Ketamine Infusion Therapy NeuConnections June 5, 2022

Ketamine Infusion Therapy &
The Ketamine Experience

NeuConnections Ketamine
& Wellness Clinic
is your human-centered boutique for Ketamine Therapy.

When Ketamine was first discovered for anesthesia, it was used to help patients relax when experiencing severe pain and discomfort. Ketamine is the safest anesthetic to be used around the globe because it maintains the respiratory rate and cardiac functions of the patient even with limited medical equipment. The patient is relieved of their pain and the emotional distress of seeing their injuries while still being conscious and cared for. 

Ketamine has been used to calm children with broken bones, sedate wounded soldiers during the Vietnam War, and to get actively suicidal people to the hospital. When given a high dose, patients say they often feel like they are floating, or experiencing an out of body experience. Patients will talk about how they could see themselves in the ambulance and the paramedics working on them, but not feel scared or worried about the outcome. Now imagine this, but at a much lower dosage, in a more controlled, safe, and comfortable environment such as the specially designed clinic we have provided.

While use of ketamine in medical and emergency situations is remarkable, is very different than how ketamine is used for mental health treatment. Firstly, the dosage for pain relief and emergency use is about five times higher than a mental health dose. Secondly, those doses are administered in one immediate administration under stressful circumstances, rather than slowly administered over the course of 40 minutes to an hour.

Types of Ketamine Treatments

There are many ways that ketamine can be administered, known as routes of administration (ROA). Some of the most common are: 

  • Intravenously (IV)
  • Intramuscular shots (IM)
  • Insufflation (nasal spray)
  • Sublingual (Troche)
  • Oral Rapidly Dissolving Tablet (RDT)
  • Dermal

At NeuConnections, we specialize exclusively in mastering the Art & Science of Intravenous Ketamine Infusions. Along with years of research, we have found this method to be the most effective at providing fast and reliable relief in the safest way possible. Our infusions are effective, the easiest to measure and control, and allow the quickest recovery of all the available ways of receiving ketamine. With 100% bioavailability (the amount of medication absorbed by the body), additional safety considerations, maximum efficacy, and client comfort and experience in mind, there are no other ROAs that compare. We follow the science and specialize in the absolute best way to receive ketamine. If you want the best when it comes to your well-being, there is no substitution.

The Ketamine Infusion Experience

“Life-Changing”, “Soul-Scrubbing”, “Everyone could use this”, “I’ve forgotten about my pain”, “My depression doesn’t even feel like it matters anymore”.  — just a few of the words and statements our clients have used when describing their Ketamine Infusion Experience at NeuConnections. 

You may be wondering what to expect before, during, and after treatments with us. This safe, non-invasive, cutting-edge, alternative treatment involves three phases.

The Intake Process

We begin this with a free consultation session where we go to know you, your treatment history, and answer all of your questions. With your permission, we then speak with your physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist, or other mental health professionals about your condition and treatment history. Next, you will complete a medical and mental health screening and review it with one of our advanced medical practitioners. We do not require any additional screenings, scans, labs, or other tests that add additional costs and delay treatment. We will then sign you up for a coach to help with your integration and then schedule your first infusion. We can often see you as soon as the week following your consultation.

The Procedure

This is the day you come to our clinic! You will be greeted and brought to your private room. We will take your weight, answer any questions, and help you relax and settle in. If you would like a guided virtual meditation to help ease any pre-session butterflies we can provide that for you. Your private room has a plus-sized reclining chair specifically chosen for maximum relaxation! There are pillows, fuzzy and weighted blankets, noise-canceling headphones, and eyemasks that allow you to shut out all light while being able to keep your eyes open. And if you are still working on being able to let go, we have TV’s with specially curated nature videos that correspond with the environment we have designed for your relaxation. Are you feeling earthy and love plants? Or do you feel like venturing into the space inside your mind? There are no fluorescent bulbs once you step inside and we have taken utmost care to make this medical facility feel calming and inspiring. Clinic is in the name, but ideally you will forget all about the safety measures put into place as you relax in our spa-like environment. We put your safety first, so you can leave ALL your worries behind.

