Our 16 year old son has been taking ketamine in the intranasal form for over a year.
His response to this medication has been nothing short of a miracle. After 12 years of living with anger and violence on a daily basis along with periods of frightening mania, we have finally found some peace in our lives.
Our son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 4 years old. From the time he was 2 years old, he experienced rigid and oppositional behaviors, long raging tantrums when he could not get what he wanted, night terrors, flight or fight behaviors, difficulties waking in the morning, attention and learning difficulties, and problems relating to peers. Over the course of 12 years we consulted professionals all over the country, attended many therapy sessions, and tried dozens of medications. Most of the medications had little to no effect on his behaviors; some contributed to mania and eventually to a hospitalization.
Our son and our family have experienced a lot of very difficult and painful years which took their toll on all of us. We had all but given up hope that there would ever be peace in our home and in our lives or that our son could feel hopeful about his own future.
Since he started taking ketamine, he has been able to remain in school, form peer relationships for the first time in his life, and remain relatively calm when he becomes anxious or upset.
Due to the many years of trauma I experienced living around violence and always walking on egg shells, I still worry about how he will respond if we say no to something he wants. I still freeze when the phone rings and it is the school calling or feel frightened to wake him up in the morning. On each occasion that he becomes upset about something, I am waiting for the storm. What I have found is that he is able to self regulate, get over his anger much more quickly, talk about how he is feeling, and offer tremendous insight into himself and his life. He has said to me on more than one occasion, “Mom, don’t do this for me or buy this for me because you are afraid I’ll lose control. I’ll be okay.”
I am immensely grateful for the way ketamine has changed our lives; for the peace in our home and the chance to rebuild our lives and our relationships. I now have hope for my son’s future.
L.S.