Ketamine For Depression? (Page 10)

It was recommended by the members of a separate thread that one be started that directly relates to ketamine and it's use to treat depression.

If anyone besides myself would like to discuss it's use as a treatment for depression, feel free to post your questions, answers and experiences here.

This thread is an offshoot of a related one that discussed a treatment of Scopolamine for depression.

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I have to agree with you Paula. I went 3X to him, got up to a dosage of 115 or 125, but there were people there getting 3X that much. It was very, very expensive and I had to have some very expensive tests prior to getting the ketamine which he never even looked at, as far as I know. He's a nice guy, very personable, but my 3rd experience was a nightmare. I told him I wouldn't be coming back, and he said it was only after the "bad" experiences that my brain would "start" to get better. Be prepared to shell out some big bucks if you go to Dr. Best because there are people being treated there who go twice/week for MONTHS. That's over $1K/week. As for pre-and-post follow-up, his staff pushed me to schedule the appointments with him every week (in addition to the ketamine) - minimum $190 for 15 min. I wish it had worked for me but it didn't and I think there were other folks there just going along with it because they are desperate and have or don't mind spending the money. You are spot on.

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What a tool bag! He is full of it. He said 3 words to me out of my 3 visits. I am not kidding! I think they were "talk to her" indicating his 20 year old receptionist. DO NOT TRUST HIM! Unless you are making BIG BANK! Now he's billing me for $300 for something. He will never see it, hahaha.

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I was mistaken when I said proper dosage for Ketamine is 1 mg/kg. It is actually 0.5mg/kg. My bad.

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Yesterday I made an incorrect statement. I was mistaken when I said proper dosage for Ketamine is 1 mg/kg. The generally accepted protocol for dosage of Ketamine infusion is actually 0.5mg/kg. My bad.

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Paula, thanks for posting about the correct dosage for ketamine. I did a search last night of all clinical trials using ketamine on clinicaltrials.gov. Just as you said, ALL of them use .50mg/kg. So....if my math is right, when I got a dosage of 115 mgs for my last (awful, terrifying) infusion, I got enough for a 506 lb. man! I am 140 lbs. Thank you soooooo much, Dr. Steven Best, for that horrible experience from which I am still recovering!

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Good Ketamine treatment available in AZ: try Depression Recovery Centers. Good work. Good people

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Hi everyone. I want to first thank whoever began this thread. I found it after googling doctors prescribing Ketamine for depression in Chicago because I've been battling treatment resistant depression for 8 years. (EDIT: I realized that my message was getting crazy long, so I put the rest of the details below.) My question is - can anyone steer me in the direction of a responsible doctor providing ketamine infusions in the Chicago area? Reading through the thread I found posts naming several dangerous scam artist "doctors" to avoid who charge exorbitant fees, etc. I'm grateful for these warnings, as the last thing I need is to get taken advantage of by someone preying on desperate people. But the name of a legitimate and well-intentioned doctor would be even more appreciated. I don't see a way for anyone to contact me here, so if you can help, please email me at {edited for privacy}. Thank you.

Background con't: A laundry list of medications and a fair amount of talk therapy have proven unsuccessful so far. Long story short - at this point I have no choice but to explore more dramatic or experimental options, meet all the criteria for ketamine treatment 10x over, and feel that this is a matter of life and death. I found a current clinical trial and "passed" their screening process/requirements with flying colors (not exactly a happy moment). The problem is that the nearest study location is 800 miles away. I simply don't have the energy or finances to afford the many visits required over a period of months. That's why I've come here.

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Hi Renee, you may want to try getting into a clinical study being run by Naurex for an experimental drug called GLYX-13. It was developed by a researcher at Northwestern and they have study sites in Evanston and Chicago. It is supposed to have all the positive effects of ketamine but none of the bad (bad "trip" feeling, the "K-hole"). I tried to get into it but was rejected because I am also on klonopin, ambien, and seroquel. Like you I tested off the charts for depression on the Hamilton depression scale. Look for this phase 2 study on the website clinicaltrials.gov and call the contact people. If you are not on the above meds my guess is you will get in. An added bonus; everyone in the study gets the drug; the study intake person told me out of the 16 weeks you could end up getting the actual drug (not a placebo) up to 12 times. So at least you know you're not going to wind up in a placebo-only arm. I highly recommend you try this; ketamine is a tough drug especially if the doctor gives you too much, which happened in my case and I had a horrific experience. Good luck to you.

