Ketamine therapy is an increasingly popular method for treating treatment-resistant depression. It’s also shown promise in treating other mental health issues such as suicide, PTSD, and more. Ketamine therapy shows lots of promise, but there is more than one way of taking it. Here are the most common methods of taking ketamine treatment in Florida.
Ketamine infusion therapy is the most common and believed to be the safest method for taking ketamine. It works by giving a patient a low dose of ketamine through an IV. This method is currently preferred because it means the patient is monitored by a medical professional the whole time. It’s easy to administer and track dosage as well. However, because it requires medical care and is through an IV, ketamine infusion therapy can be more expensive.
Another common method of taking ketamine to treat depression is oral. Oral ketamine produces rapid and persistent treatment in depression symptoms. It’s usually tolerable and is cheaper to administer, as there is no IV. However, many fear oral ketamine can lead to higher addiction rates and has a higher risk of abuse. More research will help to better understand the risks and impacts of oral ketamine.
The FDA is close to approving a new drug, called esketamine, which is based on ketamine. This drug is a nasal spray. Nasal ketamine is a newer method of ingesting it but shows promise. It provides quick results and is a much cheaper method of administering it. However, there is still a risk of abuse, and tracking dosage can be hard. That’s why the FDA is still recommending nasal ketamine for use in clinics rather than at home.
As ketamine becomes a more common treatment for disorders such as depression, more research will look into the safest and most effective methods of administering the drug. Right now ketamine infusions are the common standard, but nasal sprays and oral pills may be the future of this treatment.