HOW KETAMINE SAVED MY LIFE BY CURRENT PATIENT, KATIE
At 35 years old, I had battled depression my entire life. I can’t count the number of doctors and therapists that I consulted with in desperate hopes of feeling better. The depression caused an overwhelming fear, numbness and debilitating anxiety. Most troubling was the sense that it would never go away. Hopelessness would best describe how I felt.
After dozens of different antidepressants, cognitive behavioral counseling, EDMR therapy and more, without relief, I began to self-medicate. I would try anything just to “settle” my mind and escape reality. Alcohol, drugs, sex. Of course, that wasn’t the answer and that just led to more problems and a deeper depression and amplification of my mental pain.
Suicide was the next logical step, but ironically, my fear frightened me away from that option. I isolated myself from my friends and family and anyone that cared about me because of my shame and feelings of worthlessness.
Things began to change when one day I was in the waiting room of my therapist’s office and overheard two ladies speaking about using ketamine for their depression. One was telling the other one that she had gone to a place called Tidewater Health & Ketamine Center and how it changed her life. I pulled my phone out right there in the waiting room and did a search on ketamine treatments and couldn’t believe what I was reading and that no one had ever even mentioned this to me. I was skeptical that it would work for me since nothing else had at this point, but still I made an appointment at Tidewater Health to find out more.
From the moment I entered, I could tell the place was “different”. Everyone seemed so compassionate and empathetic. I met with Dr. Smith for a consultation and he spent at least an hour with me. He took my history and he told me about how ketamine could possibly help me. He seemed truly concerned about me and was confident in what he had to offer, although he made certain that I understood that while the majority of patients respond, not everyone responds. I actually left that appointment a little hopeful, but still pessimistic.
That was the best decision I ever made. Within a couple of days, I was able to work my schedule so that I could start treatment. The infusion itself was a very pleasant experience, but unlike anything I had ever done before. Angela, Dr. Smith and the staff were truly amazing. They took care of my every need to make certain that the experience was top notch. I was told not to expect immediate results even though it was possible. Let me tell you, I went to bed that evening feeling better than I had felt as far back as I could remember……and it only got better. The ketamine treatments gave me a new life. One that I could never have imagined possible. I am now able to experience hope, motivation, joy and a peacefulness that’s hard to describe. While the ketamine wasn’t a “cure”, it was able to put my disease into remission. It’s been well over a year since I first stepped through those doors, and the great feelings have persisted. I go back every few months for a “booster” when I feel some of the negativity start sliding back in and the one infusion buys me another 3-4 months of relief. I am so grateful for those ladies that “introduced” me to ketamine and to Dr. Smith and the staff at Tidewater Health for truly saving my life.
Katie (Current Patient)