Niki’s seizures are a type of functional neurological disorder (FND) – when the nervous system and the way the brain sends and receives signals malfunctions
A woman from Canada on the brink of suicide said experimental ketamine therapy saved her life.
Niki, 52, suffers from ‘drug resistant’ depression, meaning conventional treatments have failed to ease her persistent depression.
She also suffered from epileptic seizures, but was repeatedly told by doctors that the cause was fear and that nothing could help her.
Niki told DailyMail.com, “I was utterly desperate — I would have tried anything. I didn’t want to live anymore.’
In 2018, Niki was having two full-body seizures a day, sometimes lasting up to eight hours.
She said, “I started having strange body movements that I couldn’t control. I remember sitting on my bed one day, and I had to go to the toilet, and I couldn’t move my legs. They just wouldn’t move. Suddenly they started shaking so bad… it was the strangest sensation.
“After that I started having really strange facial movements that I couldn’t stop, like my face would just completely distort. I didn’t know what was going on.’
Niki’s seizures are a type of functional neurological disorder (FND) – when the nervous system and the way the brain sends and receives signals malfunctions. Her condition was caused by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) arising from childhood and adult trauma.
She knew nothing about ketamine, a horse sedative that became rave drugs, but was introduced to it by Dr. Evan Lewis, who treated her daughter for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) with medical cannabis.
Dr. Lewis is a neurologist at Numinus, a Canadian company that offers psychedelic treatments for a variety of conditions.
At the suggestion of Dr. Lewis, Niki and her husband traveled two hours to Toronto in October 2022 to get her first dose of ketamine.
Niki’s ketamine therapy session began with taking a ketamine pill, followed by an intranasal dose of more ketamine. The therapy lasted about 90 minutes, during which she lay on a couch with her eyes covered and listened to relaxing music (stock photo)
At New York ketamine clinics visited by DailyMail.com, patients undergoing ketamine treatments recline in a leather armchair that resembles a SpaceX device designed by Elon Musk, a feature intended to cocoon the user and promote introspection
In Canada, ketamine is regulated under Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which means it is illegal to sell, possess or produce ketamine unless it is for medical, scientific or industrial purposes.
In the US, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classified the drug as a Schedule III controlled substance. Possession of these substances without a prescription is illegal.
In the 1970s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of prescription ketamine as an anesthetic for patients, creating a loophole for healthcare providers to prescribe the drug off-label to treat other conditions, such as depression.
Off-label prescribing is when a doctor gives you a drug to treat a condition that is different from what it was approved for.
When preliminary research showed that the drug could be an effective antidepressant, doctors started using it for depression and clinics in the US that offered ketamine therapy started popping up.
Before Niki discovered ketamine therapy, she had severe seizures that took her up to 48 hours to recover from. She had been to the emergency room several times, but the doctors couldn’t find anything with her and blamed it on fear.
‘I’ve had that… I can’t tell you how many times. It was really hurtful, not that I was looking for something that wasn’t right with me, but it was just an answer I’d heard over and over, but I thought, well (why) can’t anyone help me then?”
In a clinic treatment room, patients spend an hour wearing a sleep mask listening to theta brain waves, which are the dominant frequency in healing, high creative states, and remembering emotional experiences. Patients reported feeling “stoned” and many said they had out-of-body experiences
Niki knew nothing about psychedelics, but was introduced to ketamine therapy by a doctor, a former equine sedative turned rave drug
“I thought I had Parkinson’s because that’s what it looked like. I would tremble like a poor Parkinson’s patient. I also thought maybe I had MS because then I got to the point where I couldn’t walk anymore.’
At one point she was taking 11 pills a day.
“Three of them were benzodiazepines… I was on anti-seizure drugs, a mood stabilizer, an antidepressant, muscle relaxants, and nothing worked. Honestly, looking back, I think I’ve only gotten sicker.’
“I was like a zombie,” she said.
When a neurologist in the emergency room told Niki she had FND, she said, “I can’t help it. There is no treatment; there is no help.’
However, after just one ketamine-assisted therapy session, she went nine days without a seizure.
Niki’s ketamine therapy session began with taking a ketamine pill, followed by an intranasal dose of more ketamine. The therapy lasted about 90 minutes, during which she lay on a couch with her eyes covered and listened to relaxing music.
“The tension on my shoulders has eased a bit. I was no longer afraid,” she said.
“Then I went right into another state of consciousness. I felt so comfortable and I felt safe.’
She added, “It was weird because I couldn’t control my thoughts. I just went to this beautiful place where I had been before (in meditation). I told dr. Lewis and Caitlin, the nurse, verbalized everything I saw and felt.
“It was actually very emotional, but not painful. It was just that it was beautiful. I felt free.’
After her first experience, Niki continued treatment once a week for three weeks, then every other week. Ten months later, she is still using only one pill as a maintenance dose once every two months.
She was able to return to work full-time a month after starting treatment.
Niki said, “My seizures dropped to probably 18 a month. From May I had eight a month.’
“I am not seizure free. But I function; I can help take care of my kids and run my business from home… I don’t know if I would be here, to be honest, if it weren’t for (Ketamine). Dr. Lewis gave me my life back.’