Ketamine use to treat mental illness; drug not approved by FDA

MILWAUKEE – Ketamine has traditionally been used in hospitals or by doctors, but there are now many ketamine treatment clinics in southeastern Wisconsin. People go there to get treatment for depression.

The question now is how ketamine is regulated. The short answer is: ketamine is not approved by the FDA to treat mental illness.

Corin Purifoy struggles with depression.

“I can honestly say this saved my life,” Purifoy said. “I’ve been in the hospital before, inpatient treatment, and nothing ever helped.”

For the past two years, Purifoy has undergone ketamine therapy to treat depression at Edelica Health in Milwaukee.

“I can barely get out of bed and eat. After one treatment here, I am back to normal and my happy self,” said Purifoy.

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Dr. Kevin Kane of Edelica Health said Purifoy is not alone.

“With ketamine, we see that the same people who have tried three, four, five of these antidepressants are successful, seven out of 10,” Dr. Kane said.

Although doctors are allowed to prescribe ketamine, it has yet to be approved by the FDA to treat depression.

“It is not approved for depression, but it is approved for anesthesia,” said Dr. Kane.

So how do doctors regulate it?

“The dose we use is much lower; it’s a subantisthetic dose,” said Dr. Kane. 45:15 “About 20% of that. It’s safe to administer in a clinical setting.”

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Dr. Kane said that while ketamine doesn’t work for everyone, it can help some.

“It needs to be done in a clinical setting and under supervision,” Dr. Kane said.

“You just feel ready to face anything,” Purifoy said.

Dr. Kane also pointed out that ketamine should not be used for recreational purposes, as this is where dependency and abuse could come into play.