Ketamine is a popular party drug but it has legitimate medical uses and recently an FDA panel voted to investigate it as a potential treatment for depression.

31 Responses

  1. I'm super sad about the over prescribing of medication. I had this happen to me, but it wasn't my choice. My mom had my brothers and I over medicated so that she wouldn't have to deal with us. We were put on 7 different medications at once, one of them being lithium. I was six years old. What licensed doctor in his right mind would prescribe a 6 year old lithium???? There were several different antidepressants I was on as well. But still, lithium, really? Lithium is used in batteries. Ok rant over.

  2. As someone with treatment resistant depression, I am very hopeful about ketamine and the help it can give. Ive even argued about this with a family member who used it as a street drug.

    Also, thank you, Dr Mike for hitting the mental health care nail right on the head. The only reason I have access to my therapist is that my church paid for it in the beginning. Now I pay out of pocket rather than having to jump through insurance hoops.

    Thankfully they have a sliding scale for the fees.

  3. Ketamine is pretty awesome because it doesn't cause physical addiction and you can't OD on it.
    It can destroy your kidneys in the long run, though.

  4. I love your videos! Could you do a video discussing psychiatry and mental illness, like schizophrenia or bipolar? I feel like those illnesses don't get enough coverage and I'd love to see your perspectives on psychiatry and mental health! 🙂

  5. Dr Mike, please clarify that the dosage of ketamine used in the Esketamine nasal spray and IV infusions are MUCH lower than the street drugs. Don’t try street drugs for TRD! Maybe explain the different between the IV and nasal spray ketamine. Perhaps do a video with a psychiatrist to answer everyone’s questions? 🙂

  6. My sister is a palliative care physician, so she sometimes uses it with patients that are anxious about dying (and really, who WOULDN'T be anxious about that)

  7. I'm sure you know this, but our bodies release ketamine just prior to death, so it's naturally occurring in our bodies. So how can it be (ketamine), is it, so how do they produce this stuff when it occurs inside our bodies?

  8. Not only Ketamine, but any NMDA antagonist is likely a good target and have had success.
    They also have promise in resetting tolerance (adaptation) to stimulants and opiods. Preventing doses from going too high, rebound effects, and higher sensitivity to pain.

    People who have done them for depression (a few anecdotal reports, but consistent), however, tend to regress after 3 months or so and need another dose.

    Some have also responded very well to psychedelics.

    It's a promising future, as long as we drop the stigma of the drug war. When only one organization (MAPS) is bothering with this research, it is a problem.

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