It looks like ketamine has a reason to work, making it less mystical for use in treating depression.
The ketamine Clinic in Tulsa charges $2,000 for the first treatment and $1500 for subsequent treatments, insurance doesn’t cover. (prices ~ 5 years ago at one specific clinic).
Low dose ketamine is also a good adjunctive to pain meds.
Less expensive is vitamin D, either as sunshine or D3 supplements. Chronic depression and manic depression is not uncommon among Vietnamese city women who cover up altogether when they go outside. I have convinced two friends in Khánh Hòa to wear short sleeves and go hatless outside in the morning and midafternoon. Their depression problems evanesced in a day. They have convinced their friends and relatives to get sunshine on their skin and Trang tells me that, with her proselytization of sunshine and the general adoption of western fashions there are fewer women all covered up and depression is progressively less common. Almost all such depression is lack of vitamin D.
I had ketamine treatments a few times a month for a year.
The first 4 were intervenes. The rest were prescribed for a compounding pharmacy as a ketamine nasal spray. 5 doses for $50.
Then the FDA outlawed the non-name brand nasal spray form. Now it’s like $1000 a dose so I stopped.
I loved ketamine. No side affects. Non addictive.
Now that’s good science (I hope). Synaptic receptor activation vs. background receptor activation.