Posted by johnLA on July 1, 2012, at 12:37:35
In reply to Re: remeron, ketamine nasal spray, ketamine infusion, posted by Bryn B on July 1, 2012, at 11:02:03
bryn-
sorry not to answer the question about the washout while doing a ketamine infusion.
it depends on where you are having it done and if you are in a study or doing it outside a study. it seems many of the studies want you to do a washout first. i am not participating in a study. i will be going to a university hospital that has a specific ketamine infusion program for treatment resistant depression. big bucks by the way and not covered by insurance.
there are 2 places i have found that are doing ketamine infusions here in southern california; ucla and uc san diego.
my experience so far is that ucla has much more hurdles to jump thru to get to the ketamine infusion. i think is partly due to the how huge ucla is and just the administrative paperwork, how new the ketamine program is there, etc. the doc who does them is a great guy. i had ect done by hime a few years ago. very caring, yet hard to get a hold of because he is head of psych at a massively huge institution.
uc san diego is a much smaller operation (still big though), but so far in my experience is just a lot more intimate, if i can use that word.
the doc there has set-up the first to my knowledge specific ketamine infusion program on the west coast. he is developing a specific protocol for each patient. the guy even returns my emails! pretty impressive. his fees are also less than half than what ucla charges. he does not use an anesthesiologist. just a nurse who monitors your vitals why you are hooked-up to the iv. a major reason he can charge less. i also think this doctor makes very little money from this procedure. he only does it one day a week.
i think this all still so new that many docs are just starting to figure out the protocol.
many of the people i have spoken to have done the infusions have gotten over a month of complete remission from depression. again, these are people with long-term severe depressions who have failed many meds and even ect. i also have read accounts of where people did multiple infusions which brought remission eventually as well. others that due a maintenance program. a lot like ect.
sorry tob babble so much. i'm just excited and hopeful and bored! i even approached a group of very wealthy friends to ask if i need to do this long-term would they be willing to help me financially. they all said yes. by the way, my feeling is the prices will come-down as the procedure becomes a bit more mainstream.
and! to finally answer your question...with the uc san diego doc there is no washout that i have been told of as of yet prior to the infusion. this may be different for others on other drugs. i did fill-out a mess of paperwork and he saw that i am only on klonopin.
the ucla doc may also have different protocols regarding discontinuing meds prior to the infusion. like is said earlier, he seems way more conservative (maybe a good thing), but less experienced in the procedure than the doc down in san diego.
man, i talk a lot. sorry. got nothing else to do when lying in bed all day.
thanks again for your interest bryn.
take care.
john
poster:johnLA
thread:1020587
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120630/msgs/1020601.html