The Best New OCD Treatment in Kansas City, MO
At our office, we are proud to offer the latest mental health treatment options. In addition to high safety standards and patient care, we utilize ketamine infusion therapy to treat OCD and other mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.
Our mission statement is to help bring innovative new treatment options to those in our community who need it most. Ketamine infusions have proven to be a powerful and rapid treatment for anxiety and other mental health conditions.
There is Hope, We Can Help!
Dr. Handoo was recently featured on Fox 4 News discussing IV ketamine treatments for treatment-resistant depression.
What are the Symptom Subtypes of OCD?
Contamination Obsession with Washing and Cleaning Compulsion.
Identified by obsessive notions about contamination and compulsions of extreme cleaning or washing.
Harm Obsessions with Checking Compulsions.
Identified by obsessive thoughts about potential damage to yourself or others and compulsions including checking rituals to relieve your anxiety.
Hoarding.
Characterized through obsessive anxieties about getting rid of items or belongings you may need one day.
Symmetry Obsessions with Ordering/Arranging/Counting Compulsions.
Characterized through obsessive thoughts about symmetry and compulsions to make every little thing orderly until they are “just right.”
Fast & Efficient OCD Treatment
Ketamine infusions have quickly became one of the most popular OCD treatments and can also help with various other mood disorders, including depression, anxiety, PTSD and bipolar disorder.
Unlike many traditional medications like SSRIs which can take months to start working, ketamine therapy offers OCD patients relief quickly, with some individuals reporting relief within a few hours of their first infusion session.
How Does Ketamine Help Treat OCD?
Scientists believe ketamine helps with OCD by rapidly boosting the activity of glutamate, a neurotransmitter inside the frontal cortex of the human brain, while also allowing new pathways to form in the same area.
The promptness of ketamine in yielding an antidepressant effect occurs because this drug bypasses the conventional serotonin path and goes straight to switching on glutamate.
This is remarkably different from conventional antidepressants, which initially boost serotonin activity levels in several other brain areas to affect glutamate. This process usually takes weeks, sometimes months, while ketamine produces an almost instant result and relief from anxiety symptoms.
Side Effects of Ketamine Treatment for OCD
As a new treatment option for OCD, ketamine has a few minor side effects. These can include a dream-like feeling, double or blurred vision, lightheadedness, nausea or vomiting, and slight anxiety feelings after being given a dose. This treatment method is not in development because this is an FDA-approved drug utilized for “off-label” or less typical use.
An “off-label” use indicates that it is a treatment that the FDA did not initially authorize. The FDA approves prescription medications only for specific uses, but most medications at some point develop off-label uses as a result of the clinical experience that develops in time.
As a good example, the medication Prazosin’s purpose was to treat hypertension in 1976. Still, it is now also used to treat nightmares in individuals with PTSD, a use that was not initially approved.
What To Expect During Your Ketamine Infusion
We strive to ensure all of our patients feel as comfortable as possible in their private rooms during treatment.
A number of our patients refer to a “dissociation” effect. This disconnection effect aids your treatment and delivers a positive response to your ketamine therapy for many patients.
This is all an ordinary component of the treatment. You will always remain in a safe atmosphere with our team to monitor you and be readily available to you during your infusion.
Ready To Start Your New Journey In Life
Dr. Handoo and his team are dedicated to helping patients who have not had success with other treatment options for OCD.
Contact our office today and schedule your consultation and discover how ketamine therapy can help you.
Ketamine Testimonials
“Ketamine truly saved my life. I have been depressed since my early 30s but severely depressed since my early 40s (I am currently 43). I have tried multiple medications, combinations of medications, therapy, etc., and I still had suicidal thoughts almost daily. I took 6 weeks of Ketamine, beginning in late March, and my entire life has changed. I talk to people again; I am working 2 jobs; I work while I’m at home, rather than just going to my room and sleeping; and I truly feel as if I have my life back. Taking Ketamine was the best decision I have ever made.”
