Ketamine for depression: what actually makes it dangerous

Ketamine made headlines for the wrong reasons, and people who could be helped by it are staying away. Jim Ellwood is an anesthesiologist who has given ketamine in the operating room and taken it himself for depression that nine medications failed to touch. This episode is based on his article "The truth about ketamine: an anesthesiologist explains drug safety," published on KevinMD. He explains what the research shows about how it works in the brain, and what to ask before you walk into a clinic. You will hear why he compares the panic around ketamine to what happened with propofol and fentanyl, how to find out who is actually writing the prescription at a clinic that advertises to you, and what he tells patients about how long the relief lasts and what it costs. He is candid about the stigma of a physician saying out loud that he has depression. Press play to hear a physician who has used ketamine both ways describe what a safe setting actually looks like. This episode is brought to you by ModMed. Welcome to your new AI-Powered Practice from ModMed. We're transforming specialty care by embedding AI Assistants across your entire workflow. Our all-in-one platform of EHR, patient engagement, practice management, and RCM helps reduce repetitive work while keeping you firmly in control. Trained on de-identified data from nearly a billion patient encounters, this isn't just smarter software. It's a new way of working for specialty medicine, more efficient and more connected to the patient experience. Start building your AI-Powered Practice at modmed.com. VISIT SPONSOR → https://www.modmed.com/ SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast