Behind the Buzz: How Ketamine Changes the Depressed Patient's Brain

Re:Behind the Buzz: How Ketamine Changes the Depressed Patie... by revscat on Saturday April 13, 2019 @01:11AM (#19651221)

I did professional ketamine treatments twice. The first session was over four weeks, with weekly injections given for an hour each session.

It helped tremendously for about 4 months. Then my depression kicked in again, and I enrolled again. This second round I cut off after only two sessions. It was too intense. The first one was exciting and psychedelic. The second was psychedelic but... uncomfortable? It’s hard to describe. I didn’t enjoy it, and stopped after only two.

I can see the possibilities for it, and it did help, if only for a while. But that brief respite from the constant “you’re a shit, James, no one loves you and they never will,” that voice was silenced for a while.

And it was heaven.

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Re:Behind the Buzz: How Ketamine Changes the Depressed Patie... by pault on Saturday April 13, 2019 @02:38AM (#19651443)

I know this sounds strange, but recently I ended up with a prescription for Suboxone, and it has completely cured me of lifelong debilitating depression. I really hope more research is being done. Within the span of one year my career has gone from being on the rocks to skyrocketing success, all because the crushing weight of depression has been lifted from my shoulders. YMMV.

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Re:Behind the Buzz: How Ketamine Changes the Depressed Patie... by behindmyscreen on Saturday April 13, 2019 @07:38AM (#19652389)

Yeah, it didn’t work for my wife :-(. We were hopeful.

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Re:Behind the Buzz: How Ketamine Changes the Depressed Patie... by frostburg on Saturday April 13, 2019 @02:41AM (#19651448)

Ketamine is among common psychedelics the most likely to lead to "bad trips", unfortunately. My anesthesiologist friends don't have much good to say about it (but of course they're not concerned with the anti-depressive effect).

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Re:Behind the Buzz: How Ketamine Changes the Depressed Patie... by hnzix on Saturday April 13, 2019 @05:06AM (#19651897)

SWIM always has very pleasant claymation visuals with K, as opposed to the usual soul-shredding ego death from LSD.

However prolonged use can cause bladder damage and (for the extreme mainliners) k-holes seem correlated to suicidal ideation, so as always tread carefully.

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Re:Behind the Buzz: How Ketamine Changes the Depressed Patie... by cc81 on Saturday April 13, 2019 @10:36AM (#19653219)

I doubt writing SWIM would ever work so I don't think you need to bother with it.

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Re:Behind the Buzz: How Ketamine Changes the Depressed Patie... by hnzix on Sunday April 14, 2019 @08:20AM (#19658963)

SWIM disagrees on grounds of plausible deniability, but you do you.

(There is the persnickety universe inside one's head, and there is actual experience. Please speak from experience or remain silent.)

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