Are Pdocs Currently Using Ketamine For Treatment Resistant Major Depressive Disorder?
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I know this is in the clinical trial phase to some degree but have been reading about people who have seen their doc for a ketamine infusion or nasal spray for treatment resistant Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

I guess what I don't understand is if the clinical trials are only to learn how ketamine rapidly produces positive effects on people like myself, who've been treated for many years with many drugs and never found anything to relieve my MDD.

Does anyone know where I can find a doctor in my state, AZ? I saw a list in the Ketammine for Depression forums of doctors who use it for depression but I can't afford to drop in to UCLA Medical center for a shot at treatment.

My MDD has lasted over 20 years with very short (6 week) remissions. The past 6 years I've had no remission at all and the situation has reached a critical point.

To make matters worse, I've exhausted every financial resource I had over the past 18 years on finding a medication that helped. All to no avail.

Now I have no resources outside my state (state insurance won't cover me if I'm traveling), they don't cover Ketamine for depression, and I haven't been able to work for so long, I don't have a way to earn any money for treatment much less the basics like housing.

And, no I don't collect disability because I never worked enough credit hours to pay into the Social Security system. I applied for SSI but was denied & told I should seek the help of a professional in that field to reapply. But again, I spent almost $100,000 over 15 years seeking help and am no better today than the day I first set out to get better.

The reason I ask about Ketamine is because I've spoken to the NIMH about their study and read the study results up to this point & was impressed with a 71% success rate providing some or all relief from MDD symptoms. The research seems to show the frontal cortex of the brain which is slowly damaged if a person suffers with untreated MDD for extended periods of time; MAY SHOW a reversal of that damage when Ketamine is given. That is a study still in progress so that statement is to be taken as hopeful but not proven medical fact until the study releases it.

Lastly, I want to mention I am NOT advocating the illegal "club" drug Ketamine one might buy on the street. This form of Ketamine has been altered and is typically infused or used via Nasal Spray.
Buying Ketamine without a doctors prescription is against US law as well as many other countries laws.

The street Ketamine causes horrible side effects that can kill or permanently damage the human body. The way the study & psychiatric Ketamine was explained to me, it is not made the same way the street drug is and therefore received FDA approval for clinical trial on humans in the US.

If you are like me and suffer the most severe type of MDD, please do not try to use this drug without a doctors supervision, not only can you die, but even scarier to me, the MDD may get even worse.

Any idea of how to Google search for AZ doctors who use it for MDD (not pain as it's not my chief complaint) please advise!
I've searched for hours and all I can find is a couple pain clinics and clinical trials.

I'll find a way to pay for it but travel to CA is not an option even though it's only 5 hours by car.

Thanks for your help!!

After having tried 78 medications, 5 doctors, and 7 counselors, I'm at the end of the line. Can't live with this anymore & personally I don't feel I should have to. Thanks.

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Call my office integrity pain and Wellness Scottsdale arizona

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I did 8 infusions "every other day" for 14 days in Atlanta. It was literally a miracle for my clinical depression. Within "24 hours" I was "out" of severe clinical depression after 4 years!! It has been 4 months now and things are still great. It is not about the treatment itself, it got even better over the next several weeks. I will go back for a booster if necessary but haven't needed to yet. Life still happens but the clinical depression is gone. I still have down days but they seem to be the "normal" depression which does not stay with me and is absolutely nothing like the old depression. I was nervous at first but there is nothing to be afraid of. My infusions were $350 a piece. No side effects other than my mind was a little hazy for a few weeks but cleared completely. The infusion last about 40 minutes and I stayed another 15 minutes before leaving. About 5 hours later after resting, I was going to a movie or out to dinner. I did have to stay in Atlanta for two weeks but my wife and I made a vacation out of it. It was the first "peace and serenity" that I had experienced in 4 years and the first "anything" I had enjoyed for years and it happened immediately !! Don't hesitate. GO NOW!!!

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Sorry for such a late response but that is my same exact belief on the subject. The bottom line ALWAYS involves a money trail and mental health treatment is no exception. Common sense should tell the government, if a person is living in a nightmare of severe depression that person is not going to question relief and relief for many comes in the form of opiates. Legal or street, it doesn't matter. Most eventually end up as statistics from overdose or suicide when tolerance builds and the government is fully aware of this and encourage it. Most learn the hard way, when you suffer with TRD, you are on your own. As long as "anti depressants" are sold and making billions of dollars, the meds actually helping is a non issue. Generic medication by itself is such a corrupt industry you would think most of it is manufactured in Washington DC. People commit suicide because of severe depression on a regular basis and many made the mistake of placing their very survival in the hands of people "who cared." I may not survive but that is one mistake i will NEVER make again. Been there, done that and learned the hard way but i learned!

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Hi, I am Canadian and we have some trials...but no FDA approval.......with a very liberal psychiatrist it can be done.....far and few.....there are stateside Clinical Government Trials...worth a shot??? Do not know. As an RN researcher who presently is dealing with depression....I gotta tell you......physical trials are A LOT easier. This illness.......well...it sucks....

