cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/8180477
Why this is significant: There is no currently known treatment to stop suicidal thoughts when they happen. Antidepressants take 4-6 weeks to start working, and they don't work for everyone. Therapy also takes time. Our best option for acutely suicidal people is to lock them up in a psychiatric facility until they are no longer a threat to themselves.
Intravenous ketamine offers a glimpse of hope. A single dose appears able to alleviate suicidal ideation immediately after administration and for up to a week afterwards.
20 Comments
sky@codesink.io · 15 pts · 2y
My therapist recommended this for me, or esketamine which my insurance may cover, but my doctor thought trying a regular antidepressant first was best, despite having tried many before.
I am doing better than I was, for sure, but I do wonder if I could be even better. I'm also honestly lucky to have made it through the dark period before the meds kicked in.
ickplant@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y
I'm glad you made it through that dark period. Is your doctor no longer willing to consider esketamine since the antidepressant is sort of working? That's too bad, if so. I know insurance can be picky with what they cover, too. I have a lot of hope that all of this will improve as psychedelic treatment for depression becomes more and more commonplace. For now, give us a follow at Psychedelic Therapy, and see if your doctor changes their mind!
CommunityLinkFixer@lemmings.world · 3 pts · 2y
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !psychedelic_therapy@lemmy.world
intensely_human@lemm.ee · -2 pts · 2y
A single dose of IV ketamine is generally quite expensive.
If the effects last a week, might not be worth it
crystal@feddit.de · 14 pts · 2y
You mean it's more reasonable to just die?
Chozo@kbin.social · 10 pts · 2y
Unfortunately, those are the options most Americans have. Either pay more than you can afford to fix it or let it kill you.
mojo@lemm.ee · -5 pts · 2y
Uh there are a lot of anti depressants out there. I pay $15/mo for mine. This is just misinfo and xenophobia.
intensely_human@lemm.ee · 3 pts · 2y
Same. I take wellbutrin and it costs me about $12/mo, paying out of pocket
mojo@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y
Anything that isn't "any health care = bankrupt" disrupts their circle jerk lol. They don't actually know how reality works here.
intensely_human@lemm.ee · 1 pts · 2y
No. I don’t think the options are (a) die or (b) do ketamine transfusion every week.
ickplant@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 2y
Note that this is simply because this study looked at differences for up to a week. Other studies suggest there is a more sustained effect, although it's not permanent. Antidepressants aren't permanent either. The argument is to get insurance to cover ketamine since it is a promising treatment for suicidal ideation (and some are starting to cover it).
intensely_human@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y
I have read, from ketamine infusion recipients, that it was amazing at first but then their depression got worse after the initial period of relief.
That’s the reason I haven’t done it myself. People who have enough money to keep getting the infusions swear by it. But people who don’t have some very disturbing stories to tell.
ickplant@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y
That's interesting, I've also heard the opposite, and I think this just shows we need way more research - and of course way more coverage by insurance. I also wonder if people who got worse had just depression or depression and PTSD. I have a personal pet theory about that (basically, I'm curious whether, if you have PTSD the infusions will make you better short-term, but you still need therapy to process the trauma to receive long-term relief - no actual research support for this yet).
Ghostwurm@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 2y
Tolstoshev@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 2y
About $300 per session. The ketamine itself is cheap, the doctor’s time is what you’re paying for.
Obi@sopuli.xyz · 4 pts · 2y
Was gonna say, I don't remember ket being that expensive through the, err, unregular channels. Then again I'm not in America this would just be free here.
intensely_human@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y
Do people do ketamine infusions where you are?
Obi@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 2y
Not sure what you mean with infusion, I assumed IV meant intra-venous, which, yeah some folks do that unfortunately, though now that I think about it I think it would mostly be done intra-muscular (in a muscle rather than a vein).
intensely_human@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y
You’re saying it would be free in your country. I’m saying that this is already a practice so my question is do people already do it there and is it already free there?
Obi@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 2y
Oh right, gotcha. No I have no idea if it's done sorry, I only have information about the illegal use of it...
intensely_human@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 2y
There’s a clinic in Denver that offers it for like $1500 per session.