With the COVID-19 pandemic, global tension, and an especially cold winter, suicide rates are rising significantly. For some, this is making an already difficult year unbearable. And this isn’t news — for the past few years, suicidal tendencies have been rising, even among children. In a study published February 4, 2021 by Translational Psychiatry, scientists found that low-dose oral Ketamine successfully helped patients with persistent suicidal thoughts. In the study, ketamine helped over two-thirds of patients suffering from chronic suicidal tendencies. This study provides hope to people searching for help, relief, and a road to peace.
Amidst all the uncertainty in the world today, it is so important to prioritize well-being and safety. A ketamine infusion therapy treatment may be what you need to help dispel persistent suicidal thoughts.
If you or someone you know is suffering with suicidal tendencies, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline — 800-273-8255 — available 24/7. If you or someone you know is experiencing a suicidal emergency, call 911 immediately.
Ketamine & Mental Health
In 2014, doctors discovered that ketamine provided significant relief to patients who suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) by targeting NMDA receptors in the brain. This includes literally rewiring the brain to release certain chemicals to improve anxiety, mood, and depression symptoms. These findings have been revolutionary in the mental health field, laying the groundwork for further studies. Over the years, ketamine has been shown to provide powerful help for patients with depression, anxiety, bipolar, and more. These, plus the positive success rate of ketamine, provide hope to those who struggle with mental health challenges. If you’d like to read more about how ketamine works, click here.
While using ketamine to treat mental health struggles is a rather new endeavor, ketamine has been used in the medical field for years. Historically, ketamine has been used to treat chronic pain, battlefield wounds, and more. One emergency room doctor describes ketamine as “the best drug on earth” which can help patients suffering from a multitude of difficulties, including for mental health. While ketamine’s uses are proving go be more and more promising, doctors also warn against ketamine’s dangers when administered incorrectly. Doctors stress the importance of medically-certified, trained administrators, particularly since the FDA has only just begun approving ketamine for mental health treatment.
Ketamine & Suicide
Thousands of patients have praised ketamine’s effects on their mental health, often citing the drug as life-changing. However, due to the newness of it all, the scientific world is only just affirming these testimonials with hard evidence. Scientists, doctors, and patients are all excited about these findings, especially as mental challenges become increasingly more difficult to treat.
Earlier this month, Translational Psychiatry published a study in which oral ketamine was used to treat 32 patients aged 22-72 suffering from chronic suicidal thoughts. This study, under the Oral Ketamine Trial on Suicidality (OKTOS), administered “sub-anaesthetic doses of oral ketamine over 6 weeks” to the patients, with a follow-up check-in 4 weeks after the final dose. Using the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS), the changes patients experienced were measured throughout the weeks.
Translational Psychiatry reported that within the first 6 weeks “the proportion of participants that achieved clinical improvement” after the 6 weeks was 69% of patients, “whereas 50% achieved a significant improvement” by the follow-up.
Concerning the results, Adam Can, team leader of the study and psychiatrist at Australia’s University of Sunshine Coast, reports: “In medicine, this response rate is significant, particularly given it was experienced by patients with chronic suicidality, which can be difficult to treat.”
Ideally, ketamine treatments for suicidal thoughts would be administered regularly. After the follow-up period without treatment, the percentage waned, regular treatment is most effective.
Additionally, Translational Psychiatry reported that the results of the oral ketamine study are consistent with the results of ketamine infusions therapy. This means that ketamine treatments can be given in a wider variety of mediums and still deliver the same results. As the report states, “the response observed in this study is consistent IV ketamine trials, suggesting that oral administration is a feasible and tolerable alternative treatment for chronic suicidality.”
Ketamine Provides Hope
Ketamine treatments can be delivered in various ways, such as orally or via infusions. Here at Virginia Infusions Therapy Center, we specialize in ketamine infusions for suicidal thoughts, chronic pain, medically-resistant mental health challenges, PTSD, depression, post-partum, alcoholism, severe anxiety, and more. Ketamine infusions provide even instant relief, with 70% of patients seeing immediate results after only the first treatment. Consistent treatments help the longevity of the results and can overall improve quality of life for struggling patients.
With mental health issues increasingly becoming the #1 concern that modern health advocates are seeking to solve, Ketamine may just be that solution. If you would like to learn more or schedule a free consultation, we would love to see you at Virginia’s premier Ketamine infusion clinic in Leesburg.
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