What Is Ketamine?
Ketamine is an anesthetic drug that has been safely administered by anesthesiologists since 1970. Over the past 20 years, physicians have learned that ketamine can be used to treat a variety of conditions including:
- Major depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (Anxiety and/or OCD)
- Chronic pain
- And More
At the Tennessee Ketamine & Wellness Center, we give hope to patients in Nashville, TN area as well as many states across the country who have not responded to other treatments for these conditions.
How We Are Different
Our anesthesiologists will safely titrate your dose upwards to maximize the likelihood of a positive response using most commonly one-hour infusions for mental health indications and four-hour infusions for chronic pain or opioid dependence indications.
Many patients for whom ketamine is effective in reducing pain are able to reduce the number of pain medications they need to take, and some can entirely eliminate their dependence on opioid pain medicines.
How Does Ketamine Work?
Ketamine can work in three different ways to effectively treat pain and depression.
- It increases the amount of glutamate in the nervous system, which is an excitatory amino acid and neurotransmitter. This increases neuro connections so that the brain and spinal cord process pain in a healthier way, which also decreases depression.
- It resets pain receptors. With chronic pain, these receptors are turned on all the time. Ketamine quiets them down.
- It decreases the inflammation in the nervous system that contributes to pain and depression.
Treatment Requires A Series of Visits
To The Center
Two types of ketamine treatments are available at Tennessee Ketamine & Wellness Center — intravenous (I.V.) infusion and Spravato, a nasal spray in smaller doses — which are both administered on-site at the center over a series of visits. In addition to Ketamine, we offer NAD infusions as well as other types of supplements to support your overall well-being.
