[ad_1]
Once a week, Angela Neale pops on some headphones and plays her favourite tracks by singer-songwriter Enya.
But before that she takes a ketamine nasal spray — a drug she says helps manage her treatment-resistant depression.
“You feel quite funny, sort of out of your body for a little while,” Ms Neale said.
She said the benefits really started when the effects of the drug wore off.
“You start to think in different ways. The sad thoughts that go round and round tend to stop. You’re more flexible in your mind,” Ms Neale said.
She is part of a small group who are now regularly treated with ketamine in a clinical setting at the Gold Coast University Hospital.
After years of studies with some promising outcomes, it is one of a few publicly funded clinics nationwide offering the drug.
Why does this matter?
One in seven Australians will experience depression in their lifetime, according to the Black Dog Institute.
It is also a leading cause of ill health and disability globally according to the World Health Organization.
Not everyone is responsive to their first treatment for depression, according to Brett Emmerson, Queensland chair of the Royal Australian New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP).
He said new treatments were needed, and ketamine could be an addition to the arsenal of treatments used by mental health professionals in Australia.
But he said ketamine was still “slightly experimental” because research was ongoing into the best way to deliver the drug.
The RANZCP says there is enough evidence only for using ketamine for treatment-resistant depression.
Where’s the proof ketamine works?
Ketamine has delivered promising results in research over the years.
It caught the eye of Associate Professor Shanthi Sarma, who runs the clinic Ms Neale visits for treatment.
She contributed to research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry that found that one in five people who took part in a trial had relief from hard-to-treat depression.
While some people did not feel relief, those who participated were 10 times more likely to see their symptoms improve.
“These are people who’ve had really, really difficult-to-treat depression that haven’t responded to the normal treatments,” Dr Sarma said.
She said there was still a lot that learn about the drug, including longer-term side effects.
It was not a silver bullet either.
“It’s just one part of the treatment strategy,” Dr Sarma said.
“The other problem can be relapse when the treatment stops, so it’s used in combination with a number of treatments. Things like talking therapy are very important.”
It is important to note that the drug is used illegally as a hallucinogen.
The Drug and Alcohol Foundation said the risk of death by ketamine overdose is low, but mixing ketamine with other drugs could increase the risk.
A festival pill testing trial last year found only 53 per cent of substances sold illegally as ketamine were actually ketamine.
Experts stress that ketamine should only be administered by trained medical professionals.
So, can I get treated with ketamine?
Do not expect your doctor to prescribe the drug to treat depression at your next appointment.
For example, Dr Sarma said about 40 patients have had their depression treated with ketamine in the past five years at the Gold Coast’s specialist mood disorders unit.
It is the only location in Queensland that offers the treatment publicly, and existing patients are part of a special program.
This, along with the fact that patients need to be closely monitored, makes the drug very expensive for people outside of special programs and clinical trials.
But Professor Emmerson said ketamine treatments could be scaled up once clearer protocols had been determined.
He said it could eventually get the support of the RANZCP to be covered by Medicare.
“I can see that happening over the next couple of years … and ultimately the way to make this more widely available is to get it covered by Medicare,” he said.
“If the reports continue to show positive results then I think we would be much more likely to support having ketamine registered as an accepted treatment under Medicare.”
Loading…
How’s Angela doing now?
Under the care of professionals, Ms Neale said the regular treatments had helped her a lot.
“I have quite dramatic seasonal depression, so lots of winters where I’d need to be admitted to hospital. I’ve had two great winters now,” she said.
She said she had more motivation to get outdoors.
“I love going out in nature and used to do a lot of hiking … whereas previously I wouldn’t be interested and just go back to bed,” she said.
She was also working with her psychologist on how to look to the future.
“I’m working on goals, how I see the future. It’s really hard, but it’s a lot easier on this medication at least. It’s different, but exciting,” she said.
|
Sources 2/ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-17/ketamine-for-treatment-resistant-depression-gold-coast-clinic/103762614 The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
[ad_2]