WV Ketamine Infusion Therapy

Absolutely don't waste your time. I have been getting Infusions for a little over 3 years now, and have used various clinics as this therapy has evolved. As soon as we walked in, we knew it didn't look good, but because of the lack of options for infusions in this State and because we had already made the drive, we tried to stay optimistic. Unfortunately it ended up being worse than we thought and we should have just listened to our intuition and left. First, we got there and sat in the waiting room for 30 minutes past our appointment time because the lady at the front desk never told anyone in the back that we were there. The nurse who helps with the ketamine had to call me and ask if we were still coming in, to which I told her we had been in the waiting room for 45 minutes. Second, My current dosage is 200mg over 60 minutes and I'm 210lbs. A friend of mine who also has infusions went with me and her current dosage is 80mg over 60 minutes and she's 140lbs. The only reason for trying this place is because of relocating to WV and the lack of clinics here. The Doctor however refused to go above 80mg for me, causing me to feel absolutely nothing during the infusion, but for some reason gave my friend 70mg, despite our size difference. Yeah... make that math make sense. Third, this isn't an actual ketamine clinic, it's a dirty run down surgical outpatient facility. They have you laying propped up in old hospital beds in a big room with curtains. They don't use IV infusion pumps either so there is no way for them to control the rate of the infusion. They literally start an IV Catheter in your arm, hook you up to a bag of saline, and then just put however much ketamine they want to give you into the bag of fluids. When I asked the doctor why he wouldn't go above 80mg for a 200lb man, he responded with "because high doses of ketamine might cause ketamine psychosis". I'm sorry... What? People regularly get FAR more than that for surgical procedures and don't experience "psychosis". I then asked him if he has ever experienced ketamine to which he responded "No, I have no need to disassociate". Brother, I've been doing this for 3 years at multiple clinics, and it's pretty clear you have absolutely *no idea* what you're talking about. And at less than half of my usual dose, believe me there was no disassociation involved. I literally got 3/4 the way through with the saline bag and asked them to remove my IV because I was leaving. I walked out of there fine - no wobbly legs, no sobering up. We spent $275 per person, $200 on an Airbnb, and drove 4 hours round trip for this "infusion" which was literally just a huge waste of time and money. It's worth mentioning that they won't negotiate your dose until AFTER they already have your money, and have an IV in you so you can't leave. Listen, I get that I was a new patient, but none of that excuses the negatives of this place. Dose aside, this is not a reputable clinic that specializes in mental health services. I've talked to my old clinic about this particular instance, and I've talked to the new clinic I found to replace these people, and all have agreed - this doctor doesn't know what he's doing. He told me to bring the medical notes from my old clinic next time and he might go up on dose, which made me chuckle. In absolutely what universe would I waste this much time and money again just to gamble on him having the backbone to go higher and actually listening to his patients? This is a surgical outpatient facility doing ketamine for cash on the side. Avoid at all costs or unless you're desperate. Ignite Wellness in Roanoke is a fantastic option, and actually takes care of their patients, and I recommend going there if you can make the drive. I know ketamine therapy is few and far between in WV, but as a veteran of this type of therapy I promise you that help is out there, and that there are better options available. Please don't get discouraged by places like this - Ketamine works, and there actually are doctors who care and know what they're doing. Good luck everyone.