Exploring ketamine treatment for severe depression
Exploring ketamine treatment
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office cited ketamine as the cause of death for actor Mathew Perry, sending shock waves through a large community of people who has been using medically-supervised intravenous ketamine infusions to treat mental disorders like PTSD and depression.
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office cited ketamine as the cause of death for actor Mathew Perry, sending shock waves through a large community of people who are using medically-supervised intravenous ketamine infusions to treat mental disorders like PTSD and depression.
"No one read past the headline," said Sam Mandel, co-founder of Ketamine Clinic Los Angeles, one of the first treatment centers using the therapy.
Perry's medical report also read that the therapeutic session he had received over a week prior to his death could not have caused his death because ketamine leaves the body within 48 hours or so. The level of ketamine found in the actor’s body was enough to perform anesthesia, and more than ten times the level used by Dr. Steven Mandel during treatments.
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There were also traces of opioids, like buremorphine - used to treat addiction - which Perry admitted fighting a long, difficult battle against.
We spoke to clients that FOX 11 has followed, as they’ve tried ketamine for their depression, including one opera singer who had more than 30 electric shock treatments prior to trying the ketamine infusions.
Shira Thomas is an active member of the community that credits ketamine with saving their lives, literally. A good resource for more information is the ‘Ketamine Infusions for Better Health’ Facebook page.
"What happened to Mathew Perry is tragic," said Dr. Mandel, adding there is no reason to demonize a valid treatment.
"We’ve had 30,000 infusions at Ketamine Clinic Los Angeles in over ten years, more than 6,000 patients, and we haven’t had any bad outcomes or anything remotely similar to what happened to Mr Perry," he added.
How Perry got the ketamine in his body remains under investigation.
The medical examiner's report reads that investigators did not find any ketamine containers in the room.
The American Society of Ketamine Physicians Psychotherapists and Practitioners released a statement saying they plan to publish guidelines for ketamine use at home in light of Perry’s death.
The group of more than 500 providers said that "dissociative doses" or those large enough that people feel detachment from their body, should only be administered in office settings under supervision.
If you want more information, you can visit the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists and Practitioners ASKP, or Ketamine Clinic Los Angeles.