post treatment check in

[@Rosumisorimu]

I am soooo glad for you Jonathan! I can't express how happy I am to witness somebody who is going through what I used to go through suddenly feel immensely better! :) Have you ever considered or tried DeepTMS treatment? Also There is a medication called Rapastinel that is about to come out maybe even as soon as this year and it's based on Ketamine, yet it does not produce the haluciongenic effects in patients. It has shown to be pretty effective in the phase 1 an 2 of clinical trials, and the 3rd phase is about to end this year, as far as I remember... Please keep your channel up and keep spreading the awareness! :)

[@depressionrecovery]

I have given heavy consideration to TMS and may still try that at some point. It is definitely my goal to leave ketamine behind at some point and I'm keeping all options on the table until I succeed at a more permanent solution. I thought deep TMS wasn't a thing yet? Maybe I'm remembering wrong. I hadn't heard of Rapastinel, but it looks fascinating! I only took a cursory glance and I'm no biochemist, but it seems it affects glutamate receptors and ketamine does indeed operate within those same receptors. It's a cognitive enhancer to boot. The studies look promising and I'll be on the lookout for information. Thanks for pointing it out to me!

[@JackDavid6405]

Thank you so much for doing these videos. I've been watching them multiple times over the last week or so because I'm really wanting to do this myself. I have one main question I'd really like to know about. My main issue that's left with my depression is anhedonia. I have hardly any real interests or enjoyment to speak of. Whatever little there is, it doesn't happen often, and it doesn't last long. And where other people are concerned, it's basically nonexistent. No genuine care, concern, interest, or connections with them. I was wondering if this was the case with you, and how it was for you before and after ketamine. Thanks in advance if you respond!

[@allymally86]

Scheduled to begin therapy 2 weeks from today. Any recommendations prior to initiating treatment? How do you suggest someone spend their day once the infusion is complete?

[@depressionrecovery]

Hi c0mpassi0nates0ul. I actually made a video about that very thing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3q6XmqGpKpqhLc In the vid I go over what to expect and some of my preferences. If I had to pick one thing to emphasize, I would say music selection is key. Small things affect the experience greatly, so it goes without saying that music is huge. I recommend music without words. Or music with words in a language you don't understand. My recommendations are derived from my own perspective of course, which is based on receiving subcutaneous injections rather than IV infusions. The experiences vary a bit based on the route of administration. After the session, I prefer to be alone. I just want to reflect on the experience. Absorb as much of it as I can and try to hold on to it. . With that said, I have a friend who likes to go for a walk (when he is able) after treatments. I truly hope you find success and if you find the time, please let me know how it goes.

[@allymally86]

Hi! Thanks very much for taking the time to reply. It has been very encouraging to hear you talk about your experiences and to know that you are being helped by this treatment. I commend you for your courage in sharing candidly about your struggles and your successes. Inspired by your recommendation, I located the "Ayurveda" station on Pandora. It's a very soothing, non-lyrical playlist. Now, I am just over a week away from starting treatment. Especially grateful you shared the link regarding what one might to expect from treatment. How is your sleep the nights of treatment?

[@depressionrecovery]

Thank you for your kind words and I'll be sure to check out the Pandora station you recommended! I've dealt with insomnia for years. I'd spend every waking moment trying to distract my mind with books, movies, video games. Anything to avoid letting my mind wander. Once it was time to sleep however, this was unavoidable. As soon as my head hit the pillow the floodgates would open and thought was loosed upon me. Regret, embarrassment, sadness, pain and the like would wash over me, making restful sleep elusive to say the least. I had tried many prescriptions for sleep, but the only ones that were effective came with a price. Over the counter remedies like Benadryl (diphenhydramine) and melatonin or prescriptions like Restoril (temazepam) and trazodone did absolutely nothing for me. Seroquel would force me to sleep through profound drowsiness, but I would have to endure heavy brain fog throughout the day. I decided that exhaustion was a small price to pay to retain my wit. Ambien was the best by far and left me sharp during the day, but then came a night when I did laundry in my sleep. I have no memory of this, but apparently I took whites and colors, washed them all together probably in hot water and threw them all in the dryer. Everything was discolored or shrunk. In addition to ruining half my wardrobe it was also unnerving. I wondered what else I might unconsciously do. Needless to say I never took it again. The night following my first treatment I slept more soundly than I had in years. Since then I haven't really had much difficulty sleeping. The only issue I have now is not wanting to sleep. Whereas before I would long for sleep and was constantly denied, now it seems there aren't enough hours in the day to do all I want and I deny myself sleep in order to accomplish more. This isn't a good thing and I know I need to find a balance, but it's fascinating to me how opposite the two circumstances are and how quickly it all changed. You may know all this, but just in case... You must bear in mind that I received a subcutaneous injection, meaning that I received the full dose all at once. It sounds like you are receiving an intravenous infusion, meaning you will receive your dose metered out over the course of half an hour or so. Injections can have a more pronounced impact, but also involve deep hallucinations which some dislike. Infusions can lighten hallucinations or avoid them altogether, but can also have a more muted impact overall. In the end the results can be the same, but with infusions you may not feel dramatically different after only one treatment. I have absolutely heard accounts of significant change after the first infusion, but I have also heard from others who didn't think it was doing anything and then after the third or fourth treatment they experienced life altering change. There are of course, the roughly 25% who are unable to benefit from ketamine no matter how it's administered, but those are still the best odds of remission of any treatment for MDD with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) coming in second at roughly 50% success rates. Please understand I am not trying to discourage you. I just don't want to give you unrealistic expectations or for you to compare the outcome of your treatment to closely to my own. From what I've gathered infusions are usually scheduled as multiple sessions and it's important that you adhere to the schedule even if at first it doesn't meet your ecpectations. Give it time. The odds are by far in your favor!