A “Booster” Dose of Ketamine IV Therapy Can Have a Significant Antidepressant Effect Within Hours of the Infusion and Bring Much Needed Relief to Patients Who are Struggling to Get Through the Holidays During a Pandemic
We often talk about the well-defined efficacy of subanesthetic doses of IV ketamine therapy in patients with treatment resistant depression. For some patients, a single series of six ketamine infusions over the course of two weeks is long lasting and they never need another dose. For others, an occasional “booster” dose may be needed in order to maintain optimal mental health.
A booster dose, also known as ketamine IV maintenance therapy, is best delivered when a patient still feels good, but not good enough. The goal of maintenance therapy is just that—using ketamine IV therapy to “maintain” optimal mental and emotional health.
Because each patient is unique in his/her response to ketamine IV therapy, there is not a prescribed timeframe for a maintenance dose. Instead, each patient should self-monitor as well as check-in with his/her clinician on an ongoing basis. If symptoms of depression start to return and the patient’s condition warrants a booster infusion, we will partner with you to assess the patient and prescribe maintenance therapy as appropriate.
A major benefit of ketamine IV therapy for both initial and maintenance therapy is the robust and rapid antidepressant effect often seen within hours of the infusion.1 This can quickly bring the patient back to his/her optimal level of mental health, once again providing hope, motivation and connectedness to friends, family, and co-workers.
Repeated ketamine infusions have cumulative and sustained antidepressant effects2 thereby giving patients confidence that their depression symptoms can be adequately managed.
If you have a patient who has exhausted all treatment options for depression, anxiety, or other mood disorders, ketamine IV therapy may be a great next step.
1 A randomized trial of an N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist in treatment-resistant major depression.
2 Single, Repeated, and Maintenance Ketamine Infusions for Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
