Over the recent past, Ketamine therapy has swiftly gained popularity for the treatment of depression and other mental disorders. As with any new treatment option there are questions and concerns including the most frequently asked question – “Does one get high after taking ketamine therapy?” In this article, we will cover everything one needs to know about Ketamine therapy including its effect, purpose, how it works, and the expected outcome. The purpose of this article is also to answer the psychological aspects and the possibility of feeling ‘high’, some real-life case studies as well as some questions and answers to make the picture clearer.
What Is Ketamine?
Ketamine is a medication that was developed as an anesthetic for surgeries performed during the 1960s, especially within the veterinary and medicine industry. It is known to have dissociative properties which basically means that has the ability to make a person feel out of their body and out of their environment. In this current age though, it is a rather different tale, as it has been highlighted to assist individuals who suffer from depression, PTSD and anxiety.
The most common forms of ketamine are racemic ketamine, which is given intravenously in most clinics, as well as esketamine, which is a nasal spray. Both are effective for mental health treatment, however, intravenous administration of ketamine still seems to be the most researched and the most practised.
Does Ketamine Therapy Get You High?
Answering the question, ‘Do I get high on ketamine?’ – yes, you can feel elevated om the ketamine therapy. But this feeling is quite different than what comes with drug use recreationally. The general idea of being high has something to do with a strong feeling of, detachment, hallucinations and euphoria, whereby one is in an ecstatic state. The use of ketamine in therapy is much different. Under a clinic, dedicated professionals in a respectful manner administer the drug with a clear objective – to change the person’s state for therapeutic purposes.
A patient under ketamine therapy can also feel like they are floating or have the feeling of the body being separated from the rest of the environment i.e. the feeling of dissociation. It is adaptable and quite common as it makes the patient feel like they are in a trance. The feeling is constructed as a result of barriers consisting of depression and anxiety, which attempts to help the patient ponder and feel their reflections freely.
Dosages and Sub-Use: The Key Differences
Use Cases determine the overall effects one will feel post having ketamine with the primary difference being the dose. Medical dosages are remarkably less in quantity and are controlled dosages compared to the recreational dosages. The focus while using medical doses is not to get high but to attain an altered state of mind which helps in digging deep into oneself for healing purposes.
Those people who use ketamine recreationally often take it in higher doses, which can assist them in enhancing hallucinatory experiences while enjoying some level of dissociation, however, it is advised to avoid such use as medical ketamine is prescribed in much lower doses which are the complete inverse in terms of the objective when getting high.
How Does it Work? What can one expect after using it?
The first dose of this drug will be adequate to tell you how active it will keep your brain particularly since it will get your synaptic activities in check. Synaptic plasticity describes the ability of the brain to learn information and form new synapses. Brain neuroplasticity is built-in by Shallow and Core Disciplines, and is especially necessary for overcoming negative thinking patterns, depression, and addiction.
Another interesting factor is the effect of ketamine on NMDA receptors, which has been shown to lead the release of additional neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. These changes in brain chemistry are important in enhancing a person’s mood as well as alleviating depression and anxiety.
The Ketamine Experience: What to Expect
A typical session of ketamine therapy lasts 45 minutes to an hour. Medical personnel supervise the experience in order to make sure the patients are safe and comfortable. Often, the treatment is provided to the patients when they lie back with an eye mask on and gentle music comes from headphones.
During the treatment, a patient may experience a range of sensations – time distortion, out-of-body experience or even visual imagery, which are commonly referred to as ‘psychedelic’ experiences. It is worth mentioning that such sensations are not targeted in the therapy, but rather, they are put in the category of experiences related with the therapy that result in the emotional floods.
Most patients do not describe the ‘high’ associated with the use of recreational drugs and that is considered euphoric in type. Rather, they experience a mature, insightful, or even neutralization of their negative feelings for the time, allowing them to adopt new approaches in dealing with their challenges.
Understanding the Relevance of Ketamine Therapy in Mental Health
Depression and Ketamine Therapy
To people with treatment-resistant depression, ketamine can seem revolutionary. Surveys have shown that a good number of patients undergoing ketamine therapy may feel improvement in depressive symptoms within hours after treatment as opposed to weeks that antidepressants may take. This is a major shift from what is currently understood about treatment with medication.
Anxiety and PTSD
Apart from depression, ketamine therapy also comes as a potential treatment for anxiety and PTSD. People suffering from PTSD have had much success in treating it with ketamine for the main reason that it helps stop hyper sensitive and negative emotions from the person which calms the patient down.
An instance in the paper demonstrated the case of a 32-year-old war veteran suffering from psptd that was treated with ketamine over six sessions. By the end, he stated that he suffered decreased nightmares and flashbacks along with other symptoms, lowering the severity of PTSD. The research highlighted the need for a restructuring of the processes that were involved in such beneficial changes.
Case Study: A Journey with Jessica
For Jessica, being a 45-year-old woman and a mother of two, life was challenging. For over a decade, she was a patient of severe depression and it had strongly taken over her life. After undergoing multiple medications and even electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), nothing eased her symptoms. Eventually, her doctor advised her to have ketamine therapy if that suits her. Over the next eighteen days, Jessica underwent a series of six ketamine infusions and to her surprise and delight, she said she felt the huge faintness in depression after the sessions ended.
Jessica said she could finally really feel the essence of hope as she was ready to tackle the world again after so many years. She added that the experience of ketamine for her was a little weird but then it totally changed how she was thinking as it was all about freeing herself from the grasp of depression and not so much getting high.
Ketamine Therapy: Benefits and Risks
The most crucial aspect of having ketamine therapy for depression or anxiety Is the unparalleled relief it provides after administration. Within a matter of hours the negative feelings of depression are lifted and one can feel themselves again. Which is why those who have handful of antidepressants do find ketamine relieve their anxiety and worries
However, If one does with dissociation, they might want to be careful to use ketamine therapy
Nausea and dizziness: Some patients, for example, state that they have a feeling of nausea or feel dizzy during or after the completion of the treatment. These side effects are commonly treated by medical professionals with a prescription for anti-nausea medications.
Increased Blood Pressure Levels for a Short Duration: Since ketamine has been known to increase levels of blood pressure for a short while, it does become important that there is regular supervision from the healthcare providers.
Clearing Out the Confusion: Ketamine or Psychedelics
Because of the dissociative aspect of ketamine, it is often said to be similar to other psychedelics, LSD or psilocybin. Ketamine is however not a classical psychedelic. Even though it causes changes in perception and even has some amount of self-reflection, the rationale of action and the drugs impact and tasks are totally different.
The ‘high’ feeling that one feels when undergoing treatment with ketamine is quite dissimilar to that of the classical psychedelics. In using ketamine, most patients want to be withdrawn into themselves, rather than to feel pleasure or euphoria and to be detached from reality. It should be stressed that, even though the experiences undergone during ketamine therapy are managed and controlled, they are in their nature different from use of psychedelics for fun, because they are for therapeutic reasons.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can you get high off of ketamine?
Some of the by-products of this type of therapy include feelings which may be as dissociative in nature, but which are interpreted by people as ‘high’. In a way, yes and no. It does not equate with the use of the drug for pleasure. In a respect the reverse is true by using plenty of them, the experiences that a patient has are targeted at achieving therapy and not pleasure.
2. How effective is ketamine therapy and for how long does its effect persist?
The immediate dissociative effects of the therapy massaged the patient for an hour or two after treatment. But the anti depressant effects, if one was to say last, would be for days weeks in some or most, because all people and the treatment protocol varies.
3. Can ketamine therapy be considered safe?
The controlled infusion of ketamine therapy into the body through IV is considered safe and sound when trained professionals have sufficient supervision. But it is not for everyone except those that do not have-controlled hypertension, asthma, and importantly substance abuse history.
