Can ketamine help to treat PTSD and depression? | Ask the Expert - ClarksvilleNow.com

Improving your mental health is an important journey, and it can be filled with life-changing questions. The professionals at Novus Behavioral Health are here to help you find some of the answers.

Question: I've heard that ketamine can be an effective treatment for PTSD. Should I give it a try?

Answer: Ketamine is a rapid-acting treatment that provides relief for up to 70% of patients who have failed numerous other medications. It's been used to treat depression, PTSD, alcohol dependence and other mental health disorders.

For veterans in particular, PTSD is a rising problem. About 30% of active-duty and military personnel who were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan now suffer from mental illness, and fewer than half of returning veterans in need of mental health treatment receive it. Over 40% of all veterans struggle with their mental health or substance abuse, giving a good indication that more help is needed. The Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) described the 30-day prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as 4.8% compared to less than 1% - five times higher - among a civilian comparison group

Suicide among post-9/11 veterans rose more than tenfold from 2006 to 2020 even as the rate remained relatively flat in the general U.S. adult population, according to a new review of 2.5 million service member records.

In 2019, a new solution was offered in the form of controlled use of ketamine. Ketamine can produce a psychedelic effect when used in low doses. Treatment can reduce physical pain as well as assist the brain to "rewire" itself, creating new neural connections, according to a Harvard Health Publishing paper on the topic. The FDA approved a prescription version of ketamine called esketamine (Spravato), for hard-to-treat depression.

Ketamine was first used as an anesthetic in 1970. In 1990, researchers found this medicine could reduce, and sometimes eliminate, symptoms of depression. Over the last ten years, ketamine has been more frequently utilized to tackle the growing burden of difficult to treat mental health symptoms. Studies have shown success rates of antidepressant medications to be as low as 30%. Ketamine has demonstrated success rates as high as 70%. Novus has seen symptoms improve in 95% of patients who have received ketamine treatments.

How does treatment work?

Ketamine infusion treatment uses very low doses of the dissociative anesthetic to reduce the symptoms of mental health conditions including suicidal ideation, treatment-resistant depression, depressive episodes of bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, alcohol use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. It has shown to alleviate suicidal ideation with just a single dose.

The advantages of ketamine treatment are many. Unlike typical antidepressant treatment, you do not have to take a pill every day. Some patients are able to reduce the frequency of their maintenance treatment to once every three months, whereas others come monthly. The risk of side effects compared to SSRIs and SNRIs is significantly lower. Additionally, ketamine works fast. No more having to wait six weeks to determine if the next prescription is going to help. With ketamine, depressed patients often see a difference within three to four treatments.

The medication is received in a series of six infusions over a three-week period and one "booster" infusion around four weeks later.

How much does ketamine treatment cost?

Novus is now able to bill the full cost of ketamine treatment to the Veterans Administration for service-connected disabled veterans with treatment-resistant depression. Caring for veterans is one of our greatest passions at Novus Behavioral Health. It is a personal mission of each of our team members to serve the men and women who have bravely served our country. Ketamine will help us fight to keep our vets alive and well.

Until recently, Middle Tennessee residents had to pay for ketamine completely out of pocket, at between $2,700 to $4,000 for a series of seven infusions. Remaining true to our mission of expanding access to mental health treatment to our community, Novus has worked to reduce the financial burden and collaborates with patients to keep this cost much lower.

Additionally, Spravato (esketamine) the nasal spray form of ketamine, is commonly covered by insurance plans.

To find out more, visit the Novus Behavioral Health ketamine therapy information page, call 931-820-0242, email hello@novusbh.com or visit their office at 556 Fire Station Road, Suite A.