A single dose of IV ketamine reduces suicidal thoughts within one day and for up to one week
A single dose of IV ketamine reduces suicidal thoughts within one day and for up to one week
Objective: Suicide is a public health crisis with limited treatment options. The authors conducted a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis examining the effects of a single dose of ketamine on suicidal ideation. Method: Individual participant data were obtained from 10 of 1...
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/8180477
Why this is significant: There is no currently known treatment to stop suicidal thoughts when they happen. Antidepressants take 4-6 weeks to start working, and they don't work for everyone. Therapy also takes time. Our best option for acutely suicidal people is to lock them up in a psychiatric facility until they are no longer a threat to themselves.
Intravenous ketamine offers a glimpse of hope. A single dose appears able to alleviate suicidal ideation immediately after administration and for up to a week afterwards.
My therapist recommended this for me, or esketamine which my insurance may cover, but my doctor thought trying a regular antidepressant first was best, despite having tried many before.
I am doing better than I was, for sure, but I do wonder if I could be even better. I'm also honestly lucky to have made it through the dark period before the meds kicked in.
I'm glad you made it through that dark period. Is your doctor no longer willing to consider esketamine since the antidepressant is sort of working? That's too bad, if so. I know insurance can be picky with what they cover, too. I have a lot of hope that all of this will improve as psychedelic treatment for depression becomes more and more commonplace. For now, give us a follow at Psychedelic Therapy, and see if your doctor changes their mind!
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !psychedelic_therapy@lemmy.world
A single dose of IV ketamine is generally quite expensive.
If the effects last a week, might not be worth it
Note that this is simply because this study looked at differences for up to a week. Other studies suggest there is a more sustained effect, although it's not permanent. Antidepressants aren't permanent either. The argument is to get insurance to cover ketamine since it is a promising treatment for suicidal ideation (and some are starting to cover it).
I have read, from ketamine infusion recipients, that it was amazing at first but then their depression got worse after the initial period of relief.
That’s the reason I haven’t done it myself. People who have enough money to keep getting the infusions swear by it. But people who don’t have some very disturbing stories to tell.