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I suffer major depression. I have had a few suicide attempts. It is so hard. If anyone can help me i would love to be a candidate in a ketamine trial or a doctor whom would prescribe it for me please. I want to enjoy life. I am on prozac now. I still have a lot of sadness.

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I just recently learned of ketamine as a depression/bipolar option. I have suffered for as long as I can remember with severe depression and was later diagnosed with bipolar and sever anxiety. I've attempted suicide that would've been successful had not my 7 year old niece walked in and found me (something I deeply regret and feel shame to have subjected her to such an awful bloody site and at such a young age). I'm 43 as of two days ago and have been on disability since 2008 since my anxiety interference with normal daily life is so severe as well as violent thoughts towards myself and others prevents me from doing most anything. My depression is so severe and in combination with degenerative disc disease since I was 15 along with PTSD from an ongoing relationship with my husband of 27 years who is extremely violent, verbally and mentally abusive, with very minor physical abuse. Due to the combination of all these things my days everyday are spent in bed with no motivation to do much of anything at all. The thought of even leaving the house to get groceries or for a Dr appointment creates such extreme anxiety beginning days in advance most times resulting in me cancelling appointments or going without food so I don't have to go to the store. I've been on more medications than I could ever remember, seen many therapists and shrinks and of course in patient treatment for the suicide attempt all of been unsuccessful at relieving or even lessening my symptoms. I know it's been several years since your original post but I'm interested in your experience and also why you would not recommend the nasal option. Are you still getting Ketamine treatments and if not have the results lasted? What level of improvement did you personally have and would you still recommend this form of treatment for depression these years later? Lastly have you encountered any negative side effects temporary or long lasting? I had been literally at the point of giving up completely trying to achieve any quality of life and accepting this is how I would remain for whatever time I have left suffering until my eventual passing. I would greatly appreciate any information or advice you can give me regarding the treatment of very sever depression/bipolar/PTSD/sever anxiety with Ketamine. Thank You in advance for your help and your time.

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Marsha have an appointment with Dr Brooks in two weeks. If there is any way we could chat I would appreciate it. Your help would be a blessing. Frank.

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Just to let you know, at least for some of us the effects continue to work. I have been prescribed ketamine for nine months now and it is still working. It is an off-label use here in Canada as well. I have had depressive episodes, usually a few times a year, every year but one since I was a teen (the wonderful year I was on rTMS, which worked marvellously in one modality, but when the insurance decided compassionate exceptions run out I eventually found another study and the different modality resulted in no effect at all). Like most of the people here I've tried combinations of anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, anxiety meds, from every category but the MAOIs.

I have never tried ketamine injections; they do not do them here. They are ridiculously expensive. My doctor uses compounded tablets, taken orally. Because of stomach surgery I took a sublingual liquid (hold under tongue ten min then swallow). For months I was taking it every 2-3 days and it continued to work. I did have a sudden drop in efficacy a few weeks ago, but it coincided with a newly compounded liquid and we switched to a liquid that sprays up the nose (like a perfume atomizer). It is easy to use, can be done at home (after learning the method and what to expect from the effects at the doctors office) and if you have it compounded (not from the pre-made liquid for injections) the cost is reasonable. I am paying around $125 for a 2-3 month supply. Insurance won't cover it, but $60 a month is a far cry from the $1200 a month for four treatments of IV infusions in the US. The only difference I have found is that so far I do not get the weird effects during the first hour or two. Hopefully this will continue. The weirdness is not scary, actually sort of interesting, but it takes time out of my day, and thanks to medications that are working, I am interested in doing other things with my time. I am still on other antidepressants and anxiolytics. But I am a fully-functioning member of society, productive, and I feel a full and normal range of emotions. I really hope physicians overcome their association of ketamine with club drugs and realize that it can have strong beneficial effects on people for whom other medications either do no work at all, or do not work sufficiently.

Best of luck. I suggest printing out the recent newspaper articles, some items from medline, and take them to your physician asking to try it orally, or as a nasal spray in the office. If you can afford to have a few tablets compounded, offer to take it the first time in the waiting room (bring earphones and maybe sunglasses to reduce the excess stimuli) and that way she/he can see how you respond. You could probably arrange for the compounded material to be sent to the doctor's office and agree that the remainder would be destroyed if it did not work at all, or if dosage adjustments were not sufficiently effective.

Best of luck. Hang in there, if you keep going there may be a solution. Trust me, feeling normal is a delight that people who never get depression can't really appreciate. Keep going.

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I had ketamine today for depression. My doc gave me 2 shots this morning. Buzzed for about an hour and then nothing. Beginning to think it is a bunch of hype.

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I would be very interested in coming to a ketamine clinic. I went thru 2 different trials at NIMH a couple of years ago and I reacted favorably to the ketamine. I live in Bethesda and would travel anywhere in the area to get ketamine. Please let me know if you open a clinic!

