The 3 Common Ketamine Myths You Have To Debunk
Ketamine StartUp
Helping medical professionals go from lost & overwhelmed to empowered & knowledgeable in starting a ketamine clinic.
We’ll be honest, it’s frustrating at times to deal with criticisms. We’ve been hearing the same confused or misguided understanding of what ketamine is. BUT we wouldn’t trade our situation for the world. We are so grateful and inspired by the transformations we’ve seen in our patients.
So in this article we are going to go over 3 common myths you need to debunk when owning a ketamine infusion clinic!
Myth #1 “You’re just getting people addicted to ketamine”
Any substance that alters a person’s ability to experience the world around them has an addictive potential. That’s the reality. Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic. This means people use it recreationally to alter their experience of reality. We are sure you could probably find someone who gets hooked on the experience. However when you only allow patients to have ketamine in the setting of a clinic, this greatly lessens the risk of addiction. Now of course, things can get a bit sticky if you offer oral ketamine (troches) that the patient can take home and self administer.
BUT here is the big but - you are a medical clinic. You are screening these patients. You are doing a medical evaluation to assess the efficacy and safety of providing ketamine for a patient.
Let’s look at the Addiction Habit Loop below:
The cue, routine, and reward need to happen in a timely manner. The form of getting an infusion through a clinic can’t feed into the addiction as opposed to self administered ketamine. Because the ketamine infusion is administered by a trained professional, everything is controlled. Ketamine is less likely to become a habit (routine), because the number of sessions and the dosage is dictated by a professional.
You have the power to notice when patients have gone beyond therapeutic into the addictive realm. Perhaps the actual criticism behind this myth is that we are getting patients addicted to something. As a result, they become dependent on doctors and we essentially become rich legal drug dealers. As a physician, our duty first and foremost is to do no harm.
So if we are noticing maladaptive behaviors in someone, it’s our job and duty to tap the breaks and evaluate if ketamine infusions are no longer warranted for a patient. It is up to us, their doctor, to be brave enough to say, enough is enough.
Reality: Using ketamine in a therapeutic capacity, under the guidance and direction of a healthcare profession greatly minimizes the risk of addiction especially when given in the intravenous form in the clinic.
Myth #2 “You’re just trying to make money off of vulnerable patients”
It takes a lot of time, money, and energy to open and operate a ketamine infusion clinic not to mention the risk. An individual who believes this above myth usually isn’t someone who’s opened or run a clinic or business. It takes a lot to go from no clinic to running a clinic.
Additionally, research supports the use of ketamine infusions to treat mood and pain disorders. As of the writing of this post, there are not enough physicians providing ketamine infusions for those who need them. Sure you’ll make some money with a clinic - but the sentiment behind it as being a money maker isn’t true. You are an innovative forward thinking individual. You have the desire to help by providing needed service and treatment in the form of ketamine infusions.
Reality: There is a growing body of research showing the validity of ketamine as a treatment for difficult-to-treat mood and pain disorders. Because this is a novel treatment, there are not enough doctors out there to provide this. By starting and running a ketamine clinic, you are increasing access to care.
Myth #3 “You’re not trying to get people better, you are just masking the problem”
We’ve heard this one a lot. Many people know of ketamine as a club drug. Google ketamine and you’ll find more about it as a recreational drug. Thanks to this, when someone finds out you have a ketamine infusion clinic, they may see you like a place of escape. “You’re just getting them high to forget their problems''.
However, there is scientific research demonstrating regrowth and regeneration of neurons. This may be able to counter the neuronal loss or changes found in chronic pain conditions and prolonged depression. There is also a growing body of research showing the power and effectiveness of psychedelic experiences -- specifically MDMA and psilocybin. These experiences help treat depression, PTSD, anxiety, and other particular mood disorders.
Currently these medications are experimental and are still in the research phase. Ketamine is a psychedelic medication, it is legal, and it is already available. There is nothing recreational during a therapeutic psychedelic experience. Patients can face deep truths or unbury experiences and feelings long repressed. There’s nothing recreational about it.
Reality: Psychedelic medications and treatments are an emerging and cutting edge treatment. These are being actively researched at large institutions today. Ketamine is a legal medication which can induce psychedelic, non-ordinary states of consciousness. Along with changes on a biochemical level, ketamine also catalyzes lifestyle and behavioral changes.
You Get To Educate Your Potential Patients & Colleagues
In the future, we will probably look at this and think, “Wow what an interesting time, how little we knew.” Just like we did in the past when most people didn’t believe in handwashing. But the reality is the following:
By acknowledging the misconceptions about ketamine, and educating both our colleagues and patients on research backed reality, we can all become part of the solution.
This article first appeared on the Ketamine StartUp blog: