Ketamine was developed over 50 years ago for anesthesia during surgery. More recently, the FDA has approved ketamine as a state-of-art treatment for depression, anxiety and certain pain disorders. Highly controlled doses of ketamine are administered intravenously (IV) in a clinic setting.

“While ketamine is successful for most patients, it is not for everyone. Each patient is carefully screened to ensure that they are a good fit for the therapy,” says Susan Gillispie of Wholistic Health in Mobile.

Doses are tailored for each patient with consideration to weight, diagnosis, severity, etc. Three out of four patients get rapid relief with IV ketamine infusion therapy—most after their first infusion.

Depression and other forms of stress damage the communication system between areas of the brain responsible for memory, learning and higher-order thinking. Ketamine works like a flash mob to make repairs to this damage. Improvement may be seen in as little as a few hours, as ketamine prompts connections to regrow in brain cells involved in mood.

A series of low-dose ketamine infusions can supply protection against relapse of depression, anxiety or suicidal thoughts. When ketamine works, it isn’t subtle. Most patients remark that “they can’t remember feeling this good before.”