Help What are your experiences with ketamine as a depression treatment?

[FieldsofLavender]

My psychiatrist heavily recommended I use it, but as someone with a dissosiative disorder and hallucinations, is it something I should worry about? I don't really know anything about Ketamine...

 

[western_heart]

I don't experience hallucinations but I do have DID and have benefitted greatly from ketamine. I started out doing it with research chemicals I ordered online but now I have it prescribed by a psychiatrist. I hide the level of dissociation I experience from the doctor who prescribes it, he is not aware I have a dissociative disorder, only PTSD. I don't know how he would respond if he knew about the other diagnosis.

It can be really rough - memories have come back as a result for ketamine use that I didn't know about. I've needed a lot of support through those moments when things connect inside my head.

 

[gnomes]

Ketamine is highly addictive and can cause bladder problems in the future. Depending on the severity of DID/hallucinatory symptoms, I'd steer clear of anything which would exacerbate body load/come up anxiety. Try working through mediating those things first and only experiment with these substances when you have an experienced tripsitter.

 

[JuliaOnTheNet]

Ketamine is highly addictive and can cause bladder problems in the future. Depending on the severity of DID/hallucinatory symptoms, I'd steer clear of anything which would exacerbate body load/come up anxiety. Try working through mediating those things first and only experiment with these substances when you have an experienced tripsitter.

it really depends on the dose and frequency. Bladder problems I haven't seen in any literature about K treatment for depression even in studies with rather high dosages of 100+mg used.

A for me I started IV ketamine and then switches to IM at dosages of about .75-1mg/kg (0.34-0.46 mg/lbs) every 4 days and it really worked for me after my second shot and onwards.
My SI went down a lot and I was able to handle stuff that really brought me down a lot better.
Eventually I stopped and landed here but I'm giving Ketamine another try and so far it's not really doing much after my second dose

 

[gnomes]

it really depends on the dose and frequency. Bladder problems I haven't seen in any literature about K treatment for depression even in studies with rather high dosages of 100+mg used.

A for me I started IV ketamine and then switches to IM at dosages of about .75-1mg/kg (0.34-0.46 mg/lbs) every 4 days and it really worked for me after my second shot and onwards.
My SI went down a lot and I was able to handle stuff that really brought me down a lot better.
Eventually I stopped and landed here but I'm giving Ketamine another try and so far it's not really doing much after my second dose

Plenty of evidence regarding bladder problems from general ketamine use. There isn't enough research yet to definitively say what amount causes long term damage. Unfortunately a lot of cases like yours exist where you stop the ket treatment, and depression relapses happen. Psychedelics like psilo or LSD are more helpful without needing consistent use. Perception + neuromixing + integration = less painful feels over time.

 

[LaVieEnRose]

It didn't help me but I'd like to think your doctor wouldn't push it on if there was serious danger....I understand the doses are much smaller and controlled than in recreational use.

 

[western_heart]

Psychedelics like psilo or LSD are more helpful without needing consistent use. Perception + neuromixing + integration = less painful feels over time.

Not for me.

Also shrooms and LSD are not really prescribed or administered in a clinical setting. Ketamine is, remember the OP is taking about a psychiatrist recommending the use of ketamine

 

[JuliaOnTheNet]

Plenty of evidence regarding bladder problems from general ketamine use. There isn't enough research yet to definitively say what amount causes long term damage. Unfortunately a lot of cases like yours exist where you stop the ket treatment, and depression relapses happen. Psychedelics like psilo or LSD are more helpful without needing consistent use. Perception + neuromixing + integration = less painful feels over time.

general ketamine (ab)use is something different though. Like my boyfriend rails lines of 400mg and on the height of his use finished 2 grams in one night. And even at those amounts he didn't encounter bladder issues, though he didn't do it daily.

70mg every 4 days would make a gram last 57 days, so almost two full months and unless you are really unlucky and prone to Ket toxicity any damage is negligible. Also you have to do a risk/reward calculation. If you don't want to die any possible complications stand opposite to having a vastly increased quality of life which outweighs the negatives by far.

btw I will gladly answer any questions relating to K use, can give advice with IM injections (and IV but I wouldn't recommend it) and if there is interest I could do more research and write a guide about Ketamine

 

[gnomes]

Not for me.

