PTSD Has a New Predator: IV Ketamine

PTSD Has a New Predator: IV Ketamine

He’d seen active combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His unit had grown close. Tight. Trusted each other with their lives.

They’d cheered when word came that Jarrett’s baby had been born.

They’d gotten drunk with Ben when his mom died.

They had each other’s back, and knew each other in a way civilians couldn’t comprehend.

Then one day, an explosion.

He’d looked up and both of Ben’s hands were blown off.

Jarrett’s legs were 10 feet away, and he was shrieking.

He held him, tried to stop the bleeding. He couldn’t think but his mind was screaming — he had to save him.

Somehow.

He’s stateside now. Trying to work a “normal” job. But a friendly slap on the back puts him back in that desert. It should have been him, not Jarrett, that didn’t make it home.

Someone drops a tray in the kitchen, and he’s surrounded with mortar shells, blood, and Jarrett’s legs.

It’s tough to hold any job for long, and he doesn’t feel like he fits in anywhere he tries. At times, the simplest of tasks seems to be more than he can manage.

And it’s getting worse …

PTSD Knows No Favorites, No Gender

She was a friendly, warm, and fun-loving girl.

She’d worked at a wings place near the beach. She met him at a friend’s party. His flashy smile, his rugged good looks … wow! She couldn’t resist.

In a couple of weeks, they were living together. It seemed like they’d known each other forever.

But … then their first fight.  It was cruel, dirty, and it broke all the rules. Demeaning, and anything but loving. She cried, and wondered what she’d gotten herself into.  But she couldn’t stay away long.

Things went smoothly at first.

Then, a worse fight … that started with accusations, then escalated to a choke hold, bruises, a bruised and bloody face.

But she couldn’t bring herself to leave. She believed his “recovery” depended on her faithful and patient loyalty.

Until, one day, she was sure he would kill her.

She passed out from asphyxiation with her neck in the vise of his clamped arm. When she woke up, he was raping her.

The blows from his fist slammed her to alertness, and when his guard was down, she ran from the house.

Now she’s staying with her sister, her nights filled with nightmares of all the terrors she had endured.  She wakes breathless, covered in sweat, and deeply shaken. The next day is a loss. She can’t pull herself together.

During the day, she panics at the smallest frustration, is volatile, reacts to unexpected sounds as if she’s under attack.

She doesn’t trust anyone, and believes everyone she encounters is purposely humiliating her, lying to her, or out to hurt her in some way.

Four years with a violent abuser shattered her trust. Her confidence. Her ability to even function. She wonders if she’ll ever find herself again.

How Can You Heal?

Two examples of people with PTSD. Both experienced traumatic, even devastating, events. How can you heal from the terrible memories that torment you? 

PTSD affects more than 3 million Americans a year. The Lone Survivor Foundation says that 1 in 3 of all veterans suffer from PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is serious and potentially debilitating. It occurs in some people who have experienced or witnessed a natural disaster, serious injury or loss of friends in an active combat zone, a terrorist event, or personal and violent assault such as battering or rape.

While most people who experience the traumatic events that cause PTSD recover eventually, for many that can take years. And years.

The symptoms can be so severe you may be unable to work, unable to participate in healthy, loving relationships, and unable to sleep. Your nightmares can trigger memories that are so real that you may be overcome by intense and painful emotional and physical reactions.

Night after night.

Day after day.

IV Ketamine Erases PTSD Triggers

Then there’s the depression and anxiety, and the flashbacks, and amplified reactions to certain music, or smells, or types of touch, sounds, or flashes of light. The triggers are sometimes unpredictable, out of the blue. You can’t relax, and neither can those who love you.

While the standard of treatment for decades has been psychotherapy and medication, But for you, treatment may not be that effective. The torment goes on, and your loved ones are often left alone, baffled, shaken.

Until recently.

In 2014, the US Army funded a study to learn about the effects of IV ketamine on combat veterans with PTSD.

“Our results provide the first evidence that a single dose of IV ketamine was associated with rapid reduction of core PTSD symptoms and reduction in comorbid depressive symptoms . . . ,” the authors wrote.

And hundreds, maybe thousands, of individuals with PTSD have been successfully treated since then. We’ve seen it over and over at Innovative Psychiatry, as have other psychiatrists through the US who offer their patients this groundbreaking, almost miraculous, treatment.

PTSD has a new predator: IV ketamine.

And as we’ve said often lately, there’s still so much to be learned. But IV ketamine infusions are changing lives, changing traumatized men and women, and giving them the freedom to build a life free from terror.

Society’s stigma overshadows you if you have PTSD, and the war of images and terror inside you makes healing and recovery so difficult. But IV ketamine infusions bring rapid and immediate relief, liberating you to live in peace, free from fear of memories or triggers.

If you suffer from PTSD and wish for peace, a sense of safety, and the breathing room to relax and build relationships, call for an appointment. We’re Innovative Psychiatry because we leave no stone unturned to find solutions for you.

Your best self is just ahead. Don’t stop looking till you find the quality of life you’ve wished for.

To the discovery of your best self,

Lori Calabrese, M.D.