Once you have settled in your room, kicked off your shoes, reclined, had your preparation with one of our experienced guides, discusses your music and put on your noise-cancelling headphones, we will start your infusion.

After about 10 minutes of the IV starting, you will start to feel the anesthesia relax your body. Warm and tingly, the medication relieves pain and settles you into the chair. This will reduce your sense of touch. The provided noise-canceling headphones will reduce outside sounds leading to further focus and freedom. Let the music take you away. We have specially chosen soundscapes designed to help you heal. Lastly, your sense of sight. You will be fully awake during the process but we encourage wearing an eyemask as it is the key in reducing external stimulus so you can completely relax and really explore your mind.

The typical infusion lasts 40 minutes but with an eyemask, most people still feel like they are in “the space” for another 20 minutes. Feeling the ketamine for an hour is only relative. Most clients feel like time “stands still”, “doesn’t matter”, or “felt longer”. There is often a feeling of wishing you could experience that peace for longer until you realize there is so more life to live! As you progress through your sessions we will work with you to maximize the use of your time in this space. We treat every session as a unique part of the whole experience here and will continually evaluate your dosage and discuss with you how to best achieve the results you desire.  

As you become more familiar with how to navigate the journey, you will learn how expansive, capable, and beautiful your mind is.

During treatment, it is possible to feel overwhelmed by the ketamine and the space it brings you to which is why we start at the lowest recommended dose for your body weight and adjust as you proceed forward. If you ever decide the experience is too much for you at this time, we can immediately cease the administration of the medicine and you will return to your normal, lucid state within about 5 minutes. This is one of the main reasons why IV Ketamine is much safer than any other method. No other ROA’s come with the added benefit of allowing us to cease the amount of ketamine being administered and can end the experience if needed. Your safety is paramount and your vitals are always being monitored, a trained infusion specialist will be present with you in the room as much or as little as you desire (with caveats), and you will be cared for by our professional clinical staff.

This safe space in your mind is meant for you to delve into the root causes of trauma and work on your mental health and healing to the most in-depth degree that you desire. Most of our clients find that the clarity they experience brings an overwhelming sense of peace and calm. Ideas that things will be ok and there is so much to be thankful for will take new meaning. Once you have safely navigated these root causes, you can find new ways to heal and let go, revisit beautiful memories, compose an impossible symphony, continue to improve yourself, and explore your mind in a way only this experience offers. 

There is nothing like a Ketamine Session with NeuConnections. The possibilities in this space are endless.

Ketamine, a derivative of phencyclidine, is an anesthetic drug that was developed in 1962 and has been widely used in a variety of settings. Ketamine acts as an antagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and targets glutamate, which is an excitatory amino acid neurotransmitter.

Ketamine has been used to induce and maintain general anesthesia for more than 30 years and is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. Ketamine is an anesthetic that has a remarkably safe track record in clinical settings. Ketamine is commonly used to treat Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), sometimes referred to as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).

Over the past two decades, researchers have consistently found that low doses of ketamine, administered intravenously (ketamine infusions), produce a rapid anti-depressant effect.

“It feels like floating”, “I felt like I was in the ocean”, “It felt warm and cozy”, “It was absolutely beautiful”, “It felt like there were infinite possibilities”, “I was in space with doors that led to whatever I could imagine”. The list goes on. Almost unanimously our patients at NeuConnections describe a level of peace they have seldom felt before and that cannot be easily achieved outside the deepest states of meditation. When compared to traditional psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, MDMA), ketamine offers a supremely controllable and clear space to navigate your mind. Seldom disorienting or scary, the calming, dissociative space ketamine provides is the ultimate journey to clear your mind. 

