Post COVID-19 Mood Disorders treated with Ketamine Infusion Therapy

Ketamine has long had a reputation for being a party drug with nicknames like K or Special K. But in recent years, there’s been a growing interest in the use of ketamine as a potential treatment for mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD.

This is because ketamine was originally used as an anesthesia medicine for animals. The drug was eventually FDA approved as an anesthetic on humans in 1970, and it was used to treat soldiers in battle. Emergency responders noted that it was particularly helpful with agitated patients, especially those who had suicidal tendencies.

Therapeutic Infusions specializes in such alternate treatments, helping patients achieve optimal health and wellness through the use of ketamine therapy. This has led to successful treatments with many patients, but as of COVID-19, there has been an increasing number of reports of mood disorders in patients that have undergone ketamine therapy. This post has been written to address these concerns, and scientific proof will be provided to give readers and patients a better understanding of the underlying link between COVID-19, mood disorders, and ketamine infusion therapy.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients that were reportedly COVID-free were still subjected to a number of negative health effects. Whether it was difficulty breathing, low oxygen levels, or constant headaches, there were still lingering effects that took a long time to clear up. In addition to these physical problems, many people experienced neurologic symptoms as well. Data from Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, suggested that COVID-19 could actually infect the brain as well. This is backed up by over one third of patients experiencing some kind of neurologic symptoms that affect their mental health.

This was aligned with the experiences that many people had regarding COVID-19 and worsening mental health outcomes due to the social isolation and other environmental effects that occurred as a result of the virus. This included financial stress, unemployment, alienation from friends and family, and also the loss of loved ones.

New studies have also correlated the link between COVID-19 and worsening mental health. The study examined the health records of 69 million people and found that a COVID-19 infection increased a patient’s risk of developing some kind of mental disorder, dementia, or even insomnia. Those that were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders were also 65% more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19.

While the long-term mental health effects of COVID-19 haven’t been fully documented yet, it does mirror the influenza pandemic that occurred between the years 1918 and 1919. It was discovered that mothers who were infected during pregnancy would give birth to babies that had higher rates of schizophrenia. It’s thought that the virus infecting the mother during pregnancy was a risk factor for developing a mental illness. There is a real possibility that a COVID-19 infection could increase the likelihood of offspring developing a mental health condition in the distant future.

According to this study written by Sharma Meha, Satish Suhas, and Naren P Rao titled “Successful use of ketamine to treat severe depression with suicidality post-COVID-19 – A case report”, every second patient who suffers from COVID-19 experiences is at risk for depression. Treating severe depression has been particularly challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic, even with the presence of ketamine infusion therapies. This is because there are no reports or a history of the use of ketamine to treat mental health issues in the context of COVID-19.

However, there have been a number of real-life cases where people have presented to the hospital with poor mental health symptoms following COVID-19, only to be treated with the use of ketamine. The study above covers a 40-year-old married male who experienced symptoms such as a pervasive low mood, easy fatigability, lowered self-esteem, and an avoidance of work following COVID-19.

Two weeks before these symptoms, the patient experienced a high fever, cough, and breathlessness for three days. He was eventually diagnosed with a moderate COVID-19 infection, but was treated and discharged from the hospital after three days. Following this, he had interpersonal issues with his wife and lived separately from her and their daughter for the preceding five years. However, he didn’t possess any social or occupational dysfunction until he was infected with COVID-19.

After a discussion with the patient and his family, doctors offered him intravenous infusion of ketamine. The patient showed great improvement in his depressive symptoms and suicidal ideas over the course of the treatment. No adverse effects other than a short bout of nausea were reported by the patient, and there was no suicidal ideation after the fourth cycle of ketamine infusion.

According to the authors of the scientific report, this is perhaps the first successful use of ketamine in treating severe depression following a COVID-19 infection. It showed rapid improvement in a patient who was experiencing mood swings and mental health concerns, and they were discharged without issue in a short amount of time.

Other studies, such as Ketamine in COVID‐19 patients: Thinking out of the box, suggest that there is a need for more extensive prospective studies in ketamine and its role in helping those with mental health issues following COVID-19. In the future, we expect that ketamine infusion therapy will play a pivotal role in helping patients across the world deal with mental health concerns following an infection.

If you’re interested in learning more about ketamine infusion therapy, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Therapeutic Infusions today. Our goal is to provide you with an exceptional level of care and services in the form of ketamine therapy solutions to help you achieve optimal health and wellness. If you believe you have been experiencing mental health problems as a result of COVID-19, then please get in touch with us for more advice and information regarding your condition and potential treatments using ketamine therapy.