The news outlets, journals, and lifestyle magazines have been chock-full of articles about ketamine treatment for depression the last few years, with sprinklings about esketamine from time to time…
Then, this past March, esketamine received FDA approval for depression and suicidal ideation under the name Spravato. Developed by Janssen, owned by Johnson & Johnson, esketamine nasal spray won approval packaged in an innovative spray dispenser that metes out a precise dose in each spray. And literally — within just a few months — people are already looking to buy esketamine online.
Unbelievable, right?
Michael Thase, M.D., an investigator of intranasal esketamine during FDA trials, noted that “this treatment has addiction liability — it is a Schedule III controlled substance in the eyes of the Drug Enforcement [Administration]. It’s identical to the parent drug, ketamine.”
When he said that esketamine is identical to its parent drug ketamine, he was referring to its controlled substance rating. Both drugs are Schedule III.
And even though there were 3 suicides during the trials, Dr. Thase pointed out that during the follow-up phase of the study, no one experienced craving or abuse among the subjects who received esketamine.
He continued that it’s important to have a 2-hour observation period in the office after each dose. And went on to say that esketamine nasal spray treatment is “administered twice a week in clinical practice.”
As we now know, esketamine was FDA approved with stipulations that it must be provided with an antidepressant, in a doctor’s office (or medical setting like a hospital), and the patient must be monitored for 2 hours.
So, during that 2-hour observation time, they monitor the patient’s blood pressure and watch for signs of sedation and dizziness or other adverse reactions. And, not surprisingly, sometimes patients need kind, warm support from someone to help them get through an unpleasant psychoactive experience.
Clearly, it’s not an at-home medical treatment.
So here’s something to think about.
With all that said, more and more people are looking for ways to buy esketamine online...
It’s not a good idea.
Before we had internet, if you got sick, you went to the doctor. The doctor examined you, figured out what was wrong, and took care of it… maybe sent you home with a prescription. If your pipe sprung a leak, you called a plumber who came out and fixed it.
People depended on experts to fix their problems.
But since search engines took center stage, everybody’s a DIYer. Just google what you need to do, order what you need online, find a YouTube video that shows you exactly what to do, and — do it yourself. Everything from erecting a power pole and replacing spark plugs to folding sheets the right way to … treating your own maladies.
And THAT MAY WORK FOR YOU as long as you stick to relatively low-risk problems. But when it comes to treating your own illnesses with medicines acquired from a questionable source, you can really set yourself up for a life-threatening – or fatal – disaster.
Serious Consequences When You “Treat” Yourself, Like If You Buy Esketamine Online
We talked in the past about the danger that arises when club goers use ketamine to get high, and try to “treat” their own depression in the process. There are substantial risks. When ketamine is used in high doses and way too often, addiction raises its ugly head. But beyond the risk of addiction lies the risk of serious damage to the bladder.
Someone who has been dosing himself with controlled substances for entertainment might consider himself an “expert” in using those substances.
However, a hazard looms with such practices. It works like this: during ketamine or esketamine treatment, some people experience a pleasant floating sensation as it’s working in the circuitry and structures of the brain. Others, however, experience a stronger sensation we call dissociation. A feeling that you’re detached from your body, or detached from yourself…or maybe even in another place. For some, this is a bit unpleasant. And it passes. But for others…and here’s where it can get slippery…this can be a very appealing experience. And for those, it’s disappointing when the treatment ends, and those feelings dissipate.
But what happens if you have a bagful of ketamine on the table? Do you think you would just put it away?
Not likely. Not likely at all.
Because along with this experience, you’ve also lost a lion’s share of your inhibitions, too. So why not just dose up again? Keep the good times rollin’, as they say?
Someone who would have received 0.5 mg/kg or a bit more over 40 or 50 minutes under a doctor’s supervision might take 5 times, 10 times, 20 times, or more than that amount on his own.
This is how addiction is born. And how bladders are destroyed.
Then tomorrow, he’s ready to buy esketamine online, again.
Controlled Substances Require a Physician’s Supervision for YOUR Safety
Controlled substances are controlled to protect you from the dangers of over use, from side effects, adverse reactions, and from overdose. When you defy those safety measures, you put yourself at extreme risk.
