I’ve been meaning to make a post reviewing my ketamine experience for a few weeks. I started taking ketamine on 01/21/2023, so almost a month ago, via Joyous, for treatment resistant depression and PMDD. I’ve been struggling with this for around 15 years and have tried tons of antidepressants and talk therapy to no avail. I currently take ketamine with Wellbutrin and Prozac.

Why I went with Joyous: Price point and convenience. The idea of infusions sounded alluring because it seems like less of a long term endeavor with faster results, but I can’t afford the infusion options near me. I didn’t want to deal with going to a clinic for Spravato, or having to have a “trip buddy” like some of the other at-home services require. Joyous fell within my budget and allowed me to explore ketamine more independently than other options.

The bad: I had a rough start with Joyous. It took a week to be seen by a provider, and a few weeks to get my medication due to a “prescription issue” that was never explained to me. The customer support process was frustrating, and I think if Joyous wants to continue to offer support via texting, they need to get better at replying within 24 hours. Otherwise, stick with email support where it’s more expected for responses to take 48 hours. Some people seem to receive responses very quickly from them, and others have similar experiences to what I had. The inconsistency isn’t a great look, especially when ketamine is a “last resort” treatment for a lot of us who are already feeling tired, down, and hopeless.

The good: Ketamine has been an incredibly effective treatment for my depression so far. Within the first week, I noticed that I could get out of bed almost immediately after waking up. This in itself was life changing for me, as one of my worst depression symptoms was that it took an insane amount of energy for me to get up. Like, it would take hours to just be able to stand up, and I would often have to call out of work because of it. I turned to ketamine after quitting my last job because the depression prevented me from getting up and going to work, so this was really big for me. Over the past month, I’ve noticed my energy level has increased a lot and I find myself smiling during the day for no reason. I don’t feel manic or like a new person in a way that feels foreign and odd, just like I’m finally “whole” again and can exist as a functional human.

Dose/experience: I started on 15 mg a day, and am now on 80 mg a day, which seems to be an ideal dose for me. I take it pretty much every day, and really look forward to my ketamine time. I don’t trip or have any visuals from the ketamine, but feel super relaxed and comfortable. The taste hasn’t bothered me at all (I use the mint troches), and I don’t experience any nausea. I do feel a little light headed sometimes, but not in a sickly way- just a nice buzz.

TLDR: Daily low-dose ketamine therapy has been an amazing treatment for my depression so far, and I would recommend trying it to those in a similar predicament. Joyous can improve when it comes to CS, but the affordability and convenience compared to other providers makes it something I would recommend regardless.