Does Ketamine’s therapy work?

I wanted to ask allarounddanne about his experiences with memantine. I have depression, anxiety and chronic pain on my chart. No medications worked or 25 sessions of TMS and 8 ECT. Ketamine IV was wonderful but Kaiser only provides if one is off of marijuana for 6 months, which has a subtly miraculous effect for me by softening my head heaviness (I thought I had a brain tumor years ago) Memantine is mentioned for alzheimers so I wonder how it impacts other things as well.

I am a board certified pain doc- but retired. I am also a chronic pain patient myself. Yes, ketamine does work- for some patients. Also- there is an oral form of ketamine, kind of like a cousin medication, called Memantine. I happen to be on that and it works GREAT. So, if you don't like IVs and want something to take every day- you could ask the doc for Memantine ( it isn't a narcotic). Good Luck.

Ketamine is not prescribed for pain. It is primarily used for depression. I almost started ketamine therapy but decided against it since I am antidepressant resistant. Also, it's relatively new for depression and the results are mixed, plus it has to be administered on site. You cannot take it at home. Traditionally, ketamine has been used for anesthesia during surgery. But it is not prescribed for pain relief.