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Shinbiku t1_ixqrke9 wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Amygdala connectivity predicts ketamine treatment response among patients with anxious depression by chrisdh79

I know this was meant to be a joke, but I do see a lot of people thinking that using ketamine recreationally will do the same thing. I’m an LCSW that sometimes has patients that go through ketamine treatment and the keyword here is “micro” dosages. Dosages that are pretty much so small that you don’t feel the effects.

Using it recreationally very much will give you the opposite of those benefits that microdoses offer.

There is a whole treatment process that is extremely regulated, including a very comfortable chair and medical staff that monitor the treatment and it’s entirety for a pretty lengthy amount of time.

With that being said, I remember when it was first kicking off, and the doctors at my facility we’re going through training to administer it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen doctors so excited about the results and the research that they read.

It is truly a breakthrough in the right cases, but I wish people took more time to explain exactly what the caveats are to the whole process.

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Enthusiastically t1_ixsdf9c wrote

There are multiple models of ketamine administration.

My psychiatrist prescribed me 300 mg 1x per week, which I do at home alone, and I also regularly do IM sessions in office. My at home sessions follow the in office ones in tone, and aren’t recreational, but I definitely get a lot out of it.

These are not so small you don’t feel the effects. The idea in these treatments is to come very close to but not hit the k hole.

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SpeakingFromKHole t1_ixst3k2 wrote

Hey there. I have two questions if you don't mind. I have been wondering: Isn't the trip the part that matters? Dissolving set paradigms and axioms is a process relating to conscious thought, is it not?

Also, I never understood why the literature mentions giving benzos to make people not experience trips, but benzos inhibit the learning process, which is why they are great after traumatic events, but in combination with the above question, aren't benzos counteracting the intended effect?

Edit: Also, is a clinic really an enjoyable setting? I would hate to have my experience and concentration interrupted by someone asking how I am doing.

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