‘Ketamine has saved my life:’ Experimental treatment gaining popularity despite concerns

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Lynette Ebberts says for her, depression has been a non-stop battle ever since the loss of her father, who lost his life due to depression.

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“My father took his own life because of depression. And it sent me into a complete tailspin and I still reel from that today,” Ebberts emotionally told Action News Jax.

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Now, every five weeks, Ebberts receives a ketamine IV to treat her depression symptoms, at the ketamine wellness center here in Jacksonville. Ebberts says it has truly improved her life.

“Ketamine has saved my life,” Ebberts exclaimed.

While SSRIs and traditional antidepressants work on neuro-transmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine that help nerves in the brain communicate, ketamine targets glutamate, providing much more immediate results.

And we spoke to psychologist and M.D. Marcus Decarvalho who says the drug can serve benefits when used in the form as FDA approved, as esketamine, a nasal spray. However, there are risks for treatments like Ebberts’s, which are not FDA approved.

“I would be very skeptical as far as going and doing something like that, especially since it’s not FDA approved,” Dr. Decarvalho said. “Which means, they don’t really have any long-term trials done on it.”

Dr. Decarvalho also says he’s seen patients first-hand who have used ketamine to treat their depression and developed psychosis, needing to be committed to an in-patient facility as a result.

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Nonetheless, the treatment has become a more-and-more accepted treatment, with the highly-regarded Mayo Clinic even beginning to utilize it at its Rochester, Minnesota location.