Also shrooms and LSD are not really prescribed or administered in a clinical setting. Ketamine is, remember the OP is taking about a psychiatrist recommending the use of ketamine

What exactly didn't work for you? What was the setting/intention? Were there trip sitters or qualified people there? How did your integration plans go? What dosage did you take? Were there other substances taken in parallel? How old were you when you took it? I am not saying psychedelics are a cure all for mental anguish. I am there are more studies out there about it working on a longer term basis than ketamine. Every treatment has risks and consequences.

To be anecdotal here, SSRIs have also been prescribed by medical professionals and shown to increase suicidality. There are clinical settings outside of the US where psilo is administered. I'll be forward here in saying this: ketamine is great for acute treatment of a really intense episode but it is not a cognitive bandaid for serotonin receptors.

general ketamine (ab)use is something different though. Like my boyfriend rails lines of 400mg and on the height of his use finished 2 grams in one night. And even at those amounts he didn't encounter bladder issues, though he didn't do it daily.

70mg every 4 days would make a gram last 57 days, so almost two full months and unless you are really unlucky and prone to Ket toxicity any damage is negligible. Also you have to do a risk/reward calculation. If you don't want to die any possible complications stand opposite to having a vastly increased quality of life which outweighs the negatives by far.

btw I will gladly answer any questions relating to K use, can give advice with IM injections (and IV but I wouldn't recommend it) and if there is interest I could do more research and write a guide about Ketamine

Ketamine itself is a slippery slope for tolerance and eventually addiction. I also have experience with it. I've seen multiple people overdose. Just because your partner hasn't experienced any negative bladder problems doesn't mean others haven't or won't in the future. It absolutely depends on the specific treatment plan made by OP and their provider.

 

[discotastrophe]

My psychiatrist heavily recommended I use it, but as someone with a dissosiative disorder and hallucinations, is it something I should worry about? I don't really know anything about Ketamine...

i did a course of ketamine treatments, one treatment every 1-4 weeks for a little bit, starting at a dose of 0.75mg/kg and going up to 0.85 and then 0.95 over the course of my treatments. for me it was pretty helpful in neutralizing the worst parts, ie that "black hole" you sink into with depression sometimes. i had less suicidal and self harming thoughts and haven't self harmed in a while at this point. problem is, when you stop doing it, after a while the effects wear off. as long as you had periodic "boosters" you'd probably be safe from that however. i'm talking maybe every 2-3 months for the forseeable future after your original course of ketamine treatment. i'm not totally sure how it would affect someone with a dissociative disorder, i suspect i could have one but i also have OCD which tends to manifest as me obsessing over whether or not i have mental disorders so i very well might not. however when i took ketamine last, (oral, i usually do IV but oral was the only way available last time) during the course of the drug i was able to see and communicate with my alters more than usual, and see my headspace, so it's possible it could help with internal communication. with the IV ketamine however it's a lot more all consuming and it's honestly hard to remember that you have a brain and body at all at a high enough dose, as everything structural that you know about yourself, your brain, the world, just melts away and you become one with the endless purple black swirling that is the universe. honestly a beautiful experience. so, take all that information as you will and i wish you good luck in your recovery.

 

[LocalAngel]

Taking any dissociative can make dissociation worse- however in ketamine's case, it's much less of a possibility. There's no real reason not to try it at least once IMO - can help a lot with PTSD. It's also important to note that it is unlikely to make hallucinations worse. But even if you did hallucinate, you wouldn't care too much due to... well, the dissociation.

Do keep in mind the effects will be temporary. You may get a glimpse of what can be, and how bright the future could look- but that doesn't mean it will last.

 

[Mr. Squiggles]

My psychiatrist heavily recommended I use it, but as someone with a dissosiative disorder and hallucinations, is it something I should worry about? I don't really know anything about Ketamine...

i have a history of drug abuse. but ketamine was one of the most pleasent experiences. i think the healing effect resembles something dissosiative. that is not necessarily a bad thing.