Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsey Garrett.
Hi Lindsey, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
On February 4, 2018, I had my first Ketamine treatment, followed by five more infusions to finish my loading dose protocol. I was at the end of my rope, not convinced I could go on, and within the third treatment, my symptoms disappeared. I had been battling symptoms of increasingly severe fatigue, migraines, body pains, and many other very general symptoms for months now, and I was at the point where I could not work or take care of myself or my dogs. I was desperate and had tried many different treatments and medications for the depression I had developed. I lost my ability to go out with friends, lost the ability to walk my dogs more than half a block, and had mental fog so bad that I couldn’t remember co-workers’ names. I had been misdiagnosed with Fibromyalgia and was told my symptoms were psychosomatic, which for the medical community, which I was a part of, basically means there’s nothing wrong with you, and it’s all in your head. I had a weekend job at a medical spa in Beverly Hills and started working alongside a physician who recognized my symptoms as Lyme Disease and encouraged me to get tested. I went to my physician and asked for a test, and he assured me there was no Lyme Disease in California. When I told him I had been bitten by two ticks when I went home to Arkansas recently, he said it was improbable and sent me home to make another appointment with the psychiatrist. It took multiple visits and me bugging him until he did it to get the test, and when he finally caved, the result came back positive. All of my symptoms made sense for the first time in years, and it was a flood of relief to have a possibility of healing. It had been four years since my tick bite, and I had not gotten any appropriate treatment. Thankfully I found a specialist in Boston, which put me on a treatment plan of multiple antibiotics for about a year. I finally found some relief from the horrible disease. It took years, but now I am back to working and about 75% where I was before.
I continued to get ketamine treatments every six weeks to maintain my depression symptoms and even finished my MBA in May. When I thought about what I wanted to do, I kept returning to ketamine therapy. I had visited many different ketamine clinics in the US while traveling nursing during the Covid pandemic, and I thought about opening my clinic. I believe I had a view that most other providers don’t have the privilege of having. I have been an ICU RN for over 17 years and have personally had success with ketamine therapy. Ketamine saved my life, and I want to help others out of their despair. Everyone deserves to be happy and given the tools to have a good life, and I want to be a person that gives them those tools.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely not been smooth sailing, but I believe it’s going to be worth the wait. I was warned it be hard to start a business, but I didn’t realize it would be this hard. There was a nationwide ketamine shortage that started 2 days before we could order ketamine, so that put us 2 months behind. Then my medical Director abruptly quit a month and a half after we opened. But I still have hope. I’m not a quitter, and I will continue to get back up.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve been an ICU RN for over 17 years, and we ICU nurses have been known to be a particular type of nurse. At Dreamscape, we go above and beyond for patient monitoring and emergency protocols. I require any clinician working in my clinic to be BLS and ACLS certified, so if there were an emergency, it would be handled quickly. I really believe that making the experience of getting ketamine therapy can be an outstanding experience if the setting is right. Usually, after the first treatment, patients’ anxiety is mostly gone, and they can enjoy the following experiences. Ketamine is a mind-healing drug, but the wrong environment can lessen the benefits. I work with each patient and give them autonomy in their healing; they get choices on dosing and many other things like ketamine-specific music, etc. I believe we have been able to use so much fewer anxiety medications with our particular patients due to the relaxing atmosphere and having myself, someone that has been through years of ketamine therapy, managing the process and holding their hands through the entire process. I even WD 40’d all the door clasps so I could sneak in and not disturb the patients during therapy. The experience is an essential part of the treatment, and I try to think of everything to make it a more pleasant experience.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I’ve always been a risk-taker. My first trip out of the country alone was to Ethiopia on a medical trip where I knew no one. Then in 2010, I moved straight to LA from a little town in Northwest Arkansas and thrived. I loved everything about the big city. I’ve taken travel nursing contracts all over the US during Covid by myself and, of course, my 2 dogs. I’ve always enjoyed hard things.
Pricing:
- IV Ketamine -Pain $800
- IV Ketamine- Mood- $450
- IV Vitamins- 150
- We give 25% discounts for veterans, healthcare workers, and seniors.
Contact Info:
- Website: Dreamscapeketamine.com
- Instagram: Dreamscape_ketamine
- Facebook: Dreamscape_ketamine
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dreamscape-ketamine/
- Youtube: Dreamscape_ketamine
- Yelp: Dreamscape Ketamine
