The Road Warrior
Greenlighter
- Joined
- May 20, 2017
- Messages
- 2
Hi everyone,
I have been participating in an FDA clinical drug trial for esketamine (the molecule is a mirror image of ketamine) as a treatment for chronic depression for the past four months. I have taken various (perhaps all) of the SSRI's over the past 22 years, and other antidepressants such as Wellbutrin as well. They have never worked particularly well for me, and even those that worked somewhat did not work after a while. At the beginning of the study I was taking Trintellix, a relatively new SSRI which is supposed to have less libido-destroying side effects than other SSRI's.
I had to stop using cannabis for a month before they would let me participate in the study, which was surprisingly easy after 42 years of heavy (all day, every day) use. Basically, I was self-medicating for stress, anxiety and PTSD (I am a litigation attorney, which is essentially combat), and the resulting mental, emotional and physical exhaustion. The incentive to qualify for the study and get off the endless, vicious cycle of depression was a powerful incentive.
The esketamine is administered as a nasal spray in three doses, 5 minutes apart. The treatments take place in a doctor's office and are closely monitored. There are numerous physical and mental tests administered before, during, and after the treatments (blood draws, urine samples, blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, EKG's, smell tests, memory tests, problem and puzzle solving). There are also once per week 1/2 hour interviews with psychologists to evaluate effects on mood, appetite, sleep and other factors. The immediate effects last approximately an hour and a half. Initial treatments were twice per week for four weeks, then once a week for four weeks, and then every other week for the past two months.
The esketamine treatment has been a life-changing revelation. The results in the first month were truly dramatic. I went from depressed, tired, dispirited, disorganized and pessimistic to the exact opposite: happy, energetic, hopeful, together, and optimistic. I started working out regularly, eating much less and healthier foods, lost 10 lbs., cleaned and organized my office for the first time in nearly four years, and was much more productive at my work. The second month maintained the improvements pretty well, but I experienced a significant relapse of depressive symptoms in the third and fourth months. Fortunately, they are going to take me back up to one treatment per week starting next week, so I'm hoping things will improve again. The study is being fast-tracked by the FDA, and my treatments are supposed to continue indefinitely.
Since starting the study I have done a fair amount of research into psychedelics, particularly natural medicines like psilocybin, peyote, and ayahuasca that have been used by numerous cultures around the world for thousands of years. To be perfectly honest, I am somewhat cynical about the esketamine, which seems to me to be a way for Big Pharma to make big money off a legal psychedelic, since they can't patent or make money off of the much more potent, safe, and time-tested natural medicines. But if that's what it takes to start making a legal psychedelic available to the public, so be it. And maybe, just maybe, it will start to turn around "conventional wisdom" about psychedelics being dangerous, unhealthy, and without therapeutic benefits.
I will add to this thread in coming weeks as my treatments progress, to keep everyone up to date (unless the moderators request otherwise).
Blessings to you all.
I have been participating in an FDA clinical drug trial for esketamine (the molecule is a mirror image of ketamine) as a treatment for chronic depression for the past four months. I have taken various (perhaps all) of the SSRI's over the past 22 years, and other antidepressants such as Wellbutrin as well. They have never worked particularly well for me, and even those that worked somewhat did not work after a while. At the beginning of the study I was taking Trintellix, a relatively new SSRI which is supposed to have less libido-destroying side effects than other SSRI's.
I had to stop using cannabis for a month before they would let me participate in the study, which was surprisingly easy after 42 years of heavy (all day, every day) use. Basically, I was self-medicating for stress, anxiety and PTSD (I am a litigation attorney, which is essentially combat), and the resulting mental, emotional and physical exhaustion. The incentive to qualify for the study and get off the endless, vicious cycle of depression was a powerful incentive.
The esketamine is administered as a nasal spray in three doses, 5 minutes apart. The treatments take place in a doctor's office and are closely monitored. There are numerous physical and mental tests administered before, during, and after the treatments (blood draws, urine samples, blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, EKG's, smell tests, memory tests, problem and puzzle solving). There are also once per week 1/2 hour interviews with psychologists to evaluate effects on mood, appetite, sleep and other factors. The immediate effects last approximately an hour and a half. Initial treatments were twice per week for four weeks, then once a week for four weeks, and then every other week for the past two months.
The esketamine treatment has been a life-changing revelation. The results in the first month were truly dramatic. I went from depressed, tired, dispirited, disorganized and pessimistic to the exact opposite: happy, energetic, hopeful, together, and optimistic. I started working out regularly, eating much less and healthier foods, lost 10 lbs., cleaned and organized my office for the first time in nearly four years, and was much more productive at my work. The second month maintained the improvements pretty well, but I experienced a significant relapse of depressive symptoms in the third and fourth months. Fortunately, they are going to take me back up to one treatment per week starting next week, so I'm hoping things will improve again. The study is being fast-tracked by the FDA, and my treatments are supposed to continue indefinitely.
Since starting the study I have done a fair amount of research into psychedelics, particularly natural medicines like psilocybin, peyote, and ayahuasca that have been used by numerous cultures around the world for thousands of years. To be perfectly honest, I am somewhat cynical about the esketamine, which seems to me to be a way for Big Pharma to make big money off a legal psychedelic, since they can't patent or make money off of the much more potent, safe, and time-tested natural medicines. But if that's what it takes to start making a legal psychedelic available to the public, so be it. And maybe, just maybe, it will start to turn around "conventional wisdom" about psychedelics being dangerous, unhealthy, and without therapeutic benefits.
I will add to this thread in coming weeks as my treatments progress, to keep everyone up to date (unless the moderators request otherwise).
Blessings to you all.
