Frequently Asked Questions
HOW DO I BECOME A PATIENT?
1. Initial phone conversation: We offer a complementary phone conversation to discuss any initial questions. Please get in touch to book the initial conversation.
2. Consultation: Our patients meet with our care team to determine eligibility and answer any further questions.
3. Patients are scheduled for an infusion after the consultation with the care team. Current research suggests a series of 6 infusions spread over 3 weeks.
TELL ME ABOUT THE PROCEDURE.
Your infusion takes place in our office in beautiful Lancaster County, PA. You will sit in a comfortable reclining chair in one of our private, relaxing rooms. The procedure lasts about an hour, and patients are required to be accompanied by an adult who can drive them home. During your treatment, you may just relax or listen to music if preferred. Patients often experience some amount of dissociation, but not hallucinations. Additional feelings can include heightened perception (such as lights, colors, or noise being more intense), talkativeness, like you are dreaming, or euphoria. Patients often describe it as feeling different, interesting, weird, or odd. The majority of people find the experience enjoyable, however please remember we are there with you, so we can slow down or stop your infusion at any time. Upon stopping the infusion, these feelings and thoughts often stop within a few minutes. Patients do not experience these side effects between treatments.
How do you calculate my dose? Does it increase?
Ketamine for mental health is prescribed as a unit per kilogram of body weight. We begin patient infusions using the industry standard formula of .5mg/kg of body weight and adjust according to the needs of the patient. Most patients increase their dose every 1-2 infusions, while some stay at the same dose for a few infusions. We talk with each patient before the infusion to determine next steps.
DO YOU TAKE INSURANCE?
Though we do not take insurance or Medicare, many insurance companies do reimburse some of the cost. We recommend checking with your insurance company to determine coverage. We will provide a super bill.
DO YOU OFFER FINANCING?
We offer financing through Advance Care Card. https://advancecarecard.com
WILL YOU COLLABORATE WITH MY CURRENT CARE TEAM?
We welcome your care team in our practice. At LKI, we believe a trusted, established relationship with a mental health professional is important for success. We wish to partner with your care team and not replace them.
AM I ELIGIBLE FOR KETAMINE?
At Lancaster Ketamine Institute, the goal for each of our patients is safe, research-based relief from mental health hardships. We are passionate about a thorough care team and consultation, and, therefore, we have our patients meet with our psychologist and a medical provider to determine eligibility.
ARE THERE OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE?
HOW DO WE ADMINISTER KETAMINE?
We utilize IV, intravenous, administration for the delivery of Ketamine. We do this as the route for Ketamine delivery is critical for the desired results. IV delivery of Ketamine enables enough medication to reach the brain without unwanted side effects. In comparison, nasal, intra-muscular (IM), and oral do not allow the same precision titration as IV.
HOW DOES KETAMINE WORK?
Most medications used for the treatment of major depression manipulate the amount of certain neurotransmitters in your brain and have a number of side-effects.
Ketamine works different: it briefly blocks a specific type of receptor in the brain preventing it from being triggered. This process occurs during the treatment while Ketamine is being delivered via the IV. After your treatment, the effects of the infusion dissipate within minutes, and any remaining side-effects such as drowsiness or fatigue rarely last more than a few hours.
A benefit of using IV via a slow infusion to deliver ketamine is that unique conditions are established within your brain that trigger a precise set of events. This "waterfall" impacts specific receptors and pathways, thereby producing a protein triggering a rapid growth of neural connections. Doctors envision this "rewiring" is part of the antidepressant effect.
In addition to the above, Ketamine has also been found to be an effective anti-inflammatory. Since depression is also connected with chronic inflammation, it may also be a contributing factor to the antidepressant effects. There may be additional factors and benefits left to be discovered.