I can see the light!
So it has been a while since my last blog post. Frankly, I did not have the energy for it. I did start a couple of posts and deleted them because I had things to say but they were all negative and not how I wanted to be seen.
So, I told you about the depression that I have battled for so long, I have finally found my secret weapon for this battle and I want to share it with you, not as an ad, but as a hope for those of you, like me, who are just not getting the response with your depression meds or fibromyalgia meds that you would like.
A few months ago, a relative of ours started a new business. He is an anesthesiologist. Many of you may know him, Clint Fletcher. He has started a business called Complete Ketamine Solutions in Brentwood. For those of you who have not heard of Ketamine (I had not) it was first used in veterinary medicine but has long been used as an anesthesia for humans. It seems that Ketamine in lower doses also helps the brain to reconnect those synapses that are “broken” in depression and oh, by the way, helps with chronic pain! Chronic pain and depression go hand in hand but for those of us with depression AND a chronic illness that causes pain (fibromyalgia, MS, etc.), it seems like a win-win!
So after talking with Clint several times over the course of a couple of weeks and praying, we decided this was worth a try. My first treatment was way more intense than what I had expected but I felt a difference in my mindset so I kept going. The Ketamine is given by infusion so you get an IV drip that lasts about an hour. I found out that some grounding techniques help with this experience. You are awake but not completely aware. It can even cause a bit of a disassociative feeling but at that point, you really do not care!
The things I found helpful for grounding were music (uplifting songs, mine were all Christian like Hezekiah Walker, Lauren Daigle, Benji & Jenna Cowart, Tamela Mann, etc.), a blanket, and a neck pillow. The music keeps your mind occupied, the blanket is a comfort to touch and the neck pillow just makes it comfortable. You are in a recliner kicked back and just relaxing. He also has a weighted blanket that I will try the next time. I think that will really help with grounding. You feel the foggy, dizzy, somewhat giddy feeling for the few hours following the infusion but by the next day, you only feel the improvement.
How did this help? Well after the first in the initial 6 infusions, I felt a boost in my mindset. Very subtle but still a boost. After about the third infusion, I noticed a bigger change. I was no longer dreading getting out in the world. I did not hurt as badly each morning. I was able to do things when I got home without it adversely affecting me physically the following day. In short, it changed life as I have known it for quite a while.
I went back last week for my first “booster”. I waited about a month too long for various reasons but next time I will know. It was a slight change in mood, the lack of desire to get out of the house, and for me the return of the chronic pain that signaled the need for a booster. I knew I needed it but you cannot go alone and I had to work around my spouse’s schedule, a move, the holidays, and a trip to Disney.
If you suffer from depression and you cannot seem to get to that point you need to get to in order to function normally or even semi-normally, this may be something you want to check out. Again, it is Complete Ketamine Solutions in Brentwood and Clint has a Facebook page also. I want others to know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite what we are told, you cannot always just “think happy thoughts”, get out and do something, repent of sin, or whatever else you may have been told. If you have a disease you take medicine. Depression is a disease.
For those of you who want the studies that have been done, Clint has several links on his website. If I can answer any questions for you, please feel free to contact me. Here is a very good article as well, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-02-05/ketamine-could-soon-be-used-to-treat-suicidal-ideation
So, I told you about the depression that I have battled for so long, I have finally found my secret weapon for this battle and I want to share it with you, not as an ad, but as a hope for those of you, like me, who are just not getting the response with your depression meds or fibromyalgia meds that you would like.
A few months ago, a relative of ours started a new business. He is an anesthesiologist. Many of you may know him, Clint Fletcher. He has started a business called Complete Ketamine Solutions in Brentwood. For those of you who have not heard of Ketamine (I had not) it was first used in veterinary medicine but has long been used as an anesthesia for humans. It seems that Ketamine in lower doses also helps the brain to reconnect those synapses that are “broken” in depression and oh, by the way, helps with chronic pain! Chronic pain and depression go hand in hand but for those of us with depression AND a chronic illness that causes pain (fibromyalgia, MS, etc.), it seems like a win-win!
So after talking with Clint several times over the course of a couple of weeks and praying, we decided this was worth a try. My first treatment was way more intense than what I had expected but I felt a difference in my mindset so I kept going. The Ketamine is given by infusion so you get an IV drip that lasts about an hour. I found out that some grounding techniques help with this experience. You are awake but not completely aware. It can even cause a bit of a disassociative feeling but at that point, you really do not care!
The things I found helpful for grounding were music (uplifting songs, mine were all Christian like Hezekiah Walker, Lauren Daigle, Benji & Jenna Cowart, Tamela Mann, etc.), a blanket, and a neck pillow. The music keeps your mind occupied, the blanket is a comfort to touch and the neck pillow just makes it comfortable. You are in a recliner kicked back and just relaxing. He also has a weighted blanket that I will try the next time. I think that will really help with grounding. You feel the foggy, dizzy, somewhat giddy feeling for the few hours following the infusion but by the next day, you only feel the improvement.
How did this help? Well after the first in the initial 6 infusions, I felt a boost in my mindset. Very subtle but still a boost. After about the third infusion, I noticed a bigger change. I was no longer dreading getting out in the world. I did not hurt as badly each morning. I was able to do things when I got home without it adversely affecting me physically the following day. In short, it changed life as I have known it for quite a while.
I went back last week for my first “booster”. I waited about a month too long for various reasons but next time I will know. It was a slight change in mood, the lack of desire to get out of the house, and for me the return of the chronic pain that signaled the need for a booster. I knew I needed it but you cannot go alone and I had to work around my spouse’s schedule, a move, the holidays, and a trip to Disney.
If you suffer from depression and you cannot seem to get to that point you need to get to in order to function normally or even semi-normally, this may be something you want to check out. Again, it is Complete Ketamine Solutions in Brentwood and Clint has a Facebook page also. I want others to know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite what we are told, you cannot always just “think happy thoughts”, get out and do something, repent of sin, or whatever else you may have been told. If you have a disease you take medicine. Depression is a disease.
For those of you who want the studies that have been done, Clint has several links on his website. If I can answer any questions for you, please feel free to contact me. Here is a very good article as well, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-02-05/ketamine-could-soon-be-used-to-treat-suicidal-ideation
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