Ketamine Infusion #6

The past few days have been very difficult. I am almost completely off of my anti-depressant and I feel it (need to go off of it and then wait 2 weeks before starting new anti-depressant). I have been extremely irritable and anxious. I have had brief moments of brightening, especially yesterday when I picked up my daughter from the camp bus stop. As we drove home, I blasted “Dancing Queen” and we sang at the top of our lungs. That was a good moment.

I was definitely not looking forward to today’s infusion. During the infusion, I was more “with it” and felt part of my surroundings. When the nurses and doctors talked to each other, I could hear them and felt I was in the room with them. It was the last 10 minutes or so, though, when the tears flowed and I felt alone and terrified. All of the negative thoughts that I have on a daily basis were magnified X1000. I sobbed thinking the terrible things I think of often they were just swirling in my brain all at once: I am a terrible wife, my husband chose the wrong woman to be with, my beautiful daughter is losing out with a mother like me, I do not deserve to feel better, and so on…

I was relieved when the infusion machine beeped signifying that I was done. As I came back to myself, the nurses kept checking on me, cleaning away my used tissues and reassuring me. I felt better as the minutes passed and was happy to be done.

The plan is to have one infusion next week and one the week after, to make up for the two weeks without an anti-depressant. As of this exact moment, I feel better, more aware, focused and my mood is definitely a bit elevated. Of course, I have little stress to fuel my negative symptoms today as I am home and on my own schedule for the rest of the day.

And so it goes…