Ketamine IV Therapy from a Primary Care Doctor for Mood Disorders

Your primary care physician might recommend Ketamine IV therapy if you have mental health issues like bipolar disorder and depression. Any health issue that causes extreme emotional highs and lows or depression is categorized as a mental health disorder.

Mental health issues often significantly impact a person's quality of life. They make people lose interest in activities they once enjoyed, negatively impact their social life, and disrupt sleep patterns.

Antidepressants and psychotherapy are typically the first lines of defense against mood disorders, and both are effective on most people. Psychotherapy involves talking to patients about emotions, triggers, and behaviors that exacerbate their mental health struggles, teaching them better ways to cope. It can be used as a standalone treatment or combined with other treatments like antidepressants.

Antidepressants are psychotropic drugs that alter a patient's brain chemistry. They are used to treat mental health issues by improving any chemical imbalances in the patient's brain.

Some patients have treatment-resistant mood disorders that do not respond to antidepressants or psychotherapy. These patients often have to try alternative treatments before any noticeable improvements in their symptoms. Ketamine IV therapy is one of those alternative treatments that can help with mood disorders.

How Ketamine IV therapy works

Antidepressants often take a few weeks before patients can feel their full effects, but they might stop working after a while as the body gets used to them. Ketamine IV therapy provides immediate relief from the symptoms of mental health issues like depression, bipolar disorder, and treatment-resistant depression.

According to research provided by the National Institute of Mental Health, Ketamine IV therapy can noticeably improve the symptoms of treatment-resistant depression in as little as two hours. Ketamine IV therapy has been shown to be more effective than antidepressants when treating bipolar disorder.

Treating mood disorders with Ketamine therapy also leads to fewer side effects. Antidepressants often come with side effects like weight changes, nausea, dry mouth, headache, insomnia, and sexual dysfunction. Research performed at Yale shows that cognitive behavioral therapy after Ketamine IV therapy extends the benefits of the treatment.

The treatment

Ketamine is not as effective when taken orally as a treatment for mood disorders due to its low oral bioavailability. Delivering it intravenously is a significantly more effective delivery route. A single Ketamine IV therapy dose can bring noticeable relief from the symptoms of mood disorders in as little as two hours. The full effects of the dosage are usually experienced within 24 hours of the infusion, and it lasts for up to seven days.

The doctor might modify a patient's treatment plan after their first dose. Patients typically get treatments weekly to enjoy the full benefits of the treatment.

The process

Treating mood disorders with Ketamine IV therapy usually starts with a consultation with a primary care physician. The doctor talks to the patient about their mental health and physical history during the visit. Any treatments that have already been tried are also evaluated to determine if the patient has treatment-resistant depression.

During the consultation, the doctor will create the patient's treatment plan, which typically involves getting multiple IV sessions over a few weeks for optimal results. Ketamine is a powerful drug, so the treatment is performed under the supervision of healthcare professionals.

Ketamine IV therapy is an outpatient procedure, and each session is typically over within an hour. Patients are often monitored for up to two hours after their treatment before being cleared to go home.

Frequently asked questions about IV therapy

Let us go over the answers to some of the questions you might still have about Ketamine IV therapy:

1. What is IV treatment?

IV treatments are a fast way to administer vitamins, minerals, medication, and fluids into the bloodstream. This allows the body to absorb all of the substance being delivered. Only about 20% of the value of oral supplements makes it into the bloodstream after going through the digestive tract.

2. How often will I need Ketamine delivered intravenously?

That comes down to several factors, including the severity of the patient's symptoms. Patients start to enjoy the benefits of the treatment within a couple of hours, and it typically lasts for a week. Patients typically come in for treatment every week or something close to that schedule.

3. What are the effects of Ketamine on the brain?

Ketamine promotes growth in the brain's prefrontal cortex, repairing damaged cells and creating new links between neurons. It also increases the neurotransmitters in the brain.

Get your mood disorder under control

Looking for an effective way to manage mental health issues like depression and bipolar disorder? Give us a call or visit our Fresno clinic to set up an appointment.

Request an appointment here: https://www.omgwellnessmd.com or call Optimal Medical Group at (559) 425-1118 for an appointment in our Fresno office.

Check out what others are saying about our services on Yelp: Read our Yelp reviews.