If traditional treatments for mental health conditions aren’t giving you the relief you need, you might start exploring other options like ketamine treatment. Ketamine treatments are well-known for their role in helping manage treatment-resistant depression.
Originally used as an anesthetic, ketamine is now being used to treat mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and chronic pain. Unlike typical antidepressants, which can take weeks to show effects, ketamine often provides rapid relief, sometimes within hours.
Dr. Hadi Estakhri and our team at Allied Psychiatry & Mental Health in Newport Beach, California, offer ketamine therapy as an intravenous (IV) therapy and as a nasal spray. If you’re considering ketamine therapy for a mental health condition, here’s what you can expect.
Before your first ketamine treatment, you have a thorough consultation with Dr. Estakhri. He reviews your medical history, current medications, and mental health status to ensure ketamine is a suitable option for you.
He also reviews the types of ketamine therapy available to you.
During your treatment, you might experience a dissociative state or feel detached from your body and surroundings. This sensation can be unusual, but it's not uncommon, generally well-tolerated, and wears off shortly after your treatment ends.
Your experience can vary a bit depending on whether you receive ketamine via a spray or through an IV.
When you receive intravenous ketamine, the process is similar to any other IV — whether that’s at a med spa or a hospital. A small catheter is inserted into your vein and the medicine flows directly into your bloodstream.
Spravato ® nasal spray delivers ketamine into your nose. After Dr. Estakhri administers the spray, you sit back and relax while our team monitors you for an hour or two.
It's normal to feel groggy or disoriented, so having someone drive you home is recommended, but after a good night’s sleep, you’ll wake up feeling refreshed.
Over the next 24 hours, you might notice changes in your mood and mental clarity. A study published in Discover Mental Health shows that even after just one dose, individuals with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder can feel relief from their depression symptoms in as little as one day.
Participants in a 2022 study even found that ketamine helped replace negative beliefs about themselves and the world.
Many people report a significant reduction in symptoms after just one treatment, though a series of treatments is often required for sustained benefits. Dr. Estakhri will review your treatment schedule with you based on your personal mental health needs.
Ketamine treatments can provide rapid relief, but long-term success often depends on follow-up care and lifestyle changes. Dr. Estakhri may also recommend:
If you’d like to learn more about ketamine for mental health, schedule a consultation by calling us today at 949-945-0927. You can also book an appointment online anytime.
