Have you heard about ketamine?

If you or family member struggle with depression or pain, you are among the 16 million Americans who battle this medical condition every day. Of those who seek treatment, only a third find the answer. For those individuals who are still looking for a solution, ketamine might be the answer. Widely-used in hospitals for anesthesia, it is on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines and was approved by the FDA in 1970.

“Patients come in after spending years of seeing multiple doctors and being on a long list of different drugs without the results they want,” said Angelo Sambunaris, M.D., C.P.I., a psychiatrist, researcher and founder of Trek Medical. “Medications can stop working for some reason or the side effects are just not acceptable.” Sambunaris is one of a handful of providers that provides intravenous ketamine infusions for those looking for relief from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, OCD, PTSD, ADD, chronic pain (fibromyalgia, migraine) and substance abuse.

Sambunaris has lead over 200 medical research studies since his early days as a Clinical Staff Fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). It was his experience as a researcher in neuropharmacology that first sparked his interest in ketamine, a cutting-edge treatment option that works differently from traditional SSRIs like Prozac, Effexor, Paxil or Cymbalta – ironically all medications that he helped bring to market.

“The reality is only 33% of patients treated with an antidepressant achieve remission. Ketamine offers a completely new way of changing how the brain manages mood. Traditional antidepressants work by shifting the balance of the brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine. Ketamine changes the way brain cells communicate with each other by blocking a brain receptor known as NMDA. Additionally, it acts on other brain receptors like opioid receptors, which affect pain and depression,” said Sambunaris. “The most exciting aspect of its mechanism is that it actually repair the neurons that have been frayed by stress, making a patient’s brain not only function better but healthier over the long-term.”

Patients, however, are most excited by the rapid onset of effectiveness. Many of those that come to the clinic find their symptoms are lessened in just 24 to 72 hours—a huge improvement over the 6-12 week waiting period of other medications. Overall, Ketamine’s success rate of 85% is almost double the 45% of traditional antidepressants.

Still, Sambunaris warns that this treatment protocol is not a quick fix. “Every patient is different and will have different results, but we are committed to working with our patients until they find the results they need to live their best life,” he offered. “I advocate for any patient who continues to wrestle with depression or pain to keep seeking medical intervention until they get the quality of life they deserve.”

To learn more about ketamine and Dr. Sambunaris, visit TrekMedical.org or call our Alpharetta office at 678-580-6700.