Ketamine therapy is a treatment approach that uses controlled doses of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic medication, to manage various mental health conditions. It is effective in treating treatment-resistant depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
During your ketamine therapy sessions at Level One Urgent Care, you will receive ketamine infusions under medical supervision along with support from our team to enhance the overall treatment outcomes.
Our team provides continuous monitoring and follow-up care for your ketamine therapy sessions. We offer easy access to ketamine therapy without the need for referrals or long waiting times so that you may experience quick relief.
Healthcare professionals first began using ketamine for the use of sedation in the 1960s. It is a powerful substance that has been approved by the FDA for use in surgical anesthesia.
Today, ketamine is considered a safe and effective medication used “off-label” for managing treatment-resistant mental health conditions.
Ketamine infusion may be beneficial if you suffer from any of the following mental health conditions.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) refers to intrusive, repetitive thoughts and behaviors that patients feel compelled to perform in response to these thoughts. Obsessions refer to a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears. Compulsion is repetitive behavior in response to obsessive thoughts. OCD can get in the way of your daily activities and cause you a lot of distress.
Ketamine therapy can effectively reduce intrusive thoughts and compulsions by disrupting the connection in the brain.
Depression is persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of interest or pleasure in activities. It affects how you feel, think, and handle daily activities. A depressive episode is different from regular mood fluctuations as it lasts for long periods of time.
Symptoms of depression you may experience include:
Ketamine therapy causes a dissociative experience and reduces symptoms of depression.
Anxiety is characterized by excessive worry or dread about various aspects of life, such as work, relationships, health, or finances. These feelings of anxiety and dread are difficult to control, may be out of proportion to the actual danger, and tend to last a long time.
Common anxiety symptoms include:
Ketamine therapy allows a rapid onset of psychedelic effects for a quick relief of anxiety symptoms.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. These traumatic events are either life-threatening or pose a significant threat to your physical and emotional state, such as war, accident, natural disaster, death of loved ones, bullying, and abuse. Symptoms of PTSD include flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and uncontrollable negative thoughts.
The psychedelic properties of ketamine therapy help in the treatment of PTSD by inducing an altered state of consciousness, enabling you to process traumatic memories.
Bipolar Disorder is a mental condition that includes extreme mood swings with emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression). When you experience mania, you may feel euphoric, full of energy, or unusually irritable. Conversely, when your mood shifts to depression, you may feel sad or hopeless and lose interest in activities. With bipolar disorder, these episodes of mood swings may occur rarely or multiple times a year.
Ketamine therapy modulates glutamate, rebalancing aberrant mood regulation circuits in the brain.
Neuralgia refers to sharp, stabbing pain caused by irritated or damaged nerves and can occur anywhere in the body. Damage to nerves may result from the following reasons:
Ketamine therapy interrupts the transmission of pain signals in the central nervous system, relieving neuropathic pain.
Chronic pain refers to pain that continues beyond the usual time for healing. It can persist for typically three months or longer. Relentless pain can make you feel anxious or depressed, further affecting your physical, mental, and social well-being.
Ketamine therapy interrupts the transmission of pain signals, thereby alleviating both the intensity and duration of chronic pain symptoms.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive difficulties. Its symptoms usually begin after physical trauma, surgery, infection, or significant psychological stress. The condition amplifies painful sensations by altering how your brain and spinal cord process pain and non-pain signals.
Ketamine therapy helps alleviate symptoms of fibromyalgia by interrupting the amplification of pain signals.
Chronic migraine refers to frequent, recurrent migraine headaches that are usually moderate to severe in intensity and can be accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound, or odors, and visual disturbances in some cases.
Ketamine therapy interrupts the neurons involved in pain processing, thereby reducing the intensity and frequency of migraine attacks.
Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter released by nerve cells in your brain that increases the likelihood that the neuron will fire an action. For proper brain function, it needs to be present in the right concentration in the right places at the right time. Ketamine binds with receptors that produce glutamate to regulate its level.
Ketamine infusion helps block excess glutamate levels to alleviate symptoms of certain mental and pain disorders that have been unresponsive to other treatments. Ketamine helps your mind to relax while maintaining conscious awareness. It also reduces repetitive thought patterns and negative emotions, offering a chance for your mind to explore healthier ways of thinking.
Unlike many traditional antidepressants, which can take weeks or months to show effects, ketamine therapy often provides rapid relief.
You should follow a few guidelines to prepare for an effective ketamine infusion session:
We advise that you arrange transportation after the session since driving is not recommended immediately after the session.
At Level One Urgent Care, ketamine therapy usually includes one or more supervised, in-clinic ketamine infusion sessions. Our providers monitor you during and after the procedure to check your treatment progress.
The number of ketamine infusion sessions required can vary greatly from person to person. We advise you to schedule a follow-up appointment to assess treatment response, monitor for the recurrence of symptoms, and adjust the treatment plan as needed.
Our experienced team at Level One Urgent Care can help you maintain your overall well-being through the safe and effective use of ketamine therapy for managing your mental health.
To schedule a consultation with our skilled practitioners, call us at 281-947-6160 or request an appointment online. Alternatively, simply walk into our clinic in Iowa Colony, TX.
