Ketamine Therapy Infusion – FAQs

Wondering, how does ketamine therapy work? Ketamine infusion treatments are often described as an “out-of-body experience.” Patients may experience dissociation during ketamine infusion therapy for treatment-resistant depression, often reported as a pleasant feeling that relieves symptoms of depression. Dissociation can include:

• Feeling detached from your body
• Having a distorted perception of time and space
• Experiencing altered perceptions and sensations
• Entering a dream-like state where thoughts may become distorted
• Emotional detachment

Some individuals describe a sense of mental clarity or expanded consciousness during IV ketamine for depression, especially treatment-resistant depression.

Wondering, how does ketamine therapy work?

Clinical studies show that ketamine infusion therapy for treatment-resistant depression and Major Depressive Disorder has a success rate as high as 70%. Many patients show rapid improvement after just their first or second IV ketamine treatment infusion.

You may be asking yourself, how does ketamine work?

Ketamine Infusion Therapy treatments are administered in one of our certified treatment clinics. The session will begin by getting the patient situated in a comfortable chair and your clinician will get you settled with the IV. Your clinician will inform you when the IV has started. The infusion lasts 40 minutes and the entire session takes about 90 minutes to complete.

IV ketamine therapy is an office-based, outpatient procedure.  The ketamine infusion lasts 40 minutes and the entire session takes about 90 minutes to complete. The session process will begin by getting you situated in a comfortable chair. Then, your clinician will inform you when the IV has started.

The first thing you will feel is a sense of relaxation of mind and/or body. You may then begin to feel slightly light or light-headed. Some people report a sense of feeling a slight warmth. Eventually, you may feel even lighter, almost a slight separation between yourself and your body. Your hands and legs may feel far away. Some people progressively feel more separation between themselves and the different components of consciousness (e.g., their thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and perception). Occasionally, people continue to progressively experience an even greater physical sensation of lightness – sometimes to the point of feeling above the room. Patients generally tolerate these sensations very well, reporting the experience as “spiritual” or “pleasurable.”

If someone is struggling with depression, anxiety, or rumination, this point is when they feel much less of and/or distant from these feelings. This experience is frequently described as an immense relief – like the blanket of depression has been temporarily lifted. This experience can also serve as a very hopeful reminder to patients that depression or anxiety does not define them. These conditions are separate from them, and as such, they can be temporary.

In rare cases, patients may have a more negative experience after receiving a ketamine intravenous injection. We have psychiatric professionals on-site to help manage these rare events, which are generally brief and usually resolve completely within 10-15 minutes after stopping the infusion.

Reach out today to learn more about the process during ketamine infusion treatments.

Initial ketamine infusion therapy for treatment-resistant depression consists of 6 IV ketamine treatments over the course of 3 weeks. The details of this protocol are discussed in detail during the initial evaluation. Infusion appointments generally take 90–120 minutes. If the symptoms are successfully controlled with these initial treatments, then follow-up evaluations will be conducted to determine long-term treatment plans.

Maintenance treatments for IV ketamine for depression usually consist of one infusion every 2-4 weeks.