in PTSD patients.
To be diagnosed with PTSD, you must have experienced or witnessed an event that threatened serious injury or death. You could have seen the event firsthand, you could have been the one in danger, or you could even develop PTSD from hearing about details from a traumatic event.
If you continue to experience significant problems in your ability to function in normal life for more than a month after the initial event, you may have PTSD and should consider treatment.