– 43 years old, Pleasant Hill, Missouri
“I was searching for anything that would work to alleviate a major depressive episode. I was barely able to get out of bed and had disconnected from my life. In looking through messaging boards, I was pleased to find Dr. Handoo was offering the treatment in Kansas City. I had thought I would need to travel to receive it. The treatments were completely tolerable, even pleasurable. I am depression free and have been for three months. The relief is incredible. I highly recommend this practice.”
– 40 years old, Leawood, Kansas
“I have suffered from depression for almost 20 years, with skyrocketing severity 13 years ago after a very traumatic life event. I had tried every medication, countless combinations of medications, have been in therapy, have been hospitalized and even went through a course of ECT, but there I was, always seeming to be in the same horrible dark place. After 6 Ketamine sessions, I finally, slowly, seemed to be coming out of darkness and despair I had been in for so long. As another couple months have passed since the end of treatment, I feel almost back to what I barely remember ‘normal’ feeling like so long ago. It has done something for me that I thought it would literally take a miracle to do after having been suffering
for so long–not just made me feel tolerably better than horrible, but honestly made me feel GOOD again!”
– 46 years old, Kansas City, Missouri
“I have been experiencing depression for almost 30 years now, ever since elementary school. I have tried several medications and years of counseling, but the severe depression still came in waves with times in between being melancholy at best. I was having suicidal thoughts over 90% of each day. Since my Ketamine treatments, I now feel like a new person experiencing a happiness I never knew existed. My friends, family, and co-workers have all noticed tremendous changes in my demeanor, and I haven’t once thought about suicide. I have so much more energy and enthusiasm that I am experiencing life in a whole new way! Even my children have commented ‘Dad, I’m glad you’re not sad anymore.’ Ketamine has not only been life changing, but also lifesaving.”
34 years old, Blue Springs, MO
“Without a doubt, undergoing ketamine treatment was one of the the best decisions I’ve made in my life. After six weeks of ketamine treatments (and now a couple weeks after), I have zero depression. I have zero anxiety. This after YEARS of a daily, unrelenting struggle to keep depression and anxiety from destroying my life, relationships, and work, Ketamine has been an incredible “Easy Button” that has done for my brain chemistry what all my own efforts could never achieve, and what traditional anti-depressants had almost destroyed. I had been dealing with acute depression for three years, and had made an effort to do everything “right.” Regular counseling, exercise, and medications. My Direct Primary Care doctor, who knew Dr. Handoo, said it was time for Ketamine. I knew of it, and had been researching it for a year, but I had no idea that a psychiatrist-based treatment clinic was five minutes from my house! At my first visit, my PHQ-9 depression score was at a 26. Pretty much as severe as you can get.
Within 10 days, I had my first infusion. I was scared before the first one (didn’t sleep a wink the night before), but I found the infusions to be the most relieving, uplifting, incredible experiences. The nurse, Shannon, was so friendly and welcoming. I never felt unsafe or “tripped out”. No scary hallucinations at all. Just float-y, free feeling, and just pretty interested in the lights and shapes I saw when I closed my eyes. Because it’s a smaller dose than anesthesia, I could always open my eyes, see and know where I was, breathe on my own, and use relaxation techniques to just enjoy the experience. Dr. Handoo always checked in at the end to see how it went, and then take it easy for the rest of the day. I was always in-and-out of the office within 2 hours.
Not everyone may have such immediate effects, but for me, Ketamine was a swift, incredibly effective treatment. Now my PHQ-9 score ranges from 0-1. I have my life back, and though it will take a long time of feeling good to undo a long time of feeling bad, I have no problem getting through my work, enjoying my relationships, and taking care of myself. I can see my future again, and I am grateful for Dr. Handoo’s work with Ketamine for making this a reality for me. “
34 years old, Leawood, KS
“6 weeks of ketamine therapy has marked the beginning of a new life for me. It took about a month after my last infusion before I felt a significant change and the results are surreal. I fought depression for over 20 years, my first suicide attempt was at age 11. I went from 7 pills twice a day to 1 pill! My previous doctors just prescribed more and more drugs and I was getting worse. Since the ketamine treatments my PHQ-9 went from 27 down to 1. My friends and family can tell a huge difference, I’m back to being more spontaneous, active and outgoing. I highly recommend ketamine treatment to everyone who needs it.”
31 years old, Kansas City, MO
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