The onset of IM is usually a little faster than the continuous IV infusion. For this reason we prefer IV for new or highly anxious patients. For patients that have done IV infusions in the past, the faster onset of the IM experience is not a problem.

The experience of the ketamine is quite similar between the two routes of administration.

There have been no formal studies to date that compare the long-term psychological effects between the two routes of administration. Anecdotally, the long term effects appear to be the same.

The nice thing about IV infusions is that the dose can be easily increased or decreased during the session in a predictable way.

We started doing IM sessions primarily as a way to do make it more affordable by doing group sessions because it is technically challenging to have multiple people with IV on infusion pumps at the same time.

IM injections are probably the most common route of therapeutic administration in the US because it is technically easier.

We always start with each patient doing an IV session (unless they have really bad veins, etc) so that we can have a little more control of the experience and see how they do.

After patients have some understanding of what to expect, then I don’t think it matters greatly from a therapeutic point of view. The bigger questions is whether to continue doing individual (one on one session with a physician) IV session or Group IM session (2-5 clients in a room together).

The group sessions are half the cost and there is an interesting (read: helpful) group therapy dynamic which can come up during the group discussion afterwards.

The advantage of the individual sessions is that one on one time with the patient (30-45 min) to integrate the experience.

Both routes are helpful and I’d encourage you to call us to discuss which might be best for you.