At Home Ketamine Treatments

Advertising for at home ketamine is very prominent. Is this a good option for you?

Let’s look at routes of ketamine administration. At home ketamine is given by mouth. For some that hate needles, that may seem like a great option. The downside of oral ketamine is that part of the dosage never reaches the bloodstream. The drug gets digested, altered into an unusable form, or metabolized and excreted from the body. The same can be said for intranasal medications. More is absorbed when administered intranasally but not all of it reaches the bloodstream. For the oral or nasal route, the bioavailability is between 10-50%.

Bioavailability is the rate and extent to which the active parts of a drug is absorbed from a drug product and reaches circulation. Receiving medication intravenously is the only way to achieve 100% bioavailability. The Gold Standard for ketamine treatment is IV administration.

Another advantage of IV ketamine is that the dose can be controlled. If it seems too strong, we can slow it down or decrease the amount given. All other methods of administration cannot be adjusted in this same way.  The amount of the drug received is so variable for these other routes of administration. Intravenous ketamine is best for the most predictable results.