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@catpower I like Cat Power too, if that's what your username is referencing. Thanks so so much for this info. I actually contacted Naurex about this a year ago when I first started looking into Ketamine-type treatment but at the time they didn't have a trial running in Chicago. Before I posted here I looked it up again and it looked like I'd missed it (online the Chicago study is labelled completed). So glad you told me otherwise - spoke to them today and the only issue seemed to be the ADD meds I'm on. They said they'd have to check if this is ok and would get back to me tomorrow. A part of me is nervous about trying something so experimental but I'm hoping to get in. The dissociative effects of Ketamine scare the crap out of me (I've never tried it, but what I've heard sounds awful). And anxiety is a huge problem for me as well. But if this study doesn't pan out I will probably still try the Ketamine - maybe with that doctor in East Indiana Paula mentioned? I wish there was a way to contact posters here directly or at least post email addresses. It's weird that they're censored.

Cutting-edge therapy aside, I'd love to hear if there's a shrink anyone's found particularly helpful. I just moved back to town after a year away and am using my old adolescent psychiatrist (I'm 23, but feel 70) as a temporary fix just for prescriptions. Have been too low on motivation and too socially anxious to find a new one. There are so many options and I have no one to ask for a referral these days.

@JimmyJam I've actually heard about this reaction repeatedly and thought it was pretty common. To be fair, this was from recreational users, but it makes sense that the experiences would be similar. For the life of me I can't understand how this was ever a popular "club drug"...

@JamesB Did you ever try the infusions or go to Dr. Fanelli?

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Renee, I actually don't know much about Catpower but like her name :) I am older than you so am much more of a Kate Bush fan. Anyway good luck with the Naurex trial; all I can tell you is Dr. Best totally overdosed me on ketamine and I am confident the Naurex people won't overdose you on their drug. They have already completed at least one ph 2 trial with good results (you can google this because I don't think it will show up on clinicaltrials.gov). As for good psychiatrists, I see Dr. David McNeil; he has offices in Chicago and Buffalo Grove; his phone number is 847-291-8810. He doesn't know much about ketamine but didn't object to me trying it (kind of wish he had now...) anyway he is a terrific doc and knows about all the other drugs. Hopefully the admins of this site won't delete this post. I think you can ask them to let you contact people privately but I don't know how that works. Again, good luck to you!

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RE: GLYX-13 - PLEASE - EVERYONE - LET US KEEP EACH OTHER INFORMED ABOUT THIS MEDICATION. IF ANYONE GETS INTO A TRIAL, PLEASE KEEP US IN THE LOUP. THIS DRUG AND DRUGS THAT WORK SIMILARLY ARE OUR BEST HOPE FOR GETTING VIABLE, SAFE TREATMENT. ONGOING TREATMENT. IT WON'T BECOME SOMETHING EXPLOITABLE FOR MONEY, PREYING ON DESPERATELY SUFFERING PATIENTS., WITH MDD. KETAMINE HAS OPENED A LOT OF DOORS, AND WILL LEAD TO AN AFFORDABLE VIABLE, LEGAL TREATMENT, WITOUT THE SIDE EFFECTS OF KETAMINE. IT IS A WIDELY USED ANESTHETIC. IF YOU TALK TO ANY ANESTHESIOLOGIST WHO USES IT ON A REGULAR BASIS, "NOBODY LIKES IT." IT WAS THE PORTAL TO A WHOLE NEW MODE OF TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION. AS IT IS, IT WILL NEVER BE A VIABLE MEDICATION FOR ALL OF US SUFFERING FROM TRD, MDD. NOW WE HAVE HOPE FOR A MAIN STREAM MEDICATION THAT WORKS! MOST IMPORTANTLY, ON A NEW AREA IN THE BRAIN. THERE IS SO MUCH NEW INFORMATION NOW, BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW IT WORKS. MOST IMPORTANTLY GLXY-13 IS NOT NEW. THEY ARE NOT STARTING FROM SCRATCH. IT AND SEVERAL OTHER POSSIBLE MEDICATIONS THAT WORK IN SIMILAR WAYS, HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE. GLXY-13 SINCE 1983. SO IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT IT WILL BE AVAILABLE SOONER.
NIMH HAS A GREAT ARTICLE RECENTLY PUBLISHED. THIS IS BY FAR ONE OF THE MOST RELIABLE SITES FOR INFORMATION.
THE ENTIRE SITUATION WITH KETAMINE, USING IT OFF LABEL AND EXPLOITING PATIENTS IS DISGUSTING. PLUS THEY DO NOT HAVE THE INFORMATION OR KNOWLEDGE OR EDUCATION TO USE IT. NO ONE KNOWS ENOUGH ABOUT IT YET, EVEN THE RESEARCHERS WHO HAVE BEEN STUDYING IT FOR A DOZEN YEARS. DO NOT KNOW ENOUGH YET.PLEASE POST ABOUT GLXY-13....

