this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
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Mental Health

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/8180477

Why this is significant: There is no currently known treatment to stop suicidal thoughts when they happen. Antidepressants take 4-6 weeks to start working, and they don't work for everyone. Therapy also takes time. Our best option for acutely suicidal people is to lock them up in a psychiatric facility until they are no longer a threat to themselves.

Intravenous ketamine offers a glimpse of hope. A single dose appears able to alleviate suicidal ideation immediately after administration and for up to a week afterwards.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Note that this is simply because this study looked at differences for up to a week. Other studies suggest there is a more sustained effect, although it's not permanent. Antidepressants aren't permanent either. The argument is to get insurance to cover ketamine since it is a promising treatment for suicidal ideation (and some are starting to cover it).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have read, from ketamine infusion recipients, that it was amazing at first but then their depression got worse after the initial period of relief.

That’s the reason I haven’t done it myself. People who have enough money to keep getting the infusions swear by it. But people who don’t have some very disturbing stories to tell.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

That's interesting, I've also heard the opposite, and I think this just shows we need way more research - and of course way more coverage by insurance. I also wonder if people who got worse had just depression or depression and PTSD. I have a personal pet theory about that (basically, I'm curious whether, if you have PTSD the infusions will make you better short-term, but you still need therapy to process the trauma to receive long-term relief - no actual research support for this yet).