Many people like you have suffered a traumatic event, whether physical, emotional, psychological, or sexual. Do you find yourself reliving the event in nightmares or flashbacks? Do seemingly normal sights, sounds, and smells trigger memories of the event? Do you prefer to avoid high traffic areas like grocery stores or crowds of people? Do you scan your environment constantly and identify exits even in places you know logically are perfectly safe? Do you (understandably) avoiding seeking those treatments which force you to relive the event? Have you preferred to be alone for a feeling of safety? Do you feel that the world and the people in it are completely dangerous and cannot be trusted? Do you hate always feeling keyed up, hyper alert, jittery? Do you have difficulty concentrating? Are you startled by loud noises were sudden changes in your environment? Do you have a hard time sleeping? Do you have nonspecific pain complaints such as headaches, dizziness, fatigue, unexplained chest pain, breathing difficulties, abdominal pain? Are you depressed? Do you feel overwhelmed by guilt and shame? Have you begun to misuse alcohol or drugs to change her mood since the trauma?
These are all signs of PTSD. The national Institute of mental health, in 2016, estimated that 8.5 million Americans suffer from PTSD, with 37% classified as having severe PTSD. NIMH estimates that only 50% of those suffering with PTSD received treatment, and only 21% received adequate treatment.
There is NEW HOPE for everyone suffering with PTSD. A short course of treatment with ketamine infusion provides rapid relief of symptoms within hours of infusion. 2/3 experience significant relief and 1/3 have complete freedom from their symptoms. Without any other treatment, this freedom can last from weeks up to 3 months. Booster infusions when symptoms begin to return, provide similar duration of relief.
Unlike those centers which require indefinite dependency, our goal is your self sufficient health. We do not rely solely upon the effects of ketamine. After ketamine infusion, we encourage people to engage in treatment with Chinese medicine herbs, acupuncture, Qigong exercise, meditation practices, and art therapy.
By encouraging these alternative healing practices, it is our goal to extend the duration of relief that was initially experienced through treatment with ketamine. We would be most happy if, after engaging in these healing practices, our patients never needed another infusion of ketamine. However, we are available to provide booster infusions when needed.
Diagnostic criteria for PTSD
Criteria A (1 required) A person was exposed to death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence in the following ways: Direct exposure, witnessing the trauma, learning that her relative her close friend was exposed, indirect exposure to aversive details of the encounter usually in the course of professional duties (e.g. first responders, medics, counselors)
Criteria B (1 required): The traumatic event is persistently reexperienced in the following ways: Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, flashbacks, emotional distress after exposure to traumatic reminders, physical reactivity after exposure to traumatic reminders
Criteria C (1 required): Avoidance of trauma related stimuli after the trauma: Trauma related thoughts or feelings, trauma related reminders
Criteria D (2 required): Negative thoughts or feelings that began her worsened after the trauma and the following ways: Inability to recall key features of the trauma, overly negative thoughts and assumptions about oneself self and the world, exaggerated blaming himself or others for causing the trauma, negative affect, decreased interest in activities, feeling isolated, difficulty experiencing positive affect
Criteria D (2 required): Trauma related arousal and reactivity that began her worsened after the trauma and the following ways: Irritability or depression; risky or destructive behavior; hypervigilance; height and startle reaction; difficulty concentrating; difficulty sleeping.
Criteria F (required): Symptoms last for more than 1 month
Criteria G (required): Symptoms create distress or functional impairment (EEG social, occupational).
Criteria H (required): Symptoms are not due to medication, substance use or other illness.