So let’s talk now about esketamine.
We don’t know a lot about esketamine so far. It hasn’t been widely used yet. But a wise person recognizes that since the FDA stipulated approval of esketamine in the presence of specific parameters, it’s a safe bet they need to be followed.
First, it must be administered in a registered medical office or hospital/clinic under strict guidelines.
Second, you must remain in the office for observation for a full 2 hours after administration, and a safety report has to be sent in to an oversight safety monitoring program every time you come into the office.
It must be administered along with an antidepressant.
And finally, esketamine nasal spray may not be taken home or out of the office.
This assures that the medicine is not overused, or given to someone else. The medication from the pharmacy is pure — it hasn’t been tainted or adulterated with anything.
What IF You COULD Buy Esketamine Online?
Would that be a DIY Solution or a DIY Tragedy?
Hint: Some things should be left to the experts.
Now, let’s picture what it would be like if you actually found an online source for esketamine. It might be produced in a developing country, or by a chemist prodigy with questionable integrity, and shipped out in a little baggie… and without FDA restrictions.
While we recognize the FDA isn’t a perfect institution, its requirements do set restrictions that help keep consumers safe. Or at least saf-ER. Without that protection, you have no idea if the esketamine you might receive would destroy your organs, cause blindness, trigger psychosis… or worse.
Any chemical or pharmaceutical treatment for brain or behavior disorders has the power to incapacitate or disable you if it’s not pure, well tested, and administered with precision.
So often we talk about the delicate brain systems and the precision and care necessary to treat disorders with a medication like ketamine — and we administer it IV because of the precision, flexibility and responsiveness that the IV route allows in psychiatric treatment. It’s just as critical when treating with esketamine. Just as vital that a psychiatrist is supervising the treatment — and your response to it — expertly.
It’s all about you, and your improved life.
So you can experience a truly therapeutic dose that can help you feel more balanced and better, function better, and live a happier, more fulfilling life.
There are no shortcuts to reaching that goal.
No bargains.
No fun “trips” killing two birds with one stone.
And if you were able to find esketamine in bulk form, without that innovative sprayer..well you’re taking your life and your health in your hands.
DIY Brain Surgery
So let me ask you this. Let’s say your PCP referred you to a brain surgeon. You call and make the appointment, then on the designated day you appear in his office. He looks at your x-rays and scans, and tells you he agrees with your PCP that you need surgery. You meet with the scheduler to schedule it.
Then a few days later, you get the call and find out the cost of the surgery…and the amount you’ll have to pay as a co-insurance payment.
WHAAA???
You could pay off your house for that!!
All you can see is white. Shocked. Stunned. There is just no way. You’re not going to pay that.
So you get to thinking. You know… it can’t be that hard… You start looking on YouTube for DIY brain surgery… It’s hard to find much. So you keep trying different key words. Then you drive to the University Bookstore and ask for a textbook for neurosurgeons… You know you can always close the incision with staples. That’s what they use in the hospital right..?
Ok, I’m pulling your leg. Who would do that? Ever?? Now, there are some unusually determined people out there who go over the line. All the time.
But NO ONE would attempt surgery on his own brain. Why? Because it would more than likely cause brain damage, or worse. Because it would destroy your ability to think, to walk, to speak, to see. And that’s if you were lucky.
It’s for this reason you need to leave treatment of brain and behavior disorders to an expert in brain and behavior disorders. To avail yourself of the expertise and experience required to effectively treat the most delicate and most central managing system of your very life.
Brain Treatment is for the Experts
If you’re looking for a shortcut to health and well-being, put your doctor’s appointment setter on speed-dial. How’s that for a shortcut?
Meanwhile, if you struggle with depression that hasn’t responded to treatment, symptoms that persist no matter what you do, suicidal thoughts that return again and again … if medicines aren’t helping, just call us. Give yourself the advantage of deep psychiatric expertise, patient and skillful dose titration (with IV ketamine), and quick response to reactions and needs.
We offer comprehensive evaluations to determine if IV ketamine infusions or esketamine nasal spray could be an appropriate and effective treatment for you.
