Ketamine Addiction

Is Ketamine Addictive? 

How Addictive is Ketamine?

Higher doses (usually administered as injections) can produce the “K-hole” effect, where the user experiences what is often described as a near-death or out-of-body experience and feels separated from reality. The drug can cause numbness in its user, which increases the risk of accidents and serious injury.

Ketamine’s unpredictable nature makes it challenging for users to determine how much is too much. A small amount of ketamine can occasionally result in an overdose, especially if additional drugs or alcohol have been consumed. Because it is a Tranquilizer, a complete lack of mobility can occur; this is especially dangerous if the user cannot ask for aid. Many unintentional overdoses happen when a user tries to reach the “K-hole.” The main reason for death from a Ketamine overdose is respiratory failure.

Because Ketamine is a psychedelic and psychedelic substances have a reputation for being less habit-forming than other types of drugs, many individuals wrongly think that the drug is not addictive. Ketamine addiction is, unfortunately, quite dangerous, and using this drug can result in habitual patterns of drug-seeking behaviors that frequently appear when drug usage is stopped.

Can You Get Addicted to Ketamine?

You can easily get addicted to ketamine if you use it in high quantities and for a long time. Some people start taking ketamine as their preferred recreational club drug. Clubbers may seek a mild psychedelic experience, which is why ketamine and MDMA are often abused. Chronic drug usage, on the other hand, can lead to ketamine addiction. Why is Ketamine so addictive? The neurotransmitter glutamate is activated by ketamine in the frontal cortex of your brain. Additionally, it allows more synapses to form in the same location, allowing information to move throughout your brain.

Ketamine Treatment for Opioid Addiction

Recently, ketamine has attracted attention as a possible medication for reducing problematic alcohol and drug use. According to research [1] Ketamine has been shown to effectively prolong abstinence from alcohol and heroin in detoxified alcoholics and heroin-dependent individuals, respectively. Moreover, ketamine reduces the craving for and self-administration of cocaine in non-treatment-seeking cocaine users. However, further randomized controlled trials are urgently needed to confirm ketamine’s efficacy.

These studies have limitations, and more high-quality clinical research in humans is urgently needed to confirm that ketamine can help reduce relapse in people who have recently stopped using drugs. Ketamine is both a fascinating psychedelic and a medically accepted drug; if previous studies are replicated, ketamine is destined to become one of the most exciting directions in treating addiction.

Ketamine Treