How Fast Does Ketamine Work for Anxiety? Expert Insights

Ketamine and Anxiety: What's the Link?

The history of ketamine dates back to the 20th century when it was first used as an anesthetic in 1963. Since then, like with science, a lot has changed about ketamine. It is now used for relieving symptoms associated with several mental health problems, and anxiety is top of the list.

With advancing science, it is revealed that changes in neurotransmitters in the brain modulate the effect of ketamine on anxiety. Among many others, glutamate is the key to modulating mood and controlling the stress response. This effect of ketamine, therefore, gives relatively quick relief from symptoms of anxiety.

How does Ketamine help with Anxiety?

Antidepressants affect serotonin and norepinephrine levels in the brain. These medicines, therefore, take almost weeks to show their full efficacy. In contrast, ketamine targets glutamatergic neurotransmission by moderately modulating synaptic plasticity and brain signaling. 

It helps reset and restore function in brain areas that affect mood and anxiety and hence helps in rapid improvement in the symptoms. In short, we can say that ketamine is a frontrunner as a popular choice in the treatment of anxiety as it can bypass all the slower antidepressants and directly stimulate brain repair.

How Fast Does Ketamine Help with Anxiety?

How fast does ketamine work for anxiety? The answer is very encouraging. 

Symptoms of anxiety often improve within hours after their first infusion—a much faster impact than traditional antidepressants, which usually require weeks to be effective. Such a rapid onset of ketamine could be especially useful for people who suffer from intense anxiety attacks and need immediate relief from their symptoms. 

What You Should Know Before Starting Your Treatment?

Ketamine is genuinely an incredible addition to the treatment regimen of anxiety. But, in addition to knowing the answer to the question, "How fast does ketamine work for anxiety?" you still need to know a lot more about ketamine. For example, ketamine infusion can lead to disorientation, dissociation, and other mental health side effects. Therefore, you should only get this treatment from expert healthcare providers. 

A Quick Recap

How fast does ketamine work for anxiety?

By now, you already know the answer to this question. 

But, to summarize what we have discussed above, ketamine gives instant relief of anxiety—sometimes even within hours following a treatment. This kind of rapid action turns out to be very helpful to people with acute anxiety disorders. 

Want to know more about ketamine infusion and how it is used for anxiety? Contact us at ketalink for expert advice.