Dissociation is what we call “the space” when a the dosage of the medication has been dialed in allowing complete relaxation and the patient feels most comfortable letting go of the stresses of the world around them. This is where most healing takes place and we take the upmost care in facilitating this experience for each and every one of our patient’s sessions. 

When a person is “dissociated” imagine that a separation of the emotional mind and the analytical mind is occurring. Imagine medical usage of ketamine that happens around the world, daily. A child with a broken arm or the injured soldier who has now been sedated and put at ease by a large dose of ketamine, they are conscious, free of pain, and comforted knowing that they are being cared for despite their injuries. This is what so many people find therapeutic when experiencing ketamine. It allows them to view their trauma and what is holding them back objectively without reliving the emotions surrounding that trauma. When “dissociated” from the emotion of the trauma, it allows them to reframe their thoughts around it and move forward without those heavy emotions following them.

The dissociative state can be overwhelming if someone is not properly prepared, but we are available every step of the way to ensure your comfort as we ease you into a space of supreme relaxation free from the burdens of the world around you. We will never “throw someone in” without proper preparation and most people wish they could exist in “the space” longer to continue to explore their mind and work towards their future.

Scientists are still exploring the exact mechanism by which depression is relieved, but research suggests that by blocking the NMDA receptors, ketamine prompts the brain to increase the production of synaptic signaling proteins in the prefrontal cortex.

The prefrontal cortex is the region of the brain thought to play a critical role in a person’s ability to regulate his/her mood.

Ketamine appears to promote the growth of new synapses in the prefrontal cortex, resulting in greater connectivity in the brain, while also switching certain connections on and off. This cascade of events is thought to be the reason for the rapid anti-depressant effect.

The duration of symptomatic relief patients experience following ketamine infusion therapy varies depending on many factors.

When patients do experience relief, it may be the first time in decades that they have felt healthy and “normal”.

Patients who have received ketamine infusion therapy for depression have reported significant improvements in their mood and abilities to function anywhere from weeks to months to indefinitely. With some clients, feeling a single session or “booster” or a “mini-series” of sessions is what they need to get back on track or help them prepare for upcoming stressors. 

Some of our clients come back once a month, some average is every three months, and some never need to come back. However, most of our clients that come back look forward to working with us, often to simply relax and see what insights can be gleaned from the experience. 

To achieve lasting results you will need to implement everything you have learned leading to this point. Ketamine infusions may be the “booster fuel” to get you out of a rut, but you need to “do the work” and address the root causes that will ensure lasting results. 

Integration is the implementation of insights gained during your ketamine sessions and is essential in achieving lasting results.

So much can happen in one session. The highest of highs, lows that reveal your strength, realizations and epiphanies, visiting something that had been hovering over you to then deciding it doesn’t matter anymore, metaphorically “beating up your depression”. So much can happen and often it is difficult to interpret. Processing this with our specialized team is essential in ensuring you can continue to learn and grow in this space and outside of this clinic. 

After your infusion, you will have to take care of yourself and start implementing change. Take time for your mental health, go for a hike, clean the desk, listen to calming music, find forgotten joys, journal about your infusions and about all the wins you are having. Your brain is now more elastic and is ready for positive influences to pour in while you give yourself space to manage challenges.

To further help our clients, we have partnered with the amazing organization: Being True To You to help facilitate lasting change. They offer integration of the ketamine experience with certified coaches, many of whom have been down similar roads of confronting their struggles and moving beyond them. The coaches that collaborate with us are all experts in how to navigate the ketamine space and their guidance in implementing positive transformation is essential in achieving lasting results. What makes us unique is that you will receive coaching at the clinic, between your sessions, and as needed.

Most recent research shows that some possible, short-term side effects may include headache, anxiety, dissociation, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness. During the treatment your vision will become blurry but return to normal once administration of the medication has ceased. Most of side effects are remedied in the clinic or subside by the next morning.