Dr. Jonathan Somerville, who started the initiative three years ago, says treatment shows promise<\/p>\n
SUNDRE \u2013 Although not a silver bullet solution that will work for every scenario, the ketamine clinic started in Sundre a few years ago by a local physician is already showing promise on addressing treatment-resistant depression and yielding positive outcomes for patients.<\/p>\n
Dr. Jonathan Somerville, who is on the team of doctors with the Greenwood Family Physicians, decided to introduce the clinic at the Myron Thompson Health Centre three years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason was ketamine is an emerging treatment for resistant depression and PTSD,\u201d Somerville told the Albertan during a phone interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the other treatments that are traditionally used for resistant depression would be things like ECT, which is electroconvulsive therapy, or TMS, which is transcranial magnetic stimulation,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are really good treatments, but they\u2019re not available in rural settings.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, ketamine is more accessible to family doctors who work in general practices in rural communities, using the substance for situations such as procedural sedation, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re comfortable with using it; we know how to use it safely,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so to me it seemed like a great idea to create a program where we could use ketamine to treat depression in the community where patients are living (so) they wouldn\u2019t have to be traveling to Red Deer or Calgary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Attempting to treat depression with ketamine is an option that is considered when other methods have not been successful, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cResistant depression is typically defined as depression that does not improve after treatment with at least two traditional antidepressants and psychotherapy and someone has ongoing symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ketamine has been emerging as another option to address treatment-resistant depression over the past 15 years or so, he said, adding that while there are sublingual or intranasal ways to deliver a dose, it is usually administered intravenously in rural settings like the Sundre hospital. \u00a0<\/p>\n
In just a few short years, Somerville reports there have already been some good outcomes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a lot of success,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen some really positive responses in a number of patients who generally are involved with psychotherapy, where they\u2019re working with counsellors who are comfortable supporting patients getting ketamine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Describing how ketamine works, he said the substance \u201ckind of brings your brain back to a place where there\u2019s more plasticity and it can adapt to changes and allow you to integrate the things that you\u2019re learning about in therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n
More simply put, he added, \u201cIt kind of just makes the therapy that you\u2019re receiving more effective.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far, the treatment is showing promise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had really good outcomes where patients have been able to return to some part-time work after being disabled for a period of time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, it\u2019s still not the silver bullet; it\u2019s not for everyone, and some people respond better than others,\u201d he clarified.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still really important that people are seeing psychiatrists and continuing work on other fronts,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cBut we have definitely seen good effects and good outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Responding to a question about the opioid epidemic that has unfolded in recent years as a result of that painkiller being heavily relied on by extension leading to serious ramifications and whether ketamine might pose a similar risk of developing dependency or even addiction, he said, \u201cTheoretically, there could be a risk. But it doesn\u2019t produce dependence in the same way that opioids do.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the treatment is only used as a short-term goal; it\u2019s given during the course of their involvement in the clinic,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this setting in the ketamine clinic, it\u2019s really just used as a one-time treatment option.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ketamine is delivered through approximately half a dozen infusions over the span of three to four weeks. Each infusion takes approximately 40 minutes, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo they usually end up being in the clinic for two to three hours, based on the time to get it started and run the infusion, and then monitor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And it certainly isn\u2019t done over the counter on a patient\u2019s request.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is done usually with the request of a psychiatrist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s for patients who are seeing a psychiatrist and are not responding the way that they hope,\u201d he said, adding there is a discussion with the mental health specialist first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll discuss whether ketamine is an option, and if they recommend it then we\u2019d go ahead and try it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somerville said ketamine is a great option for supporting critical psychiatric needs in a rural setting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that more rural sites would become comfortable with using this appropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n
A press release issued by Alberta Health Services said the program could potentially become a template for other rural communities to consider adopting.<\/p>\n
Sundre\u2019s ketamine infusion program has drawn patients from across central Alberta \u2013 and demand for this treatment has led to a similar program rolling out in Red Deer. That program launched earlier this year. Initially for inpatients only, it has since been expanded to include outpatients, reads part of the statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had overwhelming interest and, typically, very impressive patient responses to the treatment,\u201d Dan Boomer, unit manager in Recovery Alberta at Red Deer Regional Hospital, Units 34 and 36, was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
Offering additional insight on the outpatient service, Somerville said that many programs would see the patient admitted to the hospital for the duration of the treatment. So day in and day out in between infusions, the patient would remain at the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our case, you are still at home \u2013 you show up for your appointment, you have your ketamine and you go home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut accessing the program still requires being part of a psychiatric treatment plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chantal Crawford, site manager at the Myron Thompson Health Centre, said in the presser that she\u2019s seen a remarkable change in Sundre-area patients after one or more infusions.<\/p>\n
The infusions are given in the health centre\u2019s emergency department by nurses who\u2019ve been trained on ketamine policies and procedures. Unlike some other ketamine treatment programs, participants are able to come in as outpatients.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have patients saying they\u2019ve gone out for supper for the first time in years and telling us we\u2019ve changed their lives,\u201d says Crawford.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re putting smiles on people\u2019s faces.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr. Jonathan Somerville, who started the initiative three years ago, says treatment shows promise SUNDRE \u2013 Although not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[97,259,260],"class_list":{"0":"post-61116","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}