CBS News Interviews Dr. Ashraf Hanna and Patient About Ketamine Treatments for Patients at High Suicide Risk and Depression

CLEARWATER, Fla., Feb. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- From 1999 to 2016, the rate of suicides in the U.S. increased by 30 percent. It's now the second-leading cause of death for 10 to 34-year-olds. Social media bullying, increasing economic disparity, returning veterans traumatized by war, and unintended consequences of the opioid crisis have all been cited as reasons for the rise in America. There's been no breakthrough for easing any of these circumstances. But there is, finally, a serious quest for suicide prevention - Ketamine.

Long used as an safe and effective sedative for surgery, Ketamine has found new life as a treatment for severe depression, PTSD and suicidal ideation. Praised by some mental health experts, the drug so far has achieved very good results in clinical trials. Psychiatrist Dr. William Dudley describes Ketamine as fast and effective: "It can work in a matter of days or hours which is a huge advantage. In all the decades I've been practicing psychiatry, I've never seen anything where the enthusiasm is so positive and the outcomes are so good," Dr. Dudney said.

Dr. Ashraf Hanna, a board certified anesthesiologist and director of pain management at the Florida Spine Institute in Clearwater, Florida discusses PTSD and Treatment-Resistant Depression: "There are many forms of depression that can be treated by a psychiatrist with various modalities, anti-depressants and psychotherapy. IV Ketamine therapy is only reserved for those patients that have treatment-resistant depression and have failed conventional therapy. IV Ketamine infusion therapy has offered a new hope to patients that had no hope."

One of Doctor Hanna's patients, Kelly Choi, battled severe depression for over 20 years. "It's like going down a dark, dark, dark alley and it keeps getting darker," Kelly said. "It's desperation. It feels hopeless. It came to a point of crisis." She had tried everything for relief during all of those years. It only took a series of ketamine treatments to bring her back into the light. Seven months ago, Kelly says she would have never been so open about her depression."But because this has changed my life so much, if there's one person that would hear this and know that there's hope then I would do it again," Kelly said.

When asked what prompted his use of IV Ketamine for PTSD and Depression and if any universities were involved in its development, Dr. Hanna went on to say: "There have been multiple universities involved in the research such as Harvard, Yale and Stanford that have proven the success rate of IV Ketamine for treatment-resistant depression. I was already successfully using IV Ketamine for CRPS/RSD, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis, Neuropathy, and post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, with over 10,000 infusions to date- making us the largest Ketamine clinic in the world. I then wanted to expand the treatment for PTSD, depression, bipolar and obsessive compulsive disorders. Since I am not a psychiatrist, I do not treat depression, but I work with qualified psychiatrists, and if he or she feels the patient has failed other treatment modalities, I then administer IV Ketamine for treatment-resistant depression."

Dr. Hanna recently teamed up with The Tampa Bay Foundation for Mental Health in a conference to support crisis services and to advance suicide prevention at the Armature Works in Tampa, Florida. "We owe it to our great veterans and severely depressed patients to help them cope with this terrible disease, and give them hope in their critical time of need," Dr. Hanna stated.

"I would also like to announce that we accept most insurance for our Ketamine infusions, which will help many more people to have access to this treatment," stated Dr. Hanna.

For over 25 years, Dr. Ashraf Hanna and the Florida Spine Institute have been the leader in pain management and most trusted medical facility in the Tampa Bay area, providing the latest advancements in chronic pain treatment, spine surgery, and the treatment of spine and joint pain.
For more information regarding IV Ketamine Infusion therapy for Depression and PTSD, please visit: https://www.ivketamine.com or call 727-538-2646

SOURCE ivketamine.com