
core treatment program
PRE-TREATMENT ASSESSMENT and PRESCRIBING CONSULTATION
core treatment program
PREPARING FOR YOUR TREATMENT: PREPARATION and INTENTION-SETTING SESSION
core treatment program
KETAMINE TREATMENT
core treatment program
REFLECTION and INTEGRATION SESSION
We recently underwent a research program internal to San Francisco Preventative Medicine, where we interviewed patients with chronic conditions. We asked about their history and experiences, the impact on their relationships, and the varying treatment plans they’ve tried, including experiences with alternative therapies.
One patient had dealt with years of severe depression as a result of her chronic Lyme disease. When asked about her in-clinic treatment with ketamine, she said:
“It was like waking up from the depression. I could breathe again. The suicidal thoughts went away and it was like I was not carrying a weight anymore.”
We can’t guarantee everyone’s results will be this profound, but in our clinic, we have seen some life changing results from ketamine treatments.
To learn more, please schedule consultation. We’ll schedule some time to determine, together, if ketamine treatment is a good treatment option for you.
Dr. Grieder and Dr. Armstrong have found that ketamine often helps their patients who are struggling with the following conditions:
- Lyme Disease & Other Chronic Infections
- Fibromyalgia
- Mold/ Biotoxin Illness
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS)
- Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
- Mast Cell Disorders (MCD)/ Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other Trauma-Related Conditions
- Depressive Disorders (MDD, PDD, SAD)
- Anxiety Disorders (GAD, OCD)
Ketamine increases neural connectivity and neuroplasticity by affecting multiple receptors and pathways in the brain and body. One of the key pathways it affects is the amino acid, glutamate, pathway. Glutamate plays a central role in both the normal and abnormal functioning of the central nervous system, and a growing body of evidence points to the role of glutamate in mediating the brain’s response to stress and the formation of traumatic memories. Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, so it binds to the NMDA receptor protein and blocks glutamate from attaching to cell membranes.
An increasing level of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor hypofunction within the brain is associated with memory and learning impairments, with psychosis, and with excitotoxic brain injury. Ketamine blocks at the NmethylDaspartate (NMDA) site and has rapid action in controlling symptoms of depression. Ketamine also acts on the mTOR pathway (a central regulator of metabolism and physiology), the AMPA receptor (which mediates fast synaptic transmission in the central nervous system) and the brain’s opioid receptors (which control pain, reward and addictive behavior).
Research has shown that, unlike antidepressant medications which typically require several weeks to take effect, ketamine can be rapidly effective, in a few days or even hours. Ketamine can have long lasting effects. Most people require multiple treatments.