For those suffering from chronic pain, depression, alcoholism and other mood disorders, ketamine treatment can offer safe and effective relief and could be the right choice for them. At Ketamine Healing Clinic of Los Angeles and Orange County, we offer customized ketamine treatments for our patients who have not found relief using conventional treatments or want an alternative to medications with debilitating side effects. One of the many benefits of ketamine treatments is the low risk of side effects with a high rate of success in treating many mood and pain disorders. Furthermore, the risk of addiction and/or compulsive use is far less when compared to substances such as opiates, alcohol, and benzodiazepines. A 2015 peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology stated, “Psychedelics are not known to harm the brain or other body organs or to cause addiction or compulsive use; serious adverse events involving psychedelics are extremely rare. Overall, it is difficult to see how prohibition of psychedelics can be justified as a public health measure.” Of course, any substance (or activity) can be addictive or have side effects; Dr. Mahjoubi will carefully assess your risk and let you know if there is any cause for concern.
Ketamine has been safely used for over five decades as an anesthetic. It is on the list of essential medications through the World Health Organization and is considered a safe medication for its anesthetic properties, as well as treatment for various disorders. Ketamine is relatively less addictive than opiates, which is important to those trying to find alternative treatments to narcotics for pain, or as a treatment for alcoholism. It has also been used to help individuals taper off benzodiazepines such as Xanax, Ativan, or Clonazepam. This treatment is administered through an IV infusion at our Ketamine Healing clinics, with a nasal spray prescribed for supplementary therapy and maintenance to patients that qualify.
Safe Ketamine Treatment
For most patients, ketamine has no negative side effects other than transient hallucinations during the treatment itself. However, like with any medical treatment there are possible side effects. Uncommonly, some patients may have a headache the same evening of their IV infusion treatment. We can help dispel this effect with the use of IV Toradol given during subsequent ketamine infusions. Toradol is a medication with similar properties to aspirin. Another possible side effect is nausea. Zofran is added to your first infusion, and if nausea occurs, we have 3 other anti-nausea medications that can be used on subsequent infusions to lessen the chance of this occurring. Dr. Mahjoubi addresses all side effects both before and after infusions to find an acceptable solution.
Ketamine can offer so many benefits with little to no risk of side effects for most patients. If you are looking for an effective option to treat depression, anxiety, chronic pain or one of many other ailments benefited by ketamine treatments, contact our office today to schedule a consultation.
