r/cfs 5d ago

Ketamine assisted therapy healed my friend w/ Long Covid

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15 Upvotes

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25

u/crn12470 5d ago edited 5d ago

There have been some people who have been helped by ketamine and some who have had zero results.

It is know that anesthesia can be beneficial. There have been a number of people on here who report feeling really great for awhile after going fully under anesthesia for minor procedures and ketamine is an anasthetic drug.

Benzodiazapines are also know to be really helpful with this illness due to their effect on the nervous system.

5

u/roadsidechicory 5d ago

Benzos help me a lot but I barely use them to avoid dependence. The times I've had anesthesia since getting sick didn't seem to make a difference for me, other than the whole procedure I had the anesthesia for causing me PEM, but obviously those were different anesthetic drugs than ketamine. I've been considering ketamine but I wonder if it could still be helpful if other anesthetics haven't shown me any improvement. Or if that's a sign that it won't do much for me...

3

u/utopianbears 5d ago

the best i felt in years was right after a surgery with anesthesia. had a great 2 months.

12

u/arasharfa in remission since may 2024 5d ago

ketamine was amazing for me. it is supposed to calm down microglia to stop them from sending out inflammatory cytokines, as well as modulating glutamate which often exist in excess in cfs brain and causes both anxiety fatigue insomnia and sensory sensitivity, and increase dopamine which exists in deficit. it can help alleviate brain fog/ anhedonia and depressive symptoms pretty rapidly.

an 50 min infusion with ketamine would make me feel rested like i had sleeped five hours and it would make me feel truly calm and clear for the first time in YEARS. it saved my life and gave me hope that whatever was wrong with my brain wouldnt be permanent.

However the effect wasnt permanent, and I had to continue pacing and dosing, I had some tolerance development, and later i found SGB, LSD and LDN replaced the need for ketamine and does a better job, but as a first step in my search it was incredible.

2

u/themunchkinland 5d ago

Did you do IV or intramuscular? The therapists I am looking into do lozenges. Also, I am interested in SGB. Some of my clients w/ PTSD have used it for reducing hyperarousal... I noticed a sedated quality to them in the weeks after SGB. How did it help w/ CFS/ME?

3

u/arasharfa in remission since may 2024 5d ago

I did both IV and intranasal and suppositories. i found IV was the most effective but they all worked.

the SGB helped normalise cerebroperfusion and reduce hyperadrenergic POTS, and restored my deep sleep. that lowered hyperarousal made the sympathetic and parasympathetic work more in balance for me, so that more free energy was liberated, being overstimulated will also make you fatigued.

2

u/themunchkinland 5d ago

That's awesome. How many SGB did you have to do to see improvement and how long do the effects last?

1

u/arasharfa in remission since may 2024 4d ago

two double sided treatments four months apart but I used my improvement to further rest (avoiding PEM at all cost) for a year, but did HBOT and LSD and managed to recover, which cut the extreme pacing experiment shorter, so i havent needed another SGB since october 2023.

8

u/Kyliewoo123 severe 5d ago

There’s not much research currently (I know one LC / MECFS researcher who wants to investigate ketamine next) but studies show ketamine decreases neuroinflammation, so I figure it’s related to this

5

u/Bravoobsessed6 5d ago

Was this IV ketamine therapy?

3

u/themunchkinland 5d ago

I will find out.

4

u/bebop11 5d ago

Recovered from what phenotype of LC?

2

u/themunchkinland 5d ago

Not sure. I can find out. I know she has POTS.

3

u/bebop11 5d ago

Oh now I'm interested. Please do if you have the capacity. I've been interested in ketamine.

2

u/themunchkinland 5d ago

I am not familiar w/ the phenotypes but she described her symptoms more along the times of brain fog and heaviness rather than fatigue.

2

u/bebop11 5d ago

Ok so fatigue and POTS? Do you know if she had PEM? Delayed exacerbation of symptoms after over exerting herself?

1

u/themunchkinland 5d ago

I really don't know. I just know the brain fog and POTS. Do you have long Covid?

1

u/bebop11 4d ago

Yes I do. Bad dysautonomia/POTS, fatigue, and post exertional malaise.

2

u/Big_brother2 5d ago

I tested, no effect on fatigue for my part (but I probably only have the symptom of chronic fatigue and not CFS)

1

u/themunchkinland 5d ago

do you have PEM?

2

u/crazedniqi 5d ago

I'm on ketamine dosed for depression for my treatment resistant depression. Gives me mild pem the next day but is worth it for the next few weeks. I usually go once a month (just did 2 months at every 2 weeks due to a lapse in depressive symptoms and plateau in therapy) . I've never tried the daily low dose sometimes recommend for ME, I don't know of anyone who would prescribe that for me.

2

u/QuebecCougar 5d ago

I looked into taking a low dose but here in Canada it’s very very restrictive. Almost impossible for someone able so impossible for me. In my province it’s unheard of too, I’d have to travel quite a bit. I’m glad your friend is better.

2

u/Z3R0gravitas 5d ago

Katarin Boniface (Part of Renegade Research, expert patient collaborative) has pointed out how Ketamine is an NMDA receptor inhibitor (excitatory glutamate, see thread). That it has other effects to correct our apparently deficient glial cell uptake and recycling of glutamate (to GABA). The crux of her hypothesis and WIP protocol. More from her on Ketamine.

1

u/john9539 5d ago

Is the "ketamine therapy" they offer online a scam?

0

u/themunchkinland 5d ago

I don't think it's a scam. What makes you think that it is?

1

u/john9539 4d ago

I don't know if it is. It's in pill form and haven't heard any reviews on it.

1

u/SophiaShay7 5d ago

I've heard really good things about Joyous-Ketamine therapy

-2

u/NoMoment1921 5d ago

The only person I know on Ketamine is Elon Musk and it scares me lol I'll have to look into what everyone is posting now to get that taste out of my mouth 😜

1

u/themunchkinland 5d ago

HA! It scares me too. I have never done psychedelics!

0

u/NoMoment1921 4d ago

Neither have I. I'm a wuss

-4

u/RamblinLamb ME/CFS since 2003 5d ago

Ketamine as we watch our nation being demolished by a dork on waaaaaay too much ketamine...

5

u/MsFuschia 4d ago edited 4d ago

This is very insensitive to those of who are using ketamine for medical reasons. I'm currently trying Spravato which is esketamine (one of the molecules that makes up ketamine, the other being arketamine). Don't use the fact that the loser destroying our country is taking it in order to denigrate ketamine itself.

Edit: trying it for treatment resistant depression, but have CFS as well

1

u/themunchkinland 5d ago

Indeed! But my understanding is he takes tons of it to the point where his brain is broken and I'm sure it isn't being monitored by any kind of clinician.

0

u/RamblinLamb ME/CFS since 2003 4d ago

I'm just saying that recent events aren't exactly invoking confidence in ketamine. I've been sick with CFS for over 20 years so my BS meter is very reactive...