Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
washingtonpost.com
Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
1–10 of 58 posts
Re: Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
#2FTA: "While a single dose of ketamine is cheaper than a $2 bottle of water, the cost to the consumer varies wildly, running anywhere between $500 and $1,500 per treatment."
Sigh.... why? Why must we turn any opportunity into a money grab?
Re: Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
#3Absolutely extraordinary success rate here. 75% success in treating depression and suicidal ideation? That's a revolution.
Re: Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
#4FTA: "While a single dose of ketamine is cheaper than a $2 bottle of water, the cost to the consumer varies wildly, running anywhere between $500 and $1,500 per treatment." Sigh.... why? Why must we turn any opportunity into a money grab?
We need not. We can fix this in a stroke of the pen with single-payer. Unlikely, but not impossible.
Re: Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
#5While this is undeniably impressive and hopeful, it should be noted that these are short-term affects. The article mentions this: "So far, there is no evidence of addiction at the low dose in which infusions are delivered. Ketamine does, however, have one major limitation: Its relief is temporary. Clinical trials at NIMH have found that relapse usually occurs about a week after a single infusion."
It then goes on to talk about possibly alleviating this with booster treatments.
For me, even the possibility of there being temporary relief makes it something I would seriously consider pursuing, for two reasons. First, when my depression gets really acute it basically means that I simply am unable to leave the house. If I were free of that chain I strongly suspect/hope it would be easier to seek out -- and be consistently dedicated to -- treatments that were more long term: meditation, therapy, etc.
Second, just the thought of being happy for a few moments. Well, the allure of that is likely obvious. Were the almost omnipresent internal dialog of "you suck, you stupid fuck, dumb faggot, stupid fucking nigger," etc. able to be minimized or eliminated, even if temporarily, it would make such a great difference in my life that I almost can't quite imagine it.
Right now I escape it by playing video games. This is not exactly the most positive way to live, however.
Re: Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
#6FTA: "While a single dose of ketamine is cheaper than a $2 bottle of water, the cost to the consumer varies wildly, running anywhere between $500 and $1,500 per treatment." Sigh.... why? Why must we turn any opportunity into a money grab?
We need not. We can fix this in a stroke of the pen with single-payer. Unlikely, but not impossible.
I'm sure that some of the treatment cost involved the doctor's time as well. And unless single-payer means that patient's sign away their ability to make liability claims, that is also a huge part of any anesthetic-like procedure cost.
Re: Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
#7FTA: "While a single dose of ketamine is cheaper than a $2 bottle of water, the cost to the consumer varies wildly, running anywhere between $500 and $1,500 per treatment." Sigh.... why? Why must we turn any opportunity into a money grab?
That seems like a silly statement. Treating a patient with a dose of ketamine includes a lot more costs than just the drug.
If a patient comes in and gets an infusion of ketamine, even if the procedure only takes 1 hr (infuse and observe), you need to pay for the building, the nurse, the physician, all the backroom staff, etc.
Hell, I go into my primary care doctor for an annual physician and it costs ~$200. I see the doctor for maybe 5 minutes and a nurse for maybe another 5 min.
It's like saying "the cost of a bottle of coke is only $0.20, and it's such a shame that it costs me $1.50 at a gas station".
Re: Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
#8Here is anecdotal evidence for another interesting "drug":
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16542786
In this study, N=small, but nevertheless, I think it is a very interesting article. Because the effects are so rapid, and magnesium supplementation is in general harmless, it is imho definitely a good idea to see if a magnesium deficiency is the cause of the disorder. Please take note that not all magnesium supplements are equal.
Re: Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
#9While this is undeniably impressive and hopeful, it should be noted that these are short-term affects. The article mentions this: "So far, there is no evidence of addiction at the low dose in which infusions are delivered. Ketamine does, however, have one major limitation: Its relief is temporary. Clinical trials at NIMH have found that relapse usually occurs about a week after a single infusion." It then goes on to…
> Its relief is temporary. Clinical trials at NIMH have found that relapse usually occurs about a week after a single infusion." It then goes on to talk about possibly alleviating this with booster treatments.
I know some people will naturally object to this, but to be honest - assuming people don't build up a tolerance to the effects[0], what's wrong with that?
People are accustomed to taking all sorts of drugs on a daily basis, from antidepressants to sleeping aids to coffee (caffeine!). If someone invented from scratch an antidepressant that could only be taken once a week, we'd be heralding it as a miracle drug.
The main opposition to Ketamine is likely to be its history of recreational use ("Special K"). But that narrative - opposing medicine because of its potential psychoactive effects - is nothing new.
[0] I don't mean a tolerance to Ketamine in general, but a tolerance to this anti-depressive effect
Re: Research into ketamine as a treatment for severe depression
#10FTA: "While a single dose of ketamine is cheaper than a $2 bottle of water, the cost to the consumer varies wildly, running anywhere between $500 and $1,500 per treatment." Sigh.... why? Why must we turn any opportunity into a money grab?
That seems like a silly statement. Treating a patient with a dose of ketamine includes a lot more costs than just the drug. If a patient comes in and gets an infusion of ketamine, even if the procedure only takes 1 hr (infuse and observe), you need to pay for the building, the nurse, the physician, all the backroom staff, etc. Hell, I go into my primary care doctor for an annual physician and it costs ~$200. I see th…
A bottle of Coke would be even more than $1.50 if you were legally required to pay a team of upper middle class salaried attendants to sit you in a very expensive chair in a very expensive building and hand-feed it to you. Don't get me wrong, that is how I would like to enjoy a Coke now and then, but it's good to have less luxurious options available at a lower price.