Bipolar Disorder

What is Bipolar Disorder?

­­Based on the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM-5), bipolar disorder is “a group of brain disorders that cause extreme fluctuation in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function.” People with bipolar disorder experience periods of mania as overactivity, excitement, delusions and euphoria and periods of depression as hopelessness, low energy, and sadness.  Bipolar disorder can be categorized as bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymic disorder.

• Bipolar I disorder is a manic-depressive disorder that can manifest with or without psychotic features.
• Bipolar II disorder manifests less severe fluctuations of depressive and manic phases and usually do not inhibit function
• Cyclothymic disorder is a cyclic disorder that manifests brief periods of hypomania and depression.

Conventional Therapies for Bipolar Disorder

Oral Medications such as mood stabilizers, anti-depressants

• Advantages: Low cost with insurance coverage, first choice therapy, easy to use
• Limitations: Response onset 6-8 weeks minimum, Response rate usually less than 50% and it decreases after each failed medication, unfavorable side effects, high Intolerance rate

Electroconvulsive Therapy

• Advantages: Long tried and tested treatment, Insurance covered
• Limitations: Social stigma, retrograde amnesia (loss of memory), Usually low response rate

Adjuvant therapies such as psychotherapy, Exercises, Meditation

• Advantages: Low/no cost, no side effects
• Limitations: Variable response rate and compliance, time consuming, only adjuvant use
  

Ketamine Infusion Therapy

• Advantages: Response onset 1-2 weeks (sometimes even less than 24-48 hours), response rate with recommended protocol 60-70%, favorable side effect profile, rapid suicidal risk reduction, physician supervised and easy to titrate dosing
• Limitations: Expensive (not covered by most insurances), requires booster infusions during maintenance phase.
  

Why Choose Ketamine Wellness Medical Practice?

• Each infusion is administered and supervised by our highly experienced ketamine specialists. Our practice follows NIMH protocol but as one size does not fit all, each patient receives the safest and most effective personalized ketamine infusion protocol. 
• We do understand that most patients and their family members likely have a busy schedule. To make sure ketamine sessions don't interfere with their work schedule, our practice does offer sessions in the evening and over the weekends.
• We focus on our patients to get better without worrying about committing to six sessions. Patient only pay for the session they receive.
• Provider signed documentation is available on the day of infusion if patient prefers to file the insurance claim for each ketamine session individually.
• Once our ketamine specialist approves the ketamine therapy, every effort is made to schedule new patients within a week.
• We are proud to say that we have not seen any major adverse reactions in any of our patients.
• Our treatment response rate in patients who have completed six ketamine sessions is above 80%. (National reported average is 60-70%)
• Recently, we have seen uptrend in partial insurance reimbursements to our patients. Our superbill provides all the necessary information that most insurances require to process the claims.

If you or someone you know is suffering from this disorder, you may be able to experience rapid relief. Please contact us now for a consultation to see if you would be an ideal candidate for ketamine infusions.

Ketamine is an exciting new avenue for those seeking bipolar disorder ketamine treatment because the effects of Ketamine’s relief on the symptoms of depression can be felt within hours at Ketamine Wellness Medical Practice in Long Island, rather than the usual four-to-six weeks it takes for a standard antidepressant medication to take hold.