Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects millions of people. The symptoms can feel overwhelming: intrusive memories, hypervigilance, insomnia, emotional numbness, and a constant sense of being on edge.
Traditional treatments like talk therapy and antidepressants help many people, but not everyone gets the relief they need. If you’ve tried multiple treatments without significant improvement and are considering ketamine, you’re in the right place.
Under the guidance of Dr. Hadi Estakhri and the Allied Psychiatry & Mental Health team in Newport Beach, California, ketamine offers a new pathway for people who’ve struggled with long-lasting, treatment-resistant PTSD symptoms.
Here’s what you need to know.
Ketamine isn’t new. In fact, it’s been used safely as an anesthetic for decades. But in recent years, research has shown that at low, controlled doses, ketamine has powerful antidepressant and anti-trauma effects.
Unlike traditional medications, which can take weeks or months to work, ketamine often provides improvement within hours to days.
According to research published in Clinical Neuropsychology, ketamine therapy significantly improved PCL-5 scores (the standard measure of PTSD severity) within just 24 hours.
Even more encouraging, those improvements persisted throughout the full four-week study period. In other words, ketamine doesn’t just work quickly; it keeps working.
Ketamine targets a different system in your brain than standard antidepressants. Instead of focusing on serotonin, it works on NMDA receptors and boosts glutamate, a chemical involved in learning, memory, and neural connections.
This leads to:
Ketamine can be delivered as an intravenous infusion or via a nasal spray called Spravato®. Both versions work on the same receptors in your brain.
Let’s look at it another way. Ketamine improves your brain’s ability to form new pathways (thanks to improved neural plasticity), and it helps weaken the grip of traumatic memory patterns. This gives your mind a chance to heal, process, and finally find relief.
Ketamine may be an option if you:
Many people describe ketamine as the first treatment that helped them feel again, often breaking through years-long emotional blocks.
During treatment, many people feel deep relaxation and a sense of detachment from their usual thoughts. You might also experience nausea, dizziness, or time dissociation. These effects are temporary, but you’ll still need a friend or family member to drive you home. You should wake up the next day feeling refreshed.
While the side effects are temporary, the symptom relief often lasts much longer. Many people experience:
Ketamine isn’t a standalone cure, but it can be a powerful part of a comprehensive treatment plan. With reduced anxiety and improved mood, you can have better focus to participate in therapy.
Dr. Hadi Estakhri can help you determine whether ketamine is right for you. If you’re tired of struggling or feeling stuck, this could be the turning point. Call our office at 949-945-0927 or book an appointment online today.
