Psychedelic drugs are used to treat mental illness in East Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – In the 1970s, researchers began using MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, to treat patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.

However, last month a special trial for use in psychotherapy was submitted to the FDA, but it was not approved.

Something similar is actually happening right here in East Tennessee, and one patient credits the treatment with saving his life.

“If I had known that… this is not a sign of weakness, I might not have gotten to the point where death was the only option,” Dave Shell said.[But after ketamine infusions]I could breathe.”

The drug is often referred to as a tranquilizer for horses, but Shell said it saved his life, something he never thought possible.

“Ketamine does not have a positive reputation among law enforcement agencies,” he said.

As a former police officer, Shell experienced a variety of traumatic situations that led to a PTSD diagnosis that affected his speech, personality and mind. He didn't know how to cope.

“I fought it for six months. That was all I could do, fight,” he said. “But I was losing.”

After several unsuccessful treatments, he was referred to Katie Walker, executive director of the Revitalist Wellness Clinic in Knoxville.

“People don't have to do ketamine therapy for the rest of their lives,” Walker said. “That's the beauty of it. Those are the interventions we do.”

Walker said the psychedelic drug allows PTSD patients to see themselves differently and thus pinpoint the trigger for their traumatic reactions.

“They separate the emotion from the object,” she explained. “And right now in the area of ​​mental health, addiction and pain, we are unable to separate the emotion from the situation, and psychedelics and ketamine have that ability.”

That was exactly the case with Shell.

“It saved my life,” Shell said. “I always say that.”

Walker said the data shows that ketamine helps cure patients, but only when used correctly.

“The dose is not the dose needed for brain regeneration,” she explained. “So if you take ketamine incorrectly, your brain can actually deteriorate.”

Walker said many people who come in have a negative opinion about the treatment, but after seeing the results, they are more open-minded.

“You just have to research it,” Shell said. “They didn't just allow this ketamine facility to open without doing any research.”

Ketamine is not the only treatment available for PTSD, but for patients like Dave Shell, who had tried almost everything, there was finally hope.

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