RENO, Nevada (KOLO) – Ketamine is used to sedate patients during surgery.
However, this medication is often used to treat patients with depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
“In 2000, an article was published showing that very low doses are incredibly effective against depression,” says Dr. Robert Watson, owner of WellCentric Health in Reno. “In 2006, a validating study was published and since then there have been numerous studies confirming the effectiveness of ketamine. But it has to be given in low doses.”
In a clinical setting, the drug is initially administered intravenously twice weekly for 40 minutes.
After two to three weeks, patients return for maintenance therapy. After a certain period, Dr. Watson says, patients may not need to return at all.
This is because the drug increases brain activity and increases or renews receptors in the brain and body.
“It is not physically addictive like tobacco, alcohol or heroin,” says Dr. Watson. “That means if you take the drug for a while and then stop, your body will not react negatively.”
However, this does not mean that some people cannot develop a psychological dependence on ketamine.
This is why some patients who cannot be given large amounts of the drug in a clinic resort to the street drug ketamine, even though the drug does not produce better results in high doses.
Studies show that the packaging of street drug ketamine is indistinguishable from the controlled substance. Typically, an analysis of street drug ketamine shows that it contains little or none of the active pharmaceutical ingredient – sometimes this is replaced with fentanyl.
The street drug is used to induce dissociative feelings or hallucinations.
Dr. Watson fears that Perry’s death could leave observers with a bad impression of ketamine.
“When Michael Jackson died from propofol, people were terrified of propofol,” says Dr. Watson. “Yet it is an incredibly effective and desirable drug. Anesthesiologists love propofol because it works and metabolizes so quickly and makes patients feel like they’ve had a wonderful nap.”
According to published reports, Perry was not allowed to receive more ketamine than he was given in a clinical setting to treat substance abuse problems.
He used his money and influence to obtain the drug illicitly. According to the coroner, he drowned in the hot tub at his house because his body could no longer respond underwater.
Ketamine, says Dr Watson, can change a patient’s life. But he says it needs to be administered in a clinical setting and, in many cases, with a team that can monitor the psychological and physical effects of the drug on each individual.
For more information: WellCentricHealth.com
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