PTSD

What is PTSD?

PTSD is a mental health condition that develops after you experience or witness an event that threatens your safety or causes harm.

Many traumatic events can lead to PTSD, including:

• Military duty
• Physical assault
• Sexual assault
• Emotional or physical abuse
• Automobile, plane, and train accidents
• Earthquakes, floods, and tornadoes
• Death of a loved one
• Gun violence
• Robberies
• Fires

It’s natural to experience fear, anxiety, and distress after a traumatic event. However, these feelings should gradually improve. If you don’t feel better in about a month, you may have PTSD.

What symptoms occur due to PTSD? 

Along with anxiety and fear, PTSD causes other recurring symptoms. You may:

• Have uncontrollable memories
• Have nightmares
• Experience flashbacks
• Have angry outbursts
• Feel irritable
• Have difficulty sleeping
• Feel depressed
• Be unable to concentrate
• Feel guilty or responsible for the trauma
• Stay away from family and friends
• Avoid people and places that remind you of the trauma

Any symptoms that make you relive or remember the event cause extreme anxiety and emotional stress. Your mind stays in a state of high alert, constantly watching for things that could cause anxiety.

How is PTSD treated?

Psychotherapy (talk therapy) is the primary initial treatment for PTSD. Your provider may prescribe medications for specific symptoms, but there currently aren’t any medications for PTSD.

If psychotherapy isn’t working and the anxiety gets overwhelming, your symptoms get worse, or PTSD limits your ability to function, your provider recommends ketamine infusion therapy.

How does ketamine infusion therapy treat PTSD?

Ketamine is a medication that effectively treats the key symptoms caused by PTSD, such as anxiety and depression. You receive ketamine through an intravenous (IV) infusion, allowing a precise dose to enter your bloodstream.

After ketamine reaches your brain, it regulates biochemicals like glutamate, which are essential in regulating mood and emotions. The medicine also repairs nerve connections, giving you long-lasting results.

Your provider may give you the standard dose and infusion rate. But they also specialize in evaluating your mental and physical health and creating customized ketamine treatment based on your unique needs.

Ketamine is known for causing rapid improvement in your symptoms. If you can’t tell the difference after your first session, you have one or two additional infusions to determine how well it works for you. Most people need a total of six ketamine infusions to produce the best results.

To learn more about ketamine infusion therapy for PTSD, call the office or book an appointment online today.