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BlueheelerCD, I couldn't agree with you more about the importance of posting about GLYX-13. You are right, it is definitely not a "new" drug, the Northwestern researchers have been working on it for almost 30 years. I was inconsolable when the intake people excluded me from the current phase 2 trial, but I am still hopeful it will be approved and on the market in my lifetime (mid-60s). I used to work in clinical trials and most drugs don't make it past pre-clinical (animal) or phase 1 trials; GLYX-13 sounds like it has a real chance. Don't let your desperation force into finding a crook doctor who will treat you with ketamine after first requiring you to pay for numerous expensive and unnecessary tests, then charge you $700 or more per treatment (which is what I did). All of the legitimate ketamine clinical trials (see clinicaltrials.gov) use only 0.5mg ketamine per kg of body weight; any doctor who uses more in an attempt to "break" your depression is unethical and exposing you to a potential nightmare bad trip. Sorry for repeating myself but I don't want anyone to go through what I did with ketamine. Thanks also BlueheelerCD for the NIMH info.

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Catpower- Hi, Paula here. Yeah, Best started me at 0.5 mg/kg or 50 mg in I believe 500 cc of Normal Saline infusion over 1 hour the first time, same as Alexian trial. Minor weird feeling w/ Best, never ANYTHING w/the Clinical Trial.
Regardless, with Best, no result the first visit, same as Clinical trial Alexian. So Best DOUBLED the dosage the next visit and HORRENDOUS experience. Thank goodness it stopped shortly after the infusion was over.
Alexian kept dosage the same throughout the trial, and I had the miraculous results after my 3rd infusion. Only lasts 1 week, so not very practical.
I have read some things about this GLY stuff a while ago, so thanks so much for the info, don't remember about it but I will totally dig into this. Sounds PROMISING!! I am excited. Thanks again!!

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To Everyone- Dr. Fanelli of East Chicago is not yet using ketamine at this time. Spoke with his nurse, she was quite nice and knowledgeable. He is not there yet, this was about 3 weeks ago. I would give it a couple of months, but I am all over the GLYX-13, gonna do my research! Will keep updating. Enjoy summer!

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I am moderately less depressed to have found this thread.

A bit of background: I have had refractory depression and agoraphobia w/ panic for over 30 years. I have been on everything from MAOIs to SSRI/SNRI, lithium and everything else in between with only MAOIs really doing any good but I was allergic to the substrate.

I applied to bother the Glix-13 and Ketamine trials and was excluded from both. Glix -13 for the Agoraphobia w/ Panic (as it is axis 1) and Ketamine for not having a 2 month symptom free time in the past 6 years.

I am fairly convinced that if I could get symptom free or at least symptom lite I could go back to working and make a good wage again (13 years ago I was averaging 90k a year today I am on disability at lets just say substantially less [like poverty line])

This thread has shown me that there are doctors who are willing to try other methods and specifically the ketamine route which has the potential of reversing the damage done from years of anxiety and depression. Again at the least it is a glimmer of hope. For anyone else out there who is also struggling keep on fighting even though Glix and ketamine are 1-2 decades away from fda approval there is hope.

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Please-everyone-we need your stories. Who has gotten significant help?
Who many infusions?
How many time?
When did you first notice results if any?
How long did they last?
We need to inform ourselves with real information.
Please tell us your experience in terms of resolving depression.
I will put the info together so we can have our own basis to make educated decisions.
Too many doctors are taking advantage of sick desperate , depressed people that have been suffering for years.
I am in touch with some of the real clinical trials, but not what is going on out there.
We can become an intelligent force to be reckoned with instead of "victims."

We need more info about GLYX-13! Please pass it forward....desperate

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If you will follow my postings from last summer on, while I was on Ketamine Trial, there is tons of info! Do your homework and dig back into about a year ago. Good luck!

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I tryed Ketamine for depression IV infusion in NYC. 3 infusions every other day 5mg/kg over 40 minutes. It works well for depression but the effect vanished after 24-48h. So a proper regimen would be 1 infusion every other day. It is very expansive (450$ each), no side effect, I was totally medication free.
The experience while infusion is on is very fun and interesting, sort of a mild trip.
After the infusion you get 100% well in 15 minutes.

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I assume you mean .5 mg/kg not 5mg/kg

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@ Renee, Keller, Blueheelercd, Catpower, I go to I psych in Chicago that I like a lot. He has used ketamine infusions in the past. He said they were in conjunction with ECT so I don't know if he does them stand-alone, but he uses a lot of med and other combos that some doctors haven't even heard of. He also was aware of a GLYX-13 trial ( I think) that he told me about in Evanston so he may have more info on that.

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