4. For the treatment of depression, how many ketamine therapy sessions are needed?
A lot but not all would start with six sessions in the first week then proceed for the next two to three weeks until they start feeling positive. Then would begin re-assessments and when needed maintenance.
5. Can someone become dependent on Ketamine Therapy?
During therapy it is used as self-medication, often at a controlled quantity. While it is known to have a potential for abuse, its dependency risk becomes low. Providing it on an uncontrolled basis would increase the risk of abuse and hence people wanting to use ketamine therapy are put through strict selection tests.
6. What do they do during when you are under ketamine therapy?
One will be in a relaxed environment while undergoing the therapy, usually with an eye shield and noise-canceling headsets. A qualified staff member will supervise you during the whole process. As you are engaged continuously with your therapist, some out-of-body experience, hallucinations and the feeling of time slip are also most likely to occur.
7. What is the role of ketamine in treatment of depression?
Ketamine does so by acting antagonistically on the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor or NMDA receptor which results in a greater degree of synaptic plasticity and new healthy synapses developing within the depressive patient’s brain. This impedes the vicious cycle of depression.
8. Is there any evidence that ketamine therapy is worked for anxiety?
Research has shown that Ketamine can be useful in treating anxiety and hence its self-administration can be moderated with the help of calmness brought on through the sense of relaxation it brings along.
9. Does PTSD need ketamine therapy?
It is likely true that PTSD symptoms including flashbacks, recurring unpleasant dreams, and hyperarousal can be reduced or improved with the use of Ketamine therapy, as it allows the patient to deal with the trauma at hand but in an emotionally muted state, which helps in the reduction of the PTSD symptoms.
10. When does depression subside after the implementation of ketamine treatment?
The course of restoration begins as quick as a few hours after the initial treatment, making many patients consider Ketamine stronger than other common antidepressants.
11. May driving be a possibility post a ketamine therapy?
Post therapy driving is not advisable as this can lead to the driver dissociating while controlling the vehicle. Thus always assist yourself with a transport system after therapy.
12. How much time do ketamine and serotonin based antidepressants take to show the results?
Treatment resistant depression can be handled with a hint of ketamine as it targets Glutamate rather than Serotonin enabling depression to easing off without taking months.
13. Will my insurance reimburse me for treatment with ketamine therapy?
Because the industry is new, it is variable, but some insurance providers offer coverage for depression resistant treatment, check with the insurance company but it is common for ketamine therapy to not be insured.
14. A couple of long term adverse events which are of concern in the papers that have emerged post providing ketamine therapy lap raise the important question.
Continues where ketamine therapy is effective. But there are claims that it should be taken with caution as it could lead to adverse events in the long term such as an adverse effect on cognitive ability if used with very high doses and over a prolonged period, or bladder dysfunction as well. But for a long term safe treatment wish of healthcare providers is essential.
15. In light of the optimism surrounding the use of ketamine therapy there are some impressive findings in literature in terms of its effect especially on depression which is resistant to treatment with other modalities and medications.
Like we have observed that nearly 70% of cases tend to have their symptoms improved significantly after using ketamine on the average. This is a statistic that is commonly cited in studies conducted on ketamine.
Conclusion
Use of ket fertile place depression, anxiety,dst,patogen civilians. Now its true that feeling of being intoxicated is experienced but under controlled circumstances, and it is clearly not fun seeking as one would want to use it on some one who is an abuser. However apart from seeking fun, have set dose, as well as approachable goals. D steam therapy for use of mental toilelation is unique especially for patients who have been unable to heal from traditional measures.
If you are considering ketamine therapy then for this first a consultation with a healthcare provider who can run the tests to check whether that is an option for you would be a first step. Getting mentally well is individual journey and there are several steps that bend it , many patients resort to using ketamine to accelerate the process.