Real Life Stories: Sam’s KetaMD Journey

To understand the power of ketamine and how it changed my life, we have to go back to 2011. I had graduated college magna cum laude, was engaged to be married, and was making a fair amount of money working as a senior manager for my father’s outsourced IT company.  Despite my success, I was severely depressed and heavily medicated.  Little did I know that the “easy” life that I knew was about to change, and not for the better.

The week of my wedding, scheduled for October 31^st, it all came crashing down.  My fiance’s parents decided that we needed a prenuptial agreement and had one sent by their lawyer.  Unfortunately, the prenup included clauses, such as their rabbi deciding where my children would go to school in the event of divorce.  I refused to sign, and the wedding was called off. I was devastated.

Only a few days after the wedding fell through, I moved into a deeper depression and was let go from the family business.  I was 23, and my life and identity had been built on plans to one day take over for my father.  All of my hard work until this point was now moot. In my mind, there was only one solution, sit in bed and smoke endless amounts of weed.

I did this for the next ten years while making a series of poor financial and life decisions.  I became addicted to heroin and tried to commit suicide twice.

Fast forward to 2021.  I was still deeply depressed, anxious, and unable to work.  My relationship with my father was better, though not quite the same as before 2011.  One day, he told me about KetaMD, his new client.  They were launching a business providing at-home ketamine treatments to people suffering from depression and, at the time, conducting beta trials.

I had already heard of and researched ketamine for depression.  I was highly interested.  However, I only knew about IV clinics and Janssen’s Spravato; both were out of my price range and unavailable in my small town.

Finally, through KetaMD, ketamine was a viable treatment option!  I felt like a cure was within reach.  I went through the steps to qualify for KetaMD’s 6-session program, their protocol for treating depression.  My dad was my “support buddy” for the first session.  The treatment was pleasant but disappointing in a way.  I did not feel any effects during or immediately after the session and did not feel any noticeable improvement.  However, it was the first dose, and there were five more to come, so I shrugged it off and went about my business.

Two days later, I was visiting my brother and hanging out with my nieces and nephews when I realized something was different.  Where I would typically be withdrawn and self-conscious while spending time with my brother’s family, or anyone for that matter, I was interested, outgoing, and personable!  I wondered, who was this exciting, fun uncle?!

More people need to know about ketamine as an alternative to conventional medicines and treatments for mental health, especially when those options aren’t working.

Then it hit me!  It was during this visit with my brother’s family when I realized that ketamine worked and was effective.  I had tried many different medications and even invested in an Alpha-Stim device to get better, but nothing had worked.  I went through traditional antidepressant meds, atypical antipsychotics, Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES), DBT and CBT therapy, inpatient hospital stays, rehab, and a VERY expensive Columbia professor and psychopharmacologist.  Yet, in two days, one small dose of ketamine had accomplished what every other treatment had failed to achieve.  A significant reduction in my depression and anxiety, as well as making me feel more alert and energetic than I had since high school.

I went on to complete the program.  After each treatment, I felt my symptoms slipping away. I had more clarity, started reconnecting with others, began thinking about my future, and in general, felt a sense of peace and happiness I hadn’t felt in years.  Tasks that I used to hate and would procrastinate on for weeks, despite their relative ease, were now just a part of my routine and no longer causing undue stress.

I haven’t even gotten to the good part yet!  Before my first dose of ketamine, I had not been able to hold down a job in over 10 years.  However, I met part of the KetaMD team through my dad, and decided to apply for a job.  After a few interviews, I was hired!  Initially, I was only working on simple, easy tasks, but as I began to prove, to myself and others, that I still had my technical skills, I was rapidly given more responsibility.  Less than a year later, I now manage all of our IT support, reporting, and process design for our internal systems and support functions.

I have my life back.  A process I thought would take years, yet happened almost overnight!

Despite a body of very credible research proving its viability and effectiveness and many real-life stories like mine, ketamine is still relatively unknown as a treatment for depression and other mental health issues.  More people need to know about ketamine as an alternative to conventional medicines and treatments for mental health, especially when those options aren’t working.

By joining the team at KetaMD, I’m thrilled to be part of our mission to make this treatment accessible to those who need it, to bring awareness and spread the word about ketamine therapy, and to help those who, like me, suffer from depression but feel there is no solution in sight…until now.