this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
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Mental Health

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A single dose of IV ketamine reduces suicidal thoughts within one day and for up to one week (ajp.psychiatryonline.org)
submitted 1 year ago by ickplant@lemmy.world to c/mentalhealth@lemmy.world
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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.

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[–] sky@codesink.io 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] ickplant@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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!

[–] CommunityLinkFixer@lemmings.world 3 points 1 year ago

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

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

A single dose of IV ketamine is generally quite expensive.

If the effects last a week, might not be worth it

[–] crystal@feddit.de 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You mean it's more reasonable to just die?

[–] Chozo@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Unfortunately, those are the options most Americans have. Either pay more than you can afford to fix it or let it kill you.

[–] mojo@lemm.ee -4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Uh there are a lot of anti depressants out there. I pay $15/mo for mine. This is just misinfo and xenophobia.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Same. I take wellbutrin and it costs me about $12/mo, paying out of pocket

[–] mojo@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Anything that isn't "any health care = bankrupt" disrupts their circle jerk lol. They don't actually know how reality works here.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

No. I don’t think the options are (a) die or (b) do ketamine transfusion every week.

[–] ickplant@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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).

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[–] ickplant@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

That's interesting, I've also heard the opposite, and I think this just shows we need way more research - and of course way more coverage by insurance. I also wonder if people who got worse had just depression or depression and PTSD. I have a personal pet theory about that (basically, I'm curious whether, if you have PTSD the infusions will make you better short-term, but you still need therapy to process the trauma to receive long-term relief - no actual research support for this yet).

[–] Ghostwurm@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What's "expensive"?

[–] Tolstoshev@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

About $300 per session. The ketamine itself is cheap, the doctor’s time is what you’re paying for.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

There’s a clinic in Denver that offers it for like $1500 per session.