Westlake Aesthetics & Wellness offers physician-supervised Ketamine IV Infusion therapy for both chronic pain conditions, and certain mental health conditions. The infusions typically take place in one of our spa-like and state-of-the art IV Infusion lounges, with continuous physiological monitoring, and include comprehensive pre- and post- infusion assessment.
What is Ketamine?
Ketamine is an anesthetic agent that has been used by physicians in the operating room, intensive care unit and emergency room for several decades. Ketamine has a long history of safety and efficacy in these settings. In recent years, the use of intravenous ketamine infusions as a treatment for chronic pain, depression, anxiety, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased dramatically(1).
Ketamine has been proven beneficial for patients with neuropathic chronic pain syndromes including refractory headaches, traumatic spinal cord injury, post herpetic neuralgia, complex regional pain syndrome and mixed-diagnosis neuropathic pain, among others.
Additionally, numerous scientifically validated studies have shown that Ketamine has a therapeutic and beneficial effect on several mood disorders including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar depression.
How does Ketamine work?
Ketamine is an NMDA receptor antagonist. The NMDA receptor, which is present in both the brain and central nervous system, has many functions including synaptic plasticity and mediating learning and memory functions. These neural functions are believed to be central to its effect on both chronic pain and psychiatric disorders. Via the NMDA receptor, Ketamine triggers glutamate production, which in turn prompts the brain to form new neural connections, making it more adaptable and acting as a “re-set” of the nervous system wind-up and central sensitization that occurs in chronic pain and mental health syndromes.
At Westlake Aesthetics & Wellness, a typical treatment course for both chronic pain and mental health conditions is six, 1-3 hour infusions given over a 2-3 week period, followed by maintenance infusions once every few months. The infusion is given in our spa-like infusion lounge, and you will be continuously monitored by Dr. Wills and his medical staff, optimizing your safety.
(1)Consensus Guidelines on the Use of Intravenous Ketamine Infusions for Chronic Pain
(2)JAMA: The Use of Ketamine in the Treatment of Mood Disorders
(3)How New Ketamine Drug Helps with Depression _ News _ Yale Medicine.pdf