I am not sure if I have a Treatment Resistant Depression, but I sure have been on multiple SSRIS for the last 10 years.
I honestly don’t feel any of them have “really worked” besides being numb.
I want to stop taking them eventually, wondering if Ketamine would open me in therapy and make it more meaningful/impacting.
I’m a really anxious person, so the thought of trying Ket or psychedelics always gets me nervous, like permanently making my anxiety worse or wake up some schizophrenia (I have no signs, nor I have relatives)
I know that attentiveness and dopamine regulation won’t improve with ket, but has anyone else been able to treat the depression and anxiety that comes with ADHD?
I have no experience with K, but as someone who has tried psychedelics for self-improvement/mental health reasons, I can say it does help in that it gives you a kick in the rear and clarity of mind to work on your issues. The benefits (i.e. increased motivation & executive function) are short-lived though.
For long-term change I would recommend working with a therapist. In my experience us folks with ADHD really need the structured regimen it provides.
Best done under medical supervision.
Have a look through these trials and see if there are any you might be eligible for: https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?cond=Depression%2FAnxiety&intr=Ketamine&aggFilters=status:rec not
If you find any, ask your doctor if they’d consider participating, or contact the trialists and find out if there are any doctors near you who are involved.
If your doctor gets involved in research, they might be able to cast the net wider and find a suitable trial for you.
As someone, who was on SSRIs for 12 years. With doctors assistance I’ve weened off it and my last pill was 2 weeks ago. Couple that with just accepting who I was and what this condition meant and how it affects every aspect of life. Though the withdrawal was rough and I’m still feeling the brain zaps, but my quality of life and outlook about the future has improved 1000%. Please only take this as anecdotal as I’m not in an medical profession. But now the only thing I take is Vyvanse and I really was only prescribed that 6 months ago. As other have pointed out I was being treated for a symptom and not a root cause, and while I cannot say one way or another weather K will help you , its really something to talk over with a doctor. I will say that managing the Cause and not the symptoms does make everything else a lot easier. I think the only thing SSRIs were doing for me was making it very easy to be ‘detached’.
Good luck on your journey I hope you can find the treatment that works for you.
You may already know this but it isn’t clear from your post. Depression doesn’t come with ADHD, it is caused the effects of ADHD. Like, you get depressed because ADHD makes life harder. I would recommend trying to treat your ADHD first and see if that helps. This can help improve self esteem. If that does help your depression you may need a separate treatment.
You definitely need to speak with a psychiatrist though. Some cases require immediate treatment of depression, which is really how I’ve seen ketamine being used.
