Can I buy ketamine for depression in New Zealand?

WARNING: This story discusses themes of suicide and depression

Todd Hilleard tried six different antidepressants before settling on prescription medication Ketamine.

Hillard began experiencing severe depression and suicidal thoughts after an incident he responded to as a police officer in 2010. He tried to disarm a woman by pointing a gun to her head, only for the woman to turn the gun on him.

He felt the added stress of mental health as a first responder after the Christchurch earthquake.

“My body was in fight-or-flight response mode the whole time,” he said after spending 12 hours digging for earthquake survivors.

Now, 14 years later, after six months of taking a slow-release ketamine capsule every few days, Hillard’s depression is beginning to improve. The onslaught of suicidal thoughts has subsided, unless they are particularly provocative.

“I’m grateful to be in this program because I’ve tried every other program out there,” said Hillard, a small business owner and father of two in Papamoa. “Anecdotal evidence suggests this program worked for me and I don’t think there’s any need for anyone to be afraid of it.”

Hilleard’s success with ketamine comes thanks to Anteris, the only clinic in New Zealand willing to prescribe ketamine for mood disorder patients. Growing evidence The drug can quickly and safely treat so-called treatment-resistant depression.

Ketamine is already widely used as an anaesthetic in New Zealand’s emergency rooms, operating theatres and veterinary clinics. However, ketamine is better known as the party drug “Special K”, which was responsible for the death of actor Matthew Perry last year.

this Friends The star took the drug to treat depression, but the autopsy showed that he illegal Take medicine at home. So far, Five people Charged in connection with his death.

Anteris, based in Tauranga, is run by psychiatrist Dr Caleb Armstrong, who believes ketamine should be more widely available to around 100,000 New Zealanders who don’t respond to conventional depression treatments.

“Some people go from having very severe depression to having almost no symptoms in a matter of months,” Armstrong said, noting that ketamine has a 60% success rate in treating treatment-resistant depression, which is depression that has not been relieved after trying at least two different antidepressants.

Medsafe has approved ketamine as an anesthetic for use in the treatment of depression. The clinic is currently treating about 80 patients and has treated about 300 people since it opened in 2017.

Armstrong’s patient Anthony, 38, described being prescribed ketamine as a “psychological resurgence” after years of depression.

“I lacked motivation, couldn’t experience any joy, and had suicidal thoughts from time to time,” said the Oakland resident, who works in public health.

Anthony said he doesn’t mind the short-term psychedelic side effects that might bother other patients (but are popular with illegal drug users). He has been taking the drug for about a year and now only takes it when he feels he needs it.

“Ketamine is the polar opposite of drugs of abuse like fentanyl, where people quickly become addicted,” Armstrong said.

“We see the opposite with ketamine. They get used to the side effects, but after a while, they want to take it less often or at a lower dose.”

While traditional antidepressants take weeks to work, studies show ketamine can produce effects within 24 hours.

It does this by improving the brain’s ability to form new connections. A 2019 study Research from the University of Auckland provides a wealth of new evidence to support the effectiveness of ketamine.

Still, the long-term benefits and side effects of ketamine and its effects on adolescent brain development remain unknown.

So why aren’t more medical professionals in New Zealand willing to prescribe the drug? Armstrong believes there is a lack of experience and confidence in ketamine within the mental health community.

Armstrong, who was attending medical school at the University of Auckland, was first exposed to ketamine in the emergency room, where it was safely used as an anesthetic, including in children.

In 2012, he became a psychiatrist and found a mentor in Australia, where ketamine is more popular Often used to treat depression. Helped him set up a clinic in Tauranga.

Ketamine was approved for the treatment of depression in the United States in 2019. Hundreds to thousands The day clinic offers services such as intravenous infusions as well as luxury residential programs.

Professor Paul Glue, who studies ketamine at the University of Otago, believes New Zealand psychiatrists are becoming more aware of the drug’s effects, but is not aware of anyone else prescribing it.

Gru said he met Armstrong several years ago when he was preparing to open the Anteris clinic and called him an “excellent psychiatrist.”

Another factor holding more people back from using ketamine to treat depression is the cost, which Pharmac does not subsidise.

Treatment at private clinic Anteris costs $7,500 for the first three months, which includes an initial evaluation, monitoring to determine the correct dosage and medication. That fee rises to $9,500 so patients can receive treatment while they are receiving ketamine.

“That helps us help patients across the board within three months,” Armstrong said.

Patients must travel to Tauranga for their first appointment and take a month’s supply of ketamine. Dosages are then monitored through regular phone calls and emails with the clinic, and reduced or increased as needed. The clinic works with a compounding pharmacy to make the capsules, which are mailed to patients monthly via a special courier service at a cost of about $100 to $200 per month.

“It’s so expensive. I’m very lucky that my family paid for my treatment,” said a 28-year-old Auckland woman, noting that follow-up appointments with Armstrong cost nearly $300.

(Anteris’s management clearly needs improvement. The clinic has a Two-star Although most reviews criticised aspects of management and praised mental health treatment).

The social stigma of ketamine as a party drug is also off-putting. “People just think you do it for the sake of getting high, and don’t realize it’s therapeutic,” said the Oakland woman, who works in commercial real estate.

She ended up taking ketamine for about a year and no longer needs it. “I think it’s a very effective option,” she said.