74 | www. Char l es tonPhys i c i ans . com | www.Hea l thL i nksChar l es ton . com He has now been administering ketamine infusions for eight years, having given over 10,000 infusions to more than 1,000 patients. Ketamine is proving to be reliable for helping patients when depression is interfering with their daily life – energy, sleep, concentration and physical health – and the standard treatments have not helped. It was initially explored at Yale when data showed that depression was associated with excessive glutamate signaling in the central nervous system. When researchers began to explore glutamate receptor antagonists as a treatment, they selected ketamine. Subjects who lacked success with other treatments were administered ketamine and experienced significant positive results. “It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done; that’s for sure,” he said, reflecting on the people who have thanked them for their life or the lives of their loved ones. Patients arrive in a private room filled with ambient lighting and tonal music and take a seat in a zero-gravity chair. They are pre-treated with medicine to prevent nausea and vertigo before undergoing infusion through an IV line. Everyone starts at a low infusion rate and is re-evaluated every 10 minutes, staying under constant monitoring for the experience. The infusion rate is increased until the patient has “some dissociation from this reality.” Dr. Bowen believes this is where maximum benefit is, judging by his experience and some supporting data. After reaching a state of dissociation, patients exist here for about an hour, or they may opt to decrease the dosage for the second half hour and work with a therapist. During the dissociative experience, they are conscious but unable to emulate and speak regularly; however, they can answer questions with body movement, such as a nod of the head, and communicate if “I don’t use the word miraculous lightly in medicine, but I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Richard L. Bowen, M.D., of Charleston Ketamine Center. It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done; that’s for sure. “ “
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