Anyone have experience with ketamine for OCD? They’re doing a study on it at Stanford and it’s supposedly very promising.

Is there a link you could post about this P?

You can still sign up for the study. You don’t have to be on an SSRI - just email them and they’ll send you a link to the survey and will let you know in a couple weeks if you’re eligible. It sounds very, very promising. I’ll keep the group posted if I get accepted into the trial. I also read there are clinics that administer ketamine for ocd and depression, but we have to make sure they are by doctors (they should be since it’s a prescription drug)!

Also if you sign up for the MKET (ketamine) study, if you’re not eligible for that one, they’ll let you know if you’re eligible for another. I think you have to live in the SF Bay Area..

Pineapple the SSRI requirement is not as strict as you’d think. If you call the researchers they may be able to help

@Pineapple: about the ketamine, that’s what I want to find out from the researchers - what’s the long-term plan? I’ve read about ppl getting weekly doses of it, but want to hear straight from the researchers. I’ll post back when they return my call. I’m lucky to be living down the road from Stanford! About the meds I’m taking, it’s called Namenda (memantine). It’s improved my ocd symptoms quite a bit - my life was one giant ritual, now I’m able to have some freedom in my brain though I’m not 100% free by any stretch of the imagination. It’s experimental and off-label for OCD, but my shrink gave it to me because I’ve had a long history of being unable to tolerate SSRIs. It’s not clear how it works with regards to OCD but I can say it also helped my depression and it started working very quickly (1-2 weeks). I had to start on a baby dose b/c I’m very sensitive to side effects. I still feel like I have my severe days, but it’s a big improvement.

I would encourage everyone to talk to their doc about meds that work on glutamate like namenda. I made the mistake of being inconsistent with my meds for a couple months - now that I’m back on them consistently, I’ve noticed it’s easier to let go of obsessive thoughts so I don’t ritualize as much, and the anxiety is not so high.

The Biohaven trial also focuses on glutamate

@hope - serotonin and dopamine may not matter so much if the glutamate issue in our brains is solved. I’m not a neuroscientist but from experience I can tell you that the namenda has helped me tremendously, despite having no effect on serotonin or dopamine. I would ask your doc about it if SSRIs aren’t helping. I can’t take any SSRIs whatsoever and tried many different kinds over 20 years. But the namenda...whoa. It’s been super helpful.

I signed up for it! Dunno if I'll be chosen. https://med.stanford.edu/rodriguezlab/research/ocd-research/current-clinical-studies.html

How do you sign up for it @Tay? Or is it too late?

Have you all checked out the Biohaven study?

That’s just as interesting. They are investing a new medication

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2017/05/researcher-explores-hallucinogen-as-potential-ocd-treatment.html I read this article about it. Wow, that is really interesting.

@Mjs I did check out that study but I’m not on an SSRI so wouldn’t be eligible.

@P for the study Mjs was talking about on the Treat My OCD website one of the requirements is to be on an SSRI. I checked out the link Tay posted too and the study for ketamine didn’t require that.

Do you have to live in the Bay Area?

Gotcha ok, pineapple. I know for the ketamine study there’s no SSRI requirement!

And yes I believe you do have to live in the Bay Area but I’m not 100% sure

Bummer ?

Just try!

Hmm alright Mjs I may try.

Yes, try! You have nothing to lose. And they may be able to point you to another study, one they do in the future, or at the very least you can follow the progress of these and have new information about modern approaches.

@mjs - I am currently on another med called Namenda that also works on glutamate receptors similar to the biohaven study. My ocd is extremely stubborn but the namenda changed my life. My whole life was one giant ritual and now I feel like I have more distance from them. I tried SSRIs and couldn’t tolerate the side effects with even a very low dosage - with the namenda it started working after a week or two...!

I am going to try for the ketamine one. I might try for the Biohaven one. It sounds like the effects from the ketamine just get rid of the OCD symptoms temporarily from that article I read. I literally can’t even imagine what that would feel like to not have OCD (even temporarily). I would probably cry.

