Compounded Ketamine nasal spray for pain and anxiety

I am reading on Ketamine and it seems to be used in adjunct with other antidepressants. I know someone who is taking wellbutrin which isn't working too well and Ketamine has been recommended. Has it worked for some here?

Hello, friends! This is something I would definitely like more information about and if it is going mainstream or considered to be something only addicts would be interested in. I’m so tired of hearing words to that effect regarding pain and medication.

I am 76, have SLE, Hashimoto’s, plus who knows what else, but the sadness or dysthymia I find harder to handle lately but maybe longer. Women at times tend to forget how long, because I feel we usually put ourselves last. Just my opinion.

I would like to know more. I do not wish to switch antidepressants as Prozac has given me so much of my life back.

Peace, love, happiness to you.

Do you get this through the Mayo ?

No

Would LOVE to hear more about ketamine therapy….pros and cons, with the elderly. I know first find the right open minded doctor would help, lol, but seriously, I am playing with my constant pal, dysthymia, way too much. Life is hard enough at 76.

I am not really interested in the IV Ketamine therapy that requires you to go to an office and I understand is very strong and dissociative. I am interested in the nasal spray which is much less potent and you can perform at home.

Oh….not looking for anything to be injected…..I think nasal spray would be the first step….hopefully the only step. Injections freak me out now since being diagnosed with SLE. I don’t know how my doctor would handle my inquiry. Do you know if doctors are becoming more “open” to the therapy?

I believe some are. But it is off label to use it for pain and depression. It is really an anesthetic. Our insurance will not pay for it.

I found that ketamine worked better than traditional psychotropic drugs (SSRIs like Prozac, etc.)

Ketamine helped a lot at first. It put me in a quiet place without thoughts, and when I was back in normal consciousness my mood was improved for days and weeks afterward. It helped me to recognize and rest in the spaces or gaps between thoughts, which relieved distress from rumination.

I had office visits with a psychiatrist who gave me intramuscular injections (not IV) and also prescribed less potent compounded tablets for me to take at home. I’ve never used the nasal spray.

Ketamine served its purpose, but it was not a silver bullet. For one thing, it’s very expensive. As others noted, insurance doesn’t cover off-label use, and if you go to a psychiatrist to administer it, like I did, you’re going to pay their hourly rate for 2-3 hours out-of-pocket. Very expensive. I suppose one could go to one of those clinics that have been springing up, but I would research their reputation. The tablets themselves weren’t expensive. Ketamine has been around a long time, and it’s a generic drug. It’s the doctor’s time you’re paying for.

The problem with ketamine in my experience is that it’s addictive. I found myself fantasizing about going to the “K-hole” before those office visits. (Google it.) And I started taking it at home more often than prescribed. It was psychological, not a physical addiction, but as a sober alcoholic, it was too enjoyable of an escape for me. (I can’t take benzodiazepines for the same reason; those I got physically addicted to.)

The thing I’ve found about taking any drugs for anxiety/depression is the risk of getting addicted or at least dependent on them. This is true even for most pharmaceutical antidepressants. It’s not recommended that people stop taking them abruptly because of the risk of uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. That might not have been a problem if they had been working for me and if I had intended to keep taking them, but the side effects were not good, and the benefits were minimal, if at all. So I decided to taper off of them under my psychiatrist’s supervision. (My regular psychiatrist, not the ketamine doctor.) Even after a months-long taper, the first six weeks off mirtazapine & seroquel were hell. But now that I’m off of pharmaceutical drugs for anxiety and depression, I’m never looking back.

I think ketamine was better than regular antidepressants for me because it helped more and I wasn’t physically dependent on it. Even though the psychological attraction was worrisome, it was a huge relief, and I do credit it with helping to lift my depression sufficiently to eventually wean myself off of regular antidepressants.

However, I’ve come to think of all of these drugs—ketamine, antidepressants, and benzodiazepines—as being similar to opioid drugs in that they are best used as short-term relief for acute symptoms or crisis situations and not as long-term treatment for chronic conditions.

That’s what worked and didn’t work for me. Please note that I did all of this under a doctor’s supervision, but that doesn’t mean it’s what would work best for you. I am not a doctor, and this is not advice. Only you and your doctor can figure out what’s best for you. I can only share my experience.

I know what it’s like to despair that you’ll never get relief from anxiety and depression, but there is hope. For me it meant a lot of trial and error, persistence, and just not giving up. Good luck!

Check out my posts for more on oral Ketamine. I have been taking Ketamine since March 2022. Recently I began taking it for intolerable shoulder and neck pain. On the advice of my doctor, I take Asprin a half hour before the 600mg of Ketamine (it is tablets that melt under your tongue). I have felt some relief. Ketamine was a life changer for my 40+ years of TRD and CPTSD. It is worth trying anything if you have fought Depression since 18 years of age. I am now 61.