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No wonder Robin Williams committed suicide 1 day ago. Ketamine helped me in another country. Nothing else works like that. I'll have to spend my last days suffering or perhaps ending up a suicidal case. Shame on Science and the ones who call themselves scientists. They are nothing but a bunch of game players.

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God's honest truth. I started Depression Recovery Centers. I did that after making sure the treatment worked with a limited number of patients starting in November of 2012. I was the first patient. Ten or so more followed, all with great results. All. We started offering the treatment to the public in August of last year. As of now, we have over 700 people-months of patients who would otherwise has been hospitalized, died of suicide or been subjected to ECT who have had no adverse events in their lives. Many have started new jobs. Most have repaired old relationships. I could care less whether you come to our clinic, or not. I do care that you realize this is a treatment that has the potential to help any person suffering from depression. And recent research and our experience indicates it has potential far beyond depression. There are good and bad providers of ketamine treatment, and it is not my place to make a judgment for you. I would point out objectively that you need to consider the benefit of a local provider for follow up maintenance infusions. A word about infusion vs. intranasl, this from a nerdy ex-scientist with every reason to want an easy to dispense method - if someone suggests intra-nasal, calmly walk away. The "why" is a long discussion, glad to have with anyone who is interested. Take the best of care

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I'm going to be participating in a ketamin clinical trial at NIMH soon but I will receive only one infusion. If it works for me I need to know if any physician has had success in starting up a ketamin clinic in the Washington, D.C. area

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Check out the web site ketamineadvocacynetwork ,they have listings of all the US doctors using ketamine to treat depression

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"Depression Recovery Centers" is the only clinic in AZ providing ketamine treatment.

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Hi, I'm sorry to hear of the trials you've been having. I understand how depression goes, and it sucks. Some of the other responders mentioned Depression Recovery Centers in Scottsdale: depressionrecoverycenters.com. I have been seeing them for a few months and it's made a big difference. It's expensive ($700/treatment) but I guess they are offering a money-back guarantee now so might be worth a try. I noticed another poster saying they went to New York and ketamine didn't work for them. That may be because it just didn't work (totally sucks), or it may be because they didn't get the right dose for them. Seems like the medical community is understanding more and more how to get the right dose for the patient, so maybe you would have better luck. There also may be intranasal ketamine coming down the pike, which would be much less expensive. Anyway, I had a really good experience at the depression recovery center place and would recommend that, even though it's costly. Good luck.

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I read a blog post at Scientific American about ketamine for depression and notice one of the guys mentioned in the story, who has benefited from the study at the NIH, has started a ketamine advocacy network which has a list of doctors providing infusions. So maybe that will help you guys out.

It's a shame that doctors can't provide treatment to patients with the best of their knowledge without fear of lawsuits or revocation of license. Big pharma, politics, and money always win over human life.

Ketamine is a old drug, so unless the pharmaceutical industry can create a completely new chemical compound derived from ketamine's then there is no way to patent and collect dividends.

Since it has the ability to upset the pharmaceuticals industry current R&D (a totally different pathway. Ex: SSRI's modulating serotonin vs ketamine modulating glutamate), the return of investment (ROI) in this R&D is lost if ketamine becomes mainstream treatment replacing SSRIs. Picture investing billions, and hoping "that one" drug in R&D pays for the other research? If you can picture this then that is how the pharmaceutical industry works. They gamble on one big drug, and hope it works better than the rest, so it pays for it's self and the other failed ones. There will no doubt be lobbying in politics to stop ketamine infusions

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You may already know this since your post was so long ago but a ketamine treatment center was recently opened by a physician in Scottsdale. I'm from AZ and my father heard about the clinic suggesting I give it a try. I live in Chicago at the moment and after reading up on the AZ clinic, I found there are 8-10 across the country and I have an appointment in less than two weeks with one in Chicago. Wish me luck! It's expensive but if it gives me my life back I feel it's worth every penny!

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@Sickofinsurancework -- I very much hope you establish a practice in the DC area to pursue off-label treatments (ketamine, scopalamine, etc.) for refractory patients. I'm a DC resident with treatment-resistant depression and am about to taper off my psych meds in order to participate in a ketamine study where I will receive at most 2 ketamine infusions. Given the established safety profile of ketamine and the abundance of evidence of its efficacy, it's astonishing to me that in the greater DC area access to ketamine for depression is non-existent. Best wishes in your work, and thank you.

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Hi, I have had more success than I could have ever hoped for with Ketamine Infusion for my treatment resistance MDD. I had my first infusion 2 on October 22, 2013, and I've been in full remission from my MDD since approximately November 12, 2013 (after 3 1-hour Ketamine Infusions). I live in Colorado, and found a Psychiatrist in Denver that performs the procedures. Here is more information on his practice: ketamineinfusioncenters.com. I wish you the best of luck in finding help!!

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