As bad as the COVID-19 global pandemic has been in and of itself it’s only part of the story. For we’re also going through a mental health crisis at the same time as a result. Our constant struggle, loneliness, despair, and existential dread manifesting in the form of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Thankfully we may soon be able to turn to Ketamine to help. Science Alert explains:
“Suicide is a major threat to public health. In recent years, suicide rates have actually worsened in the US, and tragically, it’s a phenomenon that’s accelerating even among children.
There are reasons for hope in the face of this deadly despair, however, and it comes from an unlikely quarter. Ketamine – an anesthetic discovered in the 1950s – may be dismissed by many as a horse tranquillizer or illicit party drug, but that’s far from the whole story about this powerful chemical.
A new study shows oral doses of ketamine can dramatically lower suicidal ideation in patients with chronic suicidal thoughts – the latest finding in a series of experiments forcing us to reevaluate the drug.
In recent years, ketamines’s reputation has undergone a makeover of sorts, thanks to new scientific discoveries of the positive effects it can have on people experiencing mental health issues.
A wealth of research has shown that ketamine seems to be capable of treating severe depression, among other conditions.”
So much so that we may even have a wearable form of Ketamine in the near future.
Vice explains:
“When I first heard about wearable ketamine a few weeks ago, I almost spit out my cocktail at the person who had casually mentioned it to me. I had no idea how it worked, but the concept alone seemed outrageous—was this a new fashion trend, like smartwear for psychonauts? Would I one day spot club kids sporting it under leather harnesses while standing in line at Berghain? ‘No, no,’ laughed the person I was speaking to, shaking her head. ‘I’m afraid it’s not as sexy as that.’
So what the fuck is wearable ketamine? The answer, it turns out, lies at the bleeding edge of ketamine therapy, and while the futuristic-sounding device is still a few years away from hitting the market, it could unravel yet another layer of this extremely useful—yet deeply mysterious—drug.
Bexson Biomedical, a California-based company, is already in the process of making such a device. Here’s how it works, in theory: wearable ketamine will be a Bluetooth-controlled device that you can stick on your skin, most likely your belly area. The device will contain a disposable cartridge filled with liquid ketamine, which is injected via a tiny needle into the layer of fat between your skin and muscle.
This is called a subcutaneous injection, and works similarly to an insulin pen. It is less painful than injecting into your muscle or veins, and the drug is absorbed into your bloodstream at a slower rate—but much faster and more effectively than intranasally. Each cartridge will hold 70 to 200 milligrams of ketamine, released slowly over a 24-hour period. This comes out to around 4 mg per hour, which is a low-dose—a typical k-hole dose is around 125mg—so no, you won’t be tripping balls. Instead, the company says the effects will be slightly less intense than drinking a glass of wine or martini.
While much of the recent media hype around medical ketamine has so far centered around it as a breakthrough treatment for depression, wearable ketamine is intended for another condition that ketamine is remarkably good for: pain relief—specifically, acute postoperative pain following surgeries and other medical procedures. “The ‘ketamine for depression’ story has already been done, and we wanted to go where others have not,” said Gregg Peterson, co-founder of Bexson Biomedical. (Bexson also plans to target mental health conditions like depression at a later date.) The company is betting on the device getting FDA approval by 2026.
Right now, ketamine can be legally prescribed by doctors, but licensed ketamine therapy is prohibitively priced; an IV infusion at a ketamine clinic can cost up to a thousand dollars per session, and usually requires multiple rounds under the supervision of a doctor. While the company has not yet set a price for its device, FDA approval would potentially allow Medicare and insurance companies to cover the cost. Another factor is that the device will not require multiple doctor visits; rather, it can deliver a steady infusion of low-dose ketamine at home, thus potentially democratizing the pool of people who have access to this therapy.”
Wearable or otherwise let’s hope that Ketamine therapies continue to progress and deliver us the help we so desperately need.
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