A recent article in the Washington Post examined 19 suicides from October, 2017 to November, 2018 which took place at Veterans Administration facilities and hospitals. This tragic news, coupled with data from the VA that reports a shocking 6,000+ veteran suicides per year, is both sobering as it relates to those men and women who have served our country, and yet alarming at the gap in our healthcare system. As a result, hopeless veterans turn to suicide.
While many lines of treatment have proven unsuccessful, many veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression have found positive results with ketamine therapy. Several VA hospitals have been testing the use of ketamine for veterans with a particularly high risk of suicide.
Dr. Punit Vaidya is one of the doctors administering this treatment at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Cleveland. Results have been very positive and the effects seen within a day. “If you look at their depression ratings and suicidal ratings given right before treatment and even four hours later you can see a significant reduction and I think that’s really quite remarkable,” Vaidya said. “It’s quite rapid when you compare it to a traditional medication that is offered for depression, and when it comes to suicidality there’s no other medication that’s been demonstrated to have a rapid effect.”
Ketamine therapy should not be viewed as an alternative to the VA but rather a distinct and complementary lifeline for military men and women who may be enduring a more desperate state of mental health.
Depression and PTSD deserve to be seriously addressed and the veterans who have served our country deserve support and relief. If you or someone you know is struggling with an ongoing mental health condition such as PTSD, depression or thoughts of suicide there is hope.
Contact Virginia Ketamine Therapy and Dr. Mark Newman at 757-258-2561 or email info@vaketaminetherapy.com to learn more about ketamine therapy.
