We understand that you may have a lot of questions regarding Ketamine infusion therapy, the KWC clinical program, cost and insurance, expected results, etc. Is ketamine right for me? What disorders does ketamine help? How quickly does it work? How long does the improvement last? Do I really need to visit an experienced ketamine infusion therapy clinic?
These are all important questions. Read through our Ketamine Infusion Questions below to learn more. Contact us to get answers to any other questions you may have about ketamine infusions.
Ketamine Infusion Questions Everyone Should Ask
Below, are the 10 ketamine infusion questions people ask our team prior to making an appointment at KureIV:
1. How much ketamine infusion training does your team have? (i.e., what certifications or degrees do they hold)?
At KureIV, your care will be coordinated by Scott Rivenes MD and Raj Guharoy MD. Both Scott and Raj are Board Certified Emergency Physicians with over 40 years of combined experience leading Emergency Departments in the Houston area. Their training has spanned the entire gamut of emergency medicine, such as psychiatric, trauma, medical, gynecologic, pediatric and procedural – and they both have the experience necessary to deliver safe ketamine treatments. In addition, all of our ketamine infusion therapists are trained Emergency trained and certified nurses.
2. How long have you worked in this field?
Prior to launching KureIV, Dr. Rivenes and Dr. Guharoy have been using ketamine in the Emergency settings for over a combined 40 years. In the Emergency department, they use high dose Ketamine treatment for many different indications – including procedures and medical management of very sick patients. At KureIV – they will focus on low dose infusions to treat your specific needs – whether they be psychiatric or pain-related.
3. What kinds of ketamine treatment or therapy do you think might help me?
At KureIV, we will customize treatment with low dose ketamine infusions to treat your specific needs. We will use successful known treatment protocols to maximize treatment benefit at the lowest doses necessary with the least amount of side effects. Either Dr. Rivenes or Dr. Guharoy will perform a comprehensive initial consultation and evaluation to assess the need and subsequently, the kinds of treatment that will most likely benefit you. We recognize the individual nature of each patient, and will continue to tailor therapy over successive treatments.
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches, including medication?
Have you spent countless hours in psychotherapy? Have you been given multiple oral medications that don’t seem to be working? Studies have shown ketamine infusions to have an almost instantaneous benefit in a high percentage of patients for many conventional treatment refractory psychiatric and pain related conditions. In the appropriate setting, ketamine’s rapid onset of effect is one of it’s greatest advantages. According to some studies, It’s effectiveness in certain disease processes like depression has been greater than 80%.
If you have any ketamine infusion questions, please contact us.
While intranasal ketamine may be an option, in most cases, you will require an IV for infusion therapy. Our ketamine infusion therapists are trained Emergency trained and certified nurses and have the experience to make this process as painless as possible.
Also, ketamine may cause a dissociative state, some refer to it as “trance-like”, during the infusion therapy. And like all medications, it does have some possible side effects. The most common are dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, nausea, vision changes, and jerky muscle movements. It can also increase blood pressure.
At KureIV, you will be constantly monitored throughout your treatment for your safety and side effects, such as hypertension or nausea, managed with medications if necessary. While effectiveness of ketamine infusion therapy can last a week or more, it does mean that repeated treatments may be necessary.
5. How does the treatment work?
Ketamine was introduced as an anesthetic and analgesic drug, and is used to this day as sedation for minor procedures and surgeries in Emergency Departments and Operating Rooms worldwide. In veterinary circles it has also been known as a “horse tranquilizer”. Others, mostly when it’s being abused, call it “Special K”. While still being studied, it’s mechanism of action is to improve communication of nerve cells that are blocked in psychiatric illness. One of the real benefits of the treatment is its rapidity of action compared to the traditional medications that can take weeks or months. The effectiveness of the treatment can last up to a week or more despite the medication being out of your system.
6. What are the chances that treatment will succeed?
While this is still a relatively new space for ketamine, there have been multiple studies that have been performed with very impressive success rates. Most of the literature is found on the treatment of depression, but its benefits have been discussed in many other conditions including Anxiety, Bipolar, OCD, PTSD, chronic pain and others. Depending on which article you read, Anywhere between 70-85% of patients will see some level of improvement from treatment in relation to Depression. Many of these other indications for ketamine use are currently being studied. Favorable literature will continue to promote research. At KureIV, we will evaluate each patient individually and preform a comprehensive evaluation to ensure you are a good and safe candidate for ketamine infusion therapy.
Below are a few article in the media and visit our research page for a few recent clinical articles and studies about ketamine.
- From Chaos To Calm: A Life Changed By Ketamine – NPR (June 2018)
- Ketamine For Severe Depression: ‘How Do You Not Offer This Drug To People?’ – NPR (March 2017)
- Getting the Inside Dope on Ketamine’s Mysterious Ability to Rapidly Relieve Depression -Scientific American (March 2018)
- What You Need to Know About Ketamine’s Effects – WebMD (Feb 2018)
7. How soon should I start feeling better?
Conventional treatments for Psychiatric illness such as oral medications and Cognitive Behavioral therapy can take weeks or months to see any benefit. The rapid onset of relief is one of the greatest advantages of ketamine. It is well supported in the literature involving ketamine infusion therapy, over half of the patients have seen very rapid improvement of symptoms within the first 6 hours of treatment. About three quarters have seen improvement three days after treatment. And over half have seen improvement lasting seven days or more.
8. How will we assess my progress?
At KureIV, we create a partnership with each patient to monitor and assess treatment efficacy and progress. We will scale your symptoms before and after therapy, and we will communicate with you on the first, third, and seventh days after treatment. In addition, we will be available to you for any other concerns as well. As discussed, research has shown that relapse may occur at an average of 17 days post treatment. It may be necessary to perform multiple treatments to maintain symptom relief.
9. What should I do if I don’t feel better?
As with any kind of treatment, especially in treatment resistant disease processes, improvement is not an absolute. We will attempt to tailor and modify your treatments to maximize our chances for relief. Your safety is our priority. If ketamine infusion therapy does not work for you, we will assist you in finding other possible alternatives for your care.
10. How much will treatment cost?
Some clinics will charge you for the initial consultation and then also charge up to $600-900 per one hour infusion session. KureIV delivers the same high-quality ketamine infusion therapy – but does it at a much more affordable rate. Our initial ketamine consultation is FREE and includes a full consult and a customized treatment plan. Each one hour session is only $350, and we include tracking tools and post-infusion support.
Contact us if you have additional ketamine infusion questions.
