Ketamine is a compound that often gets a bad rap due to misinformation. People refer to it as a horse tranquilizer, claim that it’s addictive, and have other unfounded concerns about ketamine — and they couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, ketamine infusion therapy is a highly effective treatment for several mental health conditions, including chronic depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. It has also been successful at helping address physical pain resulting from migraines, fibromyalgia, and more.
Let’s debunk some of the most common myths about ketamine infusion therapy:
1. Ketamine Is a Horse Tranquilizer
The horse tranquilizer myth about ketamine is only partly true. Like many other medications used on people, ketamine is also used on animals by veterinarians. But when people refer to ketamine as a horse tranquilizer, it implies that it’s a super-strong medication. In reality, ketamine is administered in much larger doses when used for the purpose of tranquilizing horses. When veterinarians or physicians use ketamine on smaller animals or humans, the dosages are much lower.
2. Receiving Ketamine Infusions Leads to Addiction
When administered properly in a medical setting, ketamine infusions do not lead to addiction. Because ketamine has been used illegally as a party drug, people sometimes associate it with drug addiction. Ketamine is not physically addictive, but may be psychologically addictive when used excessively for recreational purposes.
3. Ketamine Treatment is Dangerous
Like other controlled substances, ketamine can be dangerous when abused and taken in high doses; however, when administered legally and in the proper dosages for its intended purposes, ketamine is extremely safe.
4. Ketamine Causes Mental Illness
While ketamine does put patients into a dream-like state during infusions, ketamine infusion therapy has not been shown to cause psychosis in patients with no previously diagnosed psychiatric disorder.
5. Ketamine Therapy Is an Outdated Treatment
Ketamine has been around since the 1960s and was the go-to anesthetic used on soldiers during the Vietnam War. It was later replaced by morphine for that specific purpose, hence the myth about it being “outdated.”
Micro doses of ketamine are highly therapeutic, very safe, and can be up to 80-90 percent effective for treating the above-mentioned long standing mental and physical conditions.
If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of ketamine infusion therapy, contact Premier Infusions today.