Leslie Koenig, MD is a pioneer in the IV ketamine clinic world, opening Waybridge Clinics in Omaha, NE. A celebrated board certified Emergency Physician with extensive experience helping others in wellness and physical and mental trauma, she wrote “Stress Relief Survival Guide” with accompanying YouTube course.
It feels like you’re missing something. It’s not supposed to be like this… right? Modern medicine has done everything it can to help improve mood, boost happiness, and yet the mental health crisis is only intensifying. Millions of Americans try every pill, go to their doctors, therapy appointments, yet still suffer. Still taking pills, day after day.
After so many years of dealing with depression, it can feel like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. They start to question “Is this it? Is this how life is just going to be?” Settling for a colorless view of the world? Is this as good as it gets?
Too often that’s where people land. Yet there’s this nagging feeling that it’s not “supposed to be like this.” With what little motivation you have, you google one more time and hear about ketamine.
Generic medication isn’t advertised
Pharmaceutical companies won’t tell you about it because it’s no longer under patent. They won’t make money on it. Ketamine is generic and has been around since 1970. Recent studies have uncovered an anti depressant effect at infusing lower doses of the medicine, which is FDA approved for anesthesia.
It’s a connection issue
Even better than the anti depressant effect – it does more than just bathe your neurons in medicine: it actually changes the brain in a positive way, to heal itself. Depression results in less synapses in the mood parts of the brain – like it just can’t heal, no matter what you do. Ketamine helps new connections get made, like a fertilizer for a seed fast tracking growth.
Only one medicine helps suicidal thoughts – within hours
On top of that discovery, they found ketamine worked so quickly in treating depression that it created a new class of medicines called “Rapid Acting Anti Depressants” or RAADs. It made all conventional medications now known as “Slow Acting Anti Depressants” or SAADs. It worked surprisingly well for decreasing suicidal thoughts. Contrast this to conventional medicine where it may temporarily increase suicidality during the early stages of use.
Neuroplasticity: Healing at the molecular level
What most people don’t realize about depression, and how ketamine works, is a process called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the way our brain adapts to the environment, creating new neuronal pathways, like when you learn to do a cartwheel or heal your brian after a stroke.
Under stress, the theory is that this brain molding ability decreases. Over time, connections slow at the molecular level, leading to atrophy of certain areas of the brain. This is why you can’t “think” your way out of depression.
Reset your brain
Ketamine catalyzes the reaction in the mind to kick start this process again, specifically in the areas hardest hit by depression. It does this via the NMDA receptor in the brain, starting a cascade so the brain can do its job of creating new connections.. Another way to look at it is like a “reset” for the brain. The idea is that the sub dissociative state caused by ketamine is a bit like turning off your computer and turning it on again – about 6 times in practical terms. Most ketamine clinics offer a 6 session program, usually over 2-3 weeks.
The truth of a new medicine
That feeling you’ve had that something may be missing is real and there is another option. A pill to take daily may be the answer for some, but now there is another option. Ketamine is not for daily use it’s a medicine for real change, real growth, and an exciting new concept for mental health scientists. Many patients who complete the 6 induction series are able to avoid taking more pills, even get off their medications. Knowing there is another safe option can be the relief millions of people didn’t know was out there.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and visit the clinic website for more information
Read more from Leslie Koenig
Leslie Koenig, MD, Medical Director, Waybridge Clinics
Leslie Koenig, MD is a pioneer in the IV ketamine clinic world, opening Way bridge Clinics in Omaha, NE. A celebrated board certified Emergency Physician with extensive experience helping others in wellness and physical and mental trauma, she wrote “Stress Relief Survival Guide” with accompanying YouTube course. Dedicating her life to service after 8 years in the US Navy and a combat deployment with the USMC to Afghanistan, she is a life long learner who aims to transform healthcare by empowering patients through an integrative medicine perspective.
