Chicago doctor weighs in on effects of ketamine in wake of Matthew Perry's death

CHICAGO - Many of the headlines about Matthew Perry's cause of death focused on one thing – the drug ketamine, which is an anaesthetic.

It has become a popular recreational drug, often times called "Special K." It can be dangerous in the wrong setting, but one local doctor said there's more to the story when it comes to ketamine.

"I think that the way the story is reading right now is: it's misleading," said Dr. Abid Nazeer with Hopemark Health. He said while ketamine can be dangerous when used alone, unsupervised, it has also proven to be life-saving for many of his patients.

"It's meant to be supervised in a safe setting," said Nazeer.

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Patients at his clinics undergo ketamine infusions under the supervision of specialists who monitor heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing. They typically experience an altered state of consciousness, which he said gets at the root of their psychological conflicts.

"It causes your brain to become neuroplastic, which allows you to reshape it and remold it by building certain pathways again," said Nazeer.

While Nazeer does not support unsupervised home use of ketamine, especially near potentially deadly hazards like a hot tub, he doesn't want the public to get the wrong idea about the promise of the drug for people struggling with their mental health.

"Don't shy away from a treatment like this because of reading a headline like that. It's not giving the full picture," said Nazeer.

While Dr. Nazeer reports the overwhelming majority of his patients see positive outcomes, it's still a relatively new approach and not covered by insurance.