Phone: (949)392-0159
Ketamine provides the support needed in order for a positive and healing mental health journey. Infusions are 100% administered by board-certified, licensed physicians. Many patients report life-changing results when ketamine is used for depression, anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, addiction, or substance abuse treatment.
Of the patients who respond well to ketamine therapy, nearly all say that they start to experience relief within hours of the infusion.
At Ketamine Wellness Clinic of Orange County, we take time to understand your health history as well as your goals with ketamine infusion therapy. We tailor your treatment plan to your needs in order to create a path to optimal health outcomes.
Ketamine infusions, when administered in a clinical setting by an experienced physician, are extremely safe. Ketamine has not been shown to have addictive properties.
In treating chronic pain, ketamine can provide relief without the need to take highly addictive opiates on a daily basis. Some patients choose to receive an occasional booster dose of ketamine to maintain a good level of relief.
Ketamine was developed in the 1960s and is a glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. NMDA receptors play a major role in depression. Ketamine works by encouraging and supporting neuron growth and restoring electrical activity in certain neurons that no longer work in the brain.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5126726
Data suggests that ketamine, given intravenously, might be the most important breakthrough in antidepressant treatment in decades.
Ketamine produces rapid antidepressant effects in most patients who are otherwise treatment-resistant cases of mood disorders including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicidal ideation, and bipolar.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4714563/
Recent studies have advanced our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of ketamine, with important clinical implications. Ketamine enhances the KCNQ2 potassium channels in a certain subtype of glutamate-sensitive neurons. This means that researchers identified that these potassium channels play an important role in the life of neurons. This allows ketamine to have a lasting antidepressant effect on patients.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35649415/
Ketamine has been found to increase compassion and sensitivity to others, increase joy in living, create feelings of bliss and reduce fear of death.
Patients also report a shift in values towards creativity, self-improvement, spiritual contentment, social recognition, achievement of life goals, independence, and improvement of family and social life. Life became more meaningful for many patients who received ketamine treatment for a mood disorder.
As ketamine therapy for mood disorders, as well as pain syndromes, becomes more mainstream, scientists and researchers are digging deeper into ketamine’s effect on the brain and why ketamine is highly effective for patients with treatment-resistant mood disorders and certain pain syndromes.
A group of researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) set out to study how ketamine modulates the cerebro-cerebellar circuitry during response inhibition using functional imaging NoGo/Go task in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
The main goal of the study was to understand the mechanistic effects of ketamine at the level of higher sensory, motor, and cognitive systems. The study’s conclusion suggests that ketamine modulates the connectivity between the cerebellum and large-scale cortical networks, including frontoparietal (FPM), sensory-motor (SMN), and salience (SN) which have previously been tied to the pathophysiology of depression.
According to the study, researchers used novel methodology “to quantify the functional coupling of cerebro-cerebellar circuitry during response-inhibition, and the findings highlight that these loops play distinct roles in treatment response and could potentially serve as novel biomarkers for fast-acting antidepressant therapies such as ketamine in MDD”.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158221002369?via%3Dihub#!
“Ketamine infusions helped me reset my brain and allowed me to get back to the care free, happy, stress free person that I was before… It’s changed my life”
Holly
“I have had CRPS for over 8 years. Doing the ketamine infusion has helped put out the fire and has given me hope. I have also been able to get off opiates and have minimal pain. The infusion have been a spark of hope and light in the painful darkness. ”
A.D.
“I have now completed all six of the first recommended treatments. I have to say that I have done a complete 180 in so many areas of my life. My relationships have changed for the best and my depression is almost nonexistent. Now coming from a clear space in my mind I look back, and I can’t believe the thoughts I was thinking. I am so grateful for every person who played a part in my recovery, I finally feel like the old Sharon I used to know. ”
Sharon
“After every infusion my pain level decreased. It was such an amazing difference, my family and friends noticed the positive change in my overall wellbeing. Thank you everyone at the Ketamine Wellness Clinic for giving me my life back! “
Lori M.
Hi. My name is Diane.
While I am a high-functioning individual and leader in my community, I have dealt with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and fibromyalgia for years. This year was particularly bad as I lost five friends– mostly to cancer – and experienced two big business losses due to fraud. Additionally, three of my oldest friends are all going through cancer at the same time – with one of them in the process of dying.
