Health
Clinically administered ketamine showed good results for Angela's treatment-resistant depression
Once a week, Angela Neal puts on her headphones and plays her favorite song by singer-songwriter Enya.
But before that, she takes a ketamine nasal spray. She says the drug can help manage treatment-resistant depression.
“You feel so weird. You feel out of body for a while,” Neal said.
She said the effects really started to show when the effects of the drug wore off.
“You start thinking in different ways. Those sad thoughts that were spinning around tend to stop. Your mind becomes more flexible,” Neal says.
She is currently part of a small group receiving regular ketamine treatment in a clinical setting at Gold Coast University Hospital.
Years of research have yielded some promising results, making it one of the few publicly funded clinics nationwide offering the drug.
Why is this important?
According to the Black Dog Institute, one in seven Australians will experience depression in their lifetime.
According to the World Health Organization, it is also the leading cause of illness and disability worldwide.
Brett Emerson, Queensland president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), said not everyone would respond to initial treatment for depression.
He said new treatments were needed and ketamine could be added to the treatments used by mental health professionals in Australia.
But he said ketamine is still “somewhat ” as research is ongoing on the best way to administer the drug.
RANZCP says there is sufficient evidence. Use of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression.
Where is the evidence that ketamine works?
Ketamine has arrived Years of research have shown promising results.
This caught the attention of Associate Professor Shanti Sarma, who runs the clinic where Neil visits for treatment.
She contributed to research published in the journal. British Journal of Psychiatry One in five people who participated in the trial Freedom from depression that is difficult to treat.
Although some people did not feel any relief, those who took part were 10 times more likely to see their symptoms improve.
“These are people who suffer from depression that doesn't respond to standard treatments and is very difficult to treat,” Sarma said.
He said there is still much to learn about the drug, including long-term side effects.
It wasn't a silver bullet either.
“It's just part of the treatment strategy,” Dr. Salma says.
“Another problem is that if you stop treatment, it can come back, so it's used in conjunction with different treatments. Things like talk therapy are very important.”
It is important to note that this drug is used illegally as a hallucinogen.
The Drug and Alcohol Foundation said that while the risk of death from a ketamine overdose is low, mixing ketamine with other drugs is dangerous. May increase risk.
In last year's festival pill test, The substance illegally sold as ketamine was actually ketamine.
Experts stress that ketamine should only be administered by trained medical professionals.
So, can it be treated with ketamine?
Don't expect your doctor to prescribe depression medication at your next appointment.
For example, Dr Sarma said about 40 patients at the Gold Coast Mood Disorders Specialist Unit had been treated for depression with ketamine over the past five years.
It is the only facility in Queensland to offer this treatment publicly, and existing patients are enrolled in a special program.
This is in addition to the fact that the patient must be closely monitored; the drug will be very expensive For people outside the company Special programs and clinical trialss.
But Professor Emerson said ketamine treatment could be scaled up once clearer protocols were in place.
He said he may be able to get help from RANZCP to eventually become eligible for Medicare.
“I can see that happening over the next few years…and ultimately the way to make this more widely available is to have it covered by Medicare,” he said.
“If the report continues to show positive results, I think we will be more likely to support registering ketamine as an accepted treatment under Medicare.”
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What is Angela doing now?
Neal said regular treatments under professional care have been a huge help.
“I had pretty dramatic seasonal depression, and there were a lot of winters where I needed hospitalization. I've had two great winters now,” she said.
She said she felt more motivated to get outside.
“I love being out in nature and I used to go hiking a lot. Before, I wasn't interested and just slept,” she said.
She was also working with a psychologist to study ways to look to the future.
“I'm setting goals and working on how I see my future. It's really hard, but at least it's a lot easier with this medication. It's different, but it's a lot of fun,” she said. .
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