Neither treatment can give you a sure-fire guarantee. No treatment can. But when ketamine is administered properly, our patients often enjoy an amazing improvement. For many, it’s fast, and it’s robust … with IV ketamine, the improvement can begin within just a few hours.
Your life is too precious to wreck. Don’t search for ways to buy esketamine online… or ketamine either, for that matter. It can lead to a slippery slope of abuse, addiction, and worse. You’re just too valuable to miss the relief and wellbeing proper treatment can provide.
Your life is yours to live, and we want to help you gain the opportunity to live it well. With joy, loving relationships, and accomplishments.
You really can be the best you can be.
To your best self in the months ahead,
Lori Calabrese, M.D.
You list all the dangers of a drug addict using ketamine , but not that of someone who has tried dozens is anti depressants and deals with suicidal thoughts every day. Local clinic wanted 10,000 dollars for just the first month (8apts @ $350 + 8 doses@$1000) This should be criminal
Thanks for bringing this up. One of the most effective uses of ketamine is in stopping suicidal thoughts, even in complicated situations in real life when people have tried dozens of medicines that haven’t worked. I hope the peer-reviewed journal article I published in December, 2019 will launch a thousand inquiries and help compel insurance companies to pay for this outpatient treatment. If IV ketamine can save lives, avoid expensive and recurrent trips to the ER, and prevent psychiatric hospitalization which would cost much more than the treatment itself, why wouldn’t insurers pay for it? Why aren’t they jumping to the forefront, making a name for themselves and their companies, and saving themselves the money they’d be spending for the ER and the hospital?
I lived with severe depression for over three decades. I worked exhaustively with multiple psychotherapist, psychologists…had every antidepressant and combination of anti depressants…I exercised…ate well…slept well…meditated…I did everything suggested to me by medical professionals with not even a hint of relief.
I would hear messages that depression can be cured and with each treatment came more despair that I was beyond help.
I searched the internet continually for new approaches and found Esketamine…Spravato…and was the first in my state to receive treatment. Within a few treatments my depression was not just reduced…it was gone!
Listen to me as one both being in depression and going through Esketamine treatments that it was life changing!
It is NOT addictive, nor is the desire there to even take the drug. I never lost consciousness…never had a negative experience with it…my BP held at 115 or below…I explain the experience like giving my mind a rest…a reset…an opportunity to let my mind heal.
It has been over 2 years and still mentally healthy.
Any medical professional that cannot understand and appreciate the depth of depression and the despair one feels from repeated unsuccessful treatments nor be open to a research based successful treatment should find other work. It saved my life.
I’ve asked my doc for esketamine two times buy she said no. I have had cronical depression for years becauae of a tumor on the pitutary gland that causes severe depressions. Antidepressivals doesn’t help. No one and nothing can help me and I’m struggling with suicidal thoughts every day. Also tried to take my life for three times. I can’t see why my doc doesn’nt want to help me to try esketamin. Spending my time i bed every day and can’t go outside to have some fresch air and exercise. What should I do?/Jeanette
Not all doctors are set up to offer esketamine nasal spray in their offices. The brand name FDA-approved form of nasal esketamine in the US is Spravato, and the prescribing and administration of this is monitored through a program called Spravato REMS. You can search that to locate doctors near you who provide Spravato treatment, and ask your doctor to refer you to a doctor in the Spravato REMS program, so that they can work collaboratively to help you. Best wishes!
I read everything I can about this new treatment. I’ve been suffering since I was 7 years old I am now 60. I am on Social Security and Medicaid only. Have lost or sold everything of value to keep myself going through my clinical depression. No family and my car is broken down. I work part-time the best I can to afford my phone and basic necessities toiletries. My question is how would I pay for this? Thank you for your efforts.
It may be very easy for you to find treatment that is covered by Medicare and Medicaid near you for brand name Spravato. That means that the office visits will be paid for and the medication will be paid for—what a great thing that would be for you! Go to spravato.com and call the number or search for all of the treatment centers near you. They will tell you if they work with Medicaid and if their Medicaid patients get everything covered for Spravato—the medication itself and the office visits to administer it, and then you can make an appointment for an evaluation to see if you qualify and begin. Best wishes to you!