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Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

nature.com

41–50 of 80 posts

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#41

i did some work around ketamine a few years ago and many physicians i spoke with said it was incredibly helpful for their patients. however there are many others who have said it doesnt work for many of their patients. there are many studies that suggest it works and a lot of other unpublished data suggesting maybe it isnt as great the mechanism of action is also poorly understood, and while this article may certainl…

I've had Ketamine infusions for treatment resistant depression, and it did nothing for me. After failing a large range of antidepressants, my doctor prescribed buprenorphine (usually used for getting off of opiates). The buprenorphine has helped far more than any of the other medications I've been on, but now I have problems with nausea.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that expensive on darknet markets.

If I was going to use ketamine, I'd prefer to get it from a reputable source.

Reputation is the key service of darknet markets. If you would prefer to pay $380 extra every four weeks, that's your call.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#43

I know it's anecdotal, but I've been receiving ketamine at a local clinic for a few years for chronic depression and a spinal injury. It has proven too be the most effective treatment I've had for treating depression. As another poster said, it is short lived (around two months) But the release from depression, and back pain is life changing for me. To go with the article, it is incredibly fast acting. Like same day…

Does your insurance cover it?

Insurance does not cover it unfortunately

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#44
post #9

I know it's anecdotal, but I've been receiving ketamine at a local clinic for a few years for chronic depression and a spinal injury. It has proven too be the most effective treatment I've had for treating depression. As another poster said, it is short lived (around two months) But the release from depression, and back pain is life changing for me. To go with the article, it is incredibly fast acting. Like same day…

You get this done at a clinic- what's the effects like? I've heard terms like "K-hole" for heavy off-prescription users getting zonked by the stuff. I'm assuming you're taking a light dose? Can you drive yourself home?

It's a fairly heavy dose where you will k-hole. I get 1ml/kg, I definitely dissociate with it. They hook you up to a crash cart to make sure your blood pressure does not go too high, you put on some eyemasks and headphones and drift into it.

No clinics will recommend driving afterwards. The one I go to won't even allow me to Uber home, I need to arrange a medical transport or have a friend/family member there.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#45
post #15

I have been looking into Ketamine as there is a clinic which administers Ketamine therapy in my area. The disappointing thing is that it looks like the effects are short lived, and one may need "booster" treatments every 4 weeks, at $400 a shot, for years and possibly forever. I hope with this understanding, we come up with something more permanent.

curious: are you based in the US? Would it not be covered by insurance? $400/shot is a lot for Ketamine.

It's considered off label use, so insurance won't pay for it.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#46

I know it's anecdotal, but I've been receiving ketamine at a local clinic for a few years for chronic depression and a spinal injury. It has proven too be the most effective treatment I've had for treating depression. As another poster said, it is short lived (around two months) But the release from depression, and back pain is life changing for me. To go with the article, it is incredibly fast acting. Like same day…

Any side-effects? Bladder/urinary issues? What happens to you as it wears off?

I have found it to cause some memory issues for the following couple weeks, but it mostly recovers. It's certainly better than the memory issues when I'm in the throes of depression itself. It also spikes my blood pressure up quite high during treatment.

You feel sorta light headed afterwards. For the weeks after I just notice myself doing more stuff. Waking up early, having lots of energy, just feeling pretty good.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#47
post #11

I know it's anecdotal, but I've been receiving ketamine at a local clinic for a few years for chronic depression and a spinal injury. It has proven too be the most effective treatment I've had for treating depression. As another poster said, it is short lived (around two months) But the release from depression, and back pain is life changing for me. To go with the article, it is incredibly fast acting. Like same day…

How specific is the dose? Do they calibrate it by weight or body fat or anything?

The dose is based off of body weight. Some do it off of "ideal" body weight while others do actual body weight.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#48
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a huge problem for recreational use. Some individuals have trouble with it even with prescription ketamine, but it's not nearly as common. Last time I asked him, my doctor hasn't had any patients who were forced to discontinue treatment because of it. n=1, but I've been receiving ketamine therapy for about 6 years and have not developed ketamine cystitis.

Are recreational doses significantly higher than prescription doses? Why the difference?

Yes. "Recreational" users rarely suffer from ket bladder - it's people with serious addictions who are ending up in urology clinics. Users are reporting taking anything from 5 to 15 grams per day; even assuming that it's of very low purity, that's still orders of magnitude more than the doses being used to treat depression.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I was going to use ketamine, I'd prefer to get it from a reputable source.

Reputation is the key service of darknet markets. If you would prefer to pay $380 extra every four weeks, that's your call.

Are darknet markets still easy to get into? I used SR when it was around, with events in the interim I'm a bit more hesitant.

Re: Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression

#50
post #27
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

curious: are you based in the US? Would it not be covered by insurance? $400/shot is a lot for Ketamine.

Ketamine is a generic drug and dirt cheap. I just checked and it's under $10 for a vial with enough to use in surgery, not even this setting. The $400 must be the clinic charge. I'm not sure what administration looks like, but a regular doctor's visit is $100-$150 and if the patient needs to stay for a longer period of time until it's safe to release them, $400 doesn't seem that far off of what you'd expect.

That's on the low end. I've looked into it and seen prices on the order of $1000-1500 per treatment. If you filter those out, many metro areas simply have no provider that charges what would seem to be a justifiable price. Abusive pricing is a big problem for this product it seems. Several advocacy sites that I saw that maintain provider lists make note of this.
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