I’m not sure what the long-term plan is for ketamine. But yeah even a short break from ocd would be heaven ? the biohaven one I’m wondering how that’s different than other meds that work on glutamate

It would be a dream come true!

P, you should read the article I posted. It says about how ketamine is addictive with repeated use so the plan isn’t for the ketamine to be used long term, but to find out what the actual effects of it are. Also it mentions in that article about the glutamate as well relating to the ketamine.

Hey Pineapple, I did read the article, thank you. I wasn’t sure what they mean by “dependence” and what kind of an issue that would pose. Honestly if I were dependent on the drug it wouldn’t bother me as long as I got relief from my ocd! I’m around the corner from them, so I may give them a buzz to see if I can go visit their lab or get some answers via phone. It’s the most promising thing I’ve read on ocd as well as the glutamate studies. But the ketamine thing sounds astonishing.

Sounds too good to be true lol

Update: I called the lab and left a message. In an email with the asst researcher, for the MKET study, there is a treatment-free period of 2 months (no therapy/meds). I’m waiting on more info! I’m also going to see my shrink about meds in two weeks and I will ask him about ketamine, and if he’s able to administer it himself.

@P: I don’t think ketamine is meant for long term use, due to its potential for becoming addictive? Also, the effects from it are only temporary. So if you were to go to one of the clinics you mentioned, it would have to be administered often? From the article it sounded like with the ketamine study, they were only going administer the ketamine one time. Also, you mentioned you were taking a medication similar to the one in the Biohaven study. Would you would be able to share some more information about that? It hasn’t entirely rid of your OCD symptoms, but they have vastly improved?

Here’s a link: https://iocdf.org/expert-opinions/expert-opinion-glutamate/

What confuses me: this article was published in 2009 and it says they’ve been studying glutamate for 8 years. So that’s 17 years of study, yet we don’t hear much on glutamate for ocd, only SSRIs...

I read that article. Thanks P!

I assume that should change with these new research studies.

^wow interesting.. you guys are awesome! I think there are three key factors after doing a lot of research.. serotonin imbalance not receiving serotonin properly, lack of dopomine, and high levels of glutamate . Only if there was a pill with all of those three things to correct? I seriously hope ketamine is a breakthrough but tbh seems too good to be true and there has to be side effects witch I obsess about and I hate IVs or any needles. But I am going to talk to my doc because regular SSRI don’t seem to do a whole lot for me.. Zoloft did I think but had a lot of side effects and I don’t think Prozac is working for me.. and my ocd is so severe and so many things that exposure is just not enough. So I’m trying to think of how I can correct all of those three things with medicine don’t know how it would go about though... apparently SSRI only tries to correct seratonin but dosent do any of the other things witch is quite interesting to me .. :) looking forward to ur replies

Wow... very interesting I will ask thank you so much. What are the side effects though? & what kind of ocd did u have was it rlly bad ???

And what kind of ocd did you have? Was it rlly bad?

Sorry messages getting cropped off

@hope I have ROCD but I think ocd is ocd. It was pretty bad! My whole life revolves around rituals. I never had a break. Now I have some freedom and perspective to do erp. In the beginning I couldn’t sleep about 6hrs after I took a dosage of the medication, it made me a little wired (which my doc was super confused by) but we reduced the initial dosage down and worked our way back up and it was fine. But it didn’t make me anxious or edgy, just energetic (which I appreciated because the ocd also made me depressed, so this made me want to get out and do shit)...!

Revolves = revolved. Past tense!

Ok I just found your other post about ketamine. Biohaven Pharma has trials that focus on glutamate that sound safer than ketamine. But I am sure you will work with your doctor to find the best option for you. Keep us posted on your progress.

Yup here! I’m going to see my doc next week and will ask about ketamine as an augmentation to the namenda.