That's awesome, man. Glad it is helping. What does the treatment regime look like? Like how many sessions will you do, how far apart, etc.
My friend that did this treatment here said the doctor recommended at least 5 sessions (which is also how he sold the service, in 5-packs). I think he stopped after the 5th treatment. But he still swears by it. He's not a bad dude, but he used to get really moody and depressed suddenly, which made hanging out around him weird sometimes. He seems to be in a much better mental space after those treatments, which I think was at least a year and a half ago.
OK... So the process thus far
Consultation with the Dr. - Due to Rona this was about an hour long phone conversation about my health, why I was interested, what I knew about it, my overall history with medications and yada yada yada
Based on that he makes his recommendations. Generally he said that he tends to either recommend 6 treatments over about 3 weeks or 8 over 4 weeks depending on the patient.
Because I'm currently on medicine and active and healthy and see a therapist, etc etc etc 6 and 3 it is.
You're not allowed to drive after so you have to work out a ride and he strongly recommends a friend or family member the first time so that you're actually with someone that you're cozy with in case you're a bit fucked up after.
So you go in, sit in a quiet little room, he talks to you for a bit. Based on weight and misc factors he determines the dose. They take blood pressure and constantly monitor it. Hook you up to a monitor for heart rate, rhythm, and pulse ox.
Then they start an IV. Inject the ketamine into the saline and then titrate the drip accordingly.
They then leave the room. You can have the lights out, on, listen to music, whatever. You're still hooked up the monitors and they're able to watch from a very visible camera (it's not like they're hiding it and being creepy). There's a call button if you freak out or need anything.
It seems to take about 15 minutes before you really start feeling it and tripping. Then lift off. It takes about 40/50 minutes for the drugs to run through from start to finish. Then you're just sitting and relaxing and coming to your senses for about a half hour.
Then the Dr comes in and does a little debriefing. Then you're good to go home.
This place will let someone sit with you if you'd like. Family or therapist.
After the first visit I felt good after and went and got some pho with my girlfriend. She makes fun of me because I'm a little goofier than normal right after. So basically I could go be pretty productive if I needed to do something.
The Dr. says that some patients are able to stop taking their normal daily anti-depressants/anti-anxiety meds after but he would leave that up to my therapist and primary care physician. Most patients tend to need a bit of a "booster" after about 3 to 4 months. Some need it monthly. Some only need it about once a year.
After 3 visits I can't say that I "feel" differently in regards to my mood. Of course I already felt pretty good. Very functional. I just want to be better and hopefully get to a place where I don't need to take a pill every day as I do have some side effects that are just annoying. Not bad. So if I need to continue taking them then I'm perfectly content with that.
There is obviously something going on. People have commented that I seem to be in an especially good mood. So that's cool. I'm also sleeping better. Feels like a more restful sleep than I normally get. The benefit seems to be that all of the volume on the background noise in my brain has been turned down. So I'm far more focused and alert. I joked to the Dr that even if my mood is garbage my brain function is wild and it's as though I've taken that Limitless shit.
Any questions about cost or anything else related to this just let me know.
