If you’re considering IV ketamine therapy for depression, you probably have questions that nobody has answered yet. What happens during an infusion? How long will you be there? What does it feel like? And what happens once it’s over?
Those are fair questions, and you deserve real answers before you commit to anything. At Resilience Integrative Wellness in San Diego, we’d rather you walk in knowing what the day looks like than find out as you go. IV ketamine works differently from a daily antidepressant, and the unfamiliarity is a lot of what makes people nervous. Here’s what to expect.
What Is IV Ketamine Therapy?
Ketamine has been used in medical settings for decades, mostly as an anesthetic. More recently, clinicians have used it off label, in carefully selected patients, for certain mental health conditions, including depression that hasn’t responded well to conventional treatment.
With IV ketamine therapy, the medication goes directly into a vein through an intravenous line. That route lets the clinical team control the amount and the pace precisely throughout the session, and adjust if needed.
One thing worth saying up front: IV ketamine isn’t right for everyone. Before anyone starts treatment, a clinical evaluation determines whether it’s an appropriate option based on symptoms, medical history, current medications, and individual factors. If it isn’t a fit for you, we’d rather tell you that than take your money.
You can read more about how the treatment works on our ketamine therapy page.
What Happens Before Your First Infusion
Nothing starts with an infusion. It starts with a conversation.
Your provider reviews your medical and psychiatric history, your current symptoms, the medications you’re on, what you’ve already tried, and anything else relevant to your health. It’s also your chance to ask why ketamine, what the risks are, what the alternatives look like, and what you should realistically expect. Bring your questions written down if that helps. Most people forget half of them otherwise.
You’ll also get preparation instructions covering food, fluids, and medications. Follow them closely.
And one thing that matters: don’t stop or change any prescribed medication on your own before treatment. That decision belongs to the provider who prescribed it.
What Happens on the Day of Treatment
When you arrive, the clinical team gets you settled and takes baseline measurements before anything begins. If you slept badly, or you’re anxious, or something happened that morning, say so. It’s useful information, not a complaint.
An IV goes in so the medication can be delivered directly into your bloodstream. Placement takes a moment and feels like any other IV you’ve had. From there, your clinical team monitors you and stays available for the duration of the infusion.
We give infusions in private treatment rooms, and the detail behind that is worth knowing: our clinic was designed by nurses. That shows up in ways you notice once you’re in the chair. Six private rooms, so nobody is recovering in a hallway. Reclining chairs instead of exam tables. Bose headphones, warm blankets, refreshments afterward. People who’ve spent careers sitting with patients during difficult hours tend to build rooms that account for it.
Dress comfortably, in soft layers. Bodies sometimes run cool during an infusion.
What Does IV Ketamine Feel Like?
Honestly, it varies more than almost anything else about the treatment.
Some people describe deep relaxation, a sense of distance from their surroundings, or an unusually introspective state. Time can feel stretched or compressed. Thoughts can take shapes they don’t normally take.
Other people notice dizziness, nausea, anxiety, changes in blood pressure, or other temporary effects. Those happen, and they’re precisely why someone is monitoring you rather than leaving you alone with it. If you get uncomfortable, say so. You don’t need to wait it out politely.
Here’s something people rarely hear: what you feel during an infusion doesn’t tell you whether the treatment is working. Some people have vivid sessions and see little change. Others feel like not much happened and respond well. Try not to grade it while you’re in the chair.
How Long Does It Take, and Can You Drive Home?
The infusion itself is only part of the visit. There’s preparation beforehand and an observation period afterward, so plan on the appointment taking longer than the treatment time alone. Your specific timing depends on your treatment plan and how you respond.
As for driving: no. Not that day.
Ketamine can temporarily affect your perception, coordination, judgment, and reaction time, and you’re not always the best judge of when those have fully returned. Arrange your ride before the day of treatment, not the morning of. Then follow the post treatment instructions your clinical team gives you, and hold off on anything requiring full alertness until your provider says you’re clear.
Block off the rest of your afternoon while you’re at it.
How Quickly Does Ketamine Work for Depression?
Part of why ketamine has drawn so much attention is that some patients notice changes sooner than they typically would with a traditional antidepressant.
That said, response varies considerably. Some people notice something after the first infusion or two. Others move further into the initial series before anyone can tell whether it’s helping. And some people don’t experience meaningful improvement at all.
Ketamine isn’t a guaranteed fix, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. It’s an option worth evaluating, with real evidence behind it and real limits.
Does Ketamine Replace Therapy or Psychiatric Care?
Generally, no.
Depression rarely responds to one thing in isolation. Treatment often involves some combination of psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management, lifestyle changes, and interventions like ketamine. Patients receiving infusions here typically continue working with their own therapist and prescribing psychiatrist throughout, and that continuity matters.
Think of ketamine as one component of a broader plan rather than a replacement for the care you already have in place. If you’re being treated for depression elsewhere, keep those appointments.
Questions Worth Asking Before You Start
Ask about benefits and risks. Ask about side effects and how the clinic handles them. Ask about alternatives, including whether Spravato might suit you better, since it’s an intranasal esketamine product with FDA approval for treatment resistant depression and different requirements around supervision, as Harvard Health explains. Ask about frequency, cost, and transportation.
Then ask what happens if you’re uncomfortable mid infusion. The answer tells you a lot about a clinic.
Understanding the treatment is part of making a real decision about it, not an obstacle to getting started.
Common Questions
How many treatments will I need? Most patients start with a series of six infusions, typically spread over about two to three weeks. After that initial series, your provider reassesses how you’ve responded and whether maintenance infusions make sense going forward. Some people need them periodically, others go longer stretches between. Your schedule depends on your response, how well you tolerate treatment, and what you and your provider decide together.
Can I eat beforehand? Follow the specific instructions from your clinical team, which typically address food and fluids in the hours before your appointment.
Can I talk to staff during the infusion? Yes. Someone is with you and available throughout.
Is ketamine FDA approved for depression? Ketamine is approved as an anesthetic. Its use for depression is off label. Spravato, an intranasal esketamine product, carries approval for treatment resistant depression under specific conditions.
How soon can I be seen? For appropriate patients, appointments are sometimes available within days, including next day availability depending on the schedule.
IV Ketamine Therapy in San Diego
If depression has outlasted the treatments you’ve already tried, the first step isn’t an infusion. It’s an evaluation to find out whether IV ketamine makes sense for you at all.
Resilience Integrative Wellness is veteran owned and operated, with a clinical team bringing more than sixty years of combined medical experience and a space built by nurses who understand what it’s like to sit in that chair.
Resilience Integrative Wellness
6719 Alvarado Road, Suite 201
San Diego, CA 92120
(619) 535-5528
Schedule your consultation
Medically reviewed by Deomel Soriano, PMHNP-BC, RN, MSN, Resilience Integrative Wellness.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice. The use of intravenous ketamine for depression is an off label use. Individual responses vary and no outcome is guaranteed. Treatment decisions should be made with a qualified healthcare professional. If you’re experiencing a mental health emergency, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