I went to a psychiatrist and learned from a genetic test that I don’t have enough serotonin receptors in my brain to work with the majority of antidepressants. Next, I went to a world-renowned brain clinic to help me with my depression. They put me on non-serotonin-based antidepressants, but they caused suicidal ideation. It was an awful thing to go through. Nothing seemed to work.
While at the brain clinic, I learned about ketamine therapy and was pleased to learn that it could address my depression with almost immediate results. The doctor there said that I was a perfect candidate for this kind of treatment. When they told me the price of each infusion, I was disappointed as I didn’t think I could afford it.
I started looking for other facilities that provided ketamine therapy and found a program on the Mission Hospital campus in Laguna Beach. I called the number and spoke to the nurse, Deanna. She was extremely knowledgeable about the ketamine process, but more than that, I could feel that she really cared. I was pleased to learn that the pricing for the ketamine infusion therapy was less than that at the brain clinic. I was also pleased to learn that ketamine can also treat many other conditions including anxiety and fibromyalgia. Deanna was always there for me when I called her for the next two or three weeks as I carefully contemplated doing the treatment. She helped me find a psychologist who determined that I would most likely have great success with ketamine and referred me to Ketamine Wellness Clinic of Orange County.
The next day I went in for treatment. I saw Deanna for the first time and felt like I have known her my entire life. Ketamine Wellness Clinic of Orange County couldn’t have found a more compassionate nurse to run their program. She made me feel so taken care of and loved throughout the process. The doctors were just as skilled and caring. After the very first treatment, I could tell that it was working. I couldn’t believe it! I have suffered with both genetic and situational depression all my life and now in just one day I could feel the depression being lifted.
I had five more treatments over the next two weeks and continued to feel better and better. At the sixth treatment they had me complete the same depression, anxiety, and fibromyalgia scales they had me do as a baseline when I came on the first day. It showed 50% to 70% improvement on my symptoms. It felt like a miracle.
I cannot say enough about my treatment team and the efficacy of ketamine infusion therapy at Ketamine Wellness Clinic of Orange County. If you are dealing with physical or psychological pain in your life, there IS an answer. I encourage you to contact Deanna and start the process that leads to living life to it’s fullest.
After nearly two decades of suffering a nightmare pharmaceutical merry-go-round, crippling depression, multiple psychiatric hospital visits, branded with the diagnosis “treatment resistant,” I’ve finally found hope. Ketamine treatment has helped in a way I previously thought impossible. I feel light, present in the moment, even happy, as if the veil of depression has been lifted. To be clear, ketamine treatment is a first step and requires personal commitment (during and after). It jump-starts you onto the road ahead… to regain control of your life, overcome darkness and isolation, to feel hopeful. I can’t understate just how profound this treatment has been, for both depression and fibromyalgia. My fibromyalgia pain has nearly vanished.
Lastly, the entire staff was nothing less than amazing. The level of care was gentle, personal, and offered helpful tips after treatment. I never felt like a number, or simply another patient. They helped me, personally, take each small step throughout the process. I am grateful for the quiet voices, the patient listening, the gentle hand squeezing mine when I needed it, and for the genuine care and concern I was given.
Iris Mejia, RN, is a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Hawaii Maui College. With 21 years of experience as a Labor and Delivery nurse, she developed a keen interest in mental health nursing. Her firsthand experience with ketamine infusion therapy led her to pursue her passion in this field.
Iris is dedicated to helping patients achieve their optimal well-being through compassionate care and evidence-based practices.
Outside of work, Iris enjoys practicing yoga, traveling, and spending quality time with her family.
Susan DeRobertis, BSN, BSN, PMHRN-BC, is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Registered Nurse and holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cal State Fullerton.
Susan’s commitment to mental health and wellness is driven by a deep understanding of the challenges faced by those struggling with mood disorders. Having witnessed firsthand the limitations of traditional therapies for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mood and chronic pain disorders, she is an advocate of ketamine infusion therapy as a transformative treatment option. Susan is passionate about supporting individuals and their families through their mental health journeys and continues to be excited when she sees firsthand the positive changes that ketamine therapy can bring.
Over the past decade, Susan has dedicated herself to providing care at the Mental Health and Wellness Institute at Mission Hospital Laguna Beach. She is also a nursing instructor at the University of California, Irvine.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Susan is a devoted mother, a talented musician, and an avid live music fan. She finds joy in spending quality time with her daughters, traveling, and attending concerts.
