Depression can make it hard to function, and over time, your cognitive function starts to suffer as your brain gets stuck in the same self-destructive loop. Ketamine therapy can change all that, giving you the chance at a better life.
At Regenerative MedSpa of Buckhead, located in Atlanta, Georgia, our experienced provider offers ketamine infusions for a variety of physical and mental health issues, giving patients relief from symptoms and improving their ability to function.
A history of ketamine
Ketamine has been in use as an effective anesthetic since the 1960s, thanks to its unique properties. Unlike most other anesthetics, ketamine doesn’t cause a sedative effect. Instead, it allows the patient to gently disassociate from what’s happening, leading to a calm state of mind and a quicker recovery from anesthesia.
Despite an unfortunate stint as a “party drug,” ketamine maintains its usefulness and has recently been researched more heavily for another benefit: its ability to help patients with treatment-resistant depression make headway in their recovery and reestablish healthy cognitive function.
The challenges posed by treatment-resistant depression
Antidepressants like SSRIs and SNRIs are the first line of defense against depression, but they don’t work for everyone. If you’ve been trying to have your depression treated for years, you know how demoralizing and frustrating it can be to switch medications, wait three to six months to see how effective they are, then switch again in a search for the magic pill that helps your specific brand of depression.
When SSRIs and SNRIs fail, other psychiatric drugs may be used “off-label” in efforts to help you get out of the dark hole of depression. However, sometimes nothing works, and you’re left struggling as your cognitive function declines and every day seems harder than the last.
It’s estimated that 30% of people with depression are treatment-resistant, meaning they’ve already tried two or more medications but have had no luck yet. If this sounds like you, ketamine therapy could be the right next step.
Ketamine for cognitive function and depression
Ketamine can help you disassociate from your deep feelings of depression — often coupled with intense feelings of shame, fear, or guilt — and give you a chance at a fresh start. The nasal spray Spravato® was approved in 2019 for treatment-resistant depression, but the common practice for many patients is to get regular ketamine IV infusions.
Cognitive function and depression are closely linked, but ketamine can disconnect the two and let your brain reset. That’s because ketamine targets a specific type of receptor in your central nervous system called N-methyl-D-aspartate, often referred to as NMDA. These receptors affect neuroplasticity, improving your cognitive function by allowing your brain to make new connections and break away from ones that tend to drag you down into the same old spiral of depression.
We administer ketamine infusions in our office, where you’ll have a comfortable, dim surrounding to relax while the medication works its way into your bloodstream. Studies show that ketamine works quickly to relieve depressive symptoms; most patients say they feel significantly better in just 24 hours, and positive effects can last three months or longer.
If you’re struggling with depression and other treatments have failed, consider ketamine infusions. Contact us by calling our practice or using our online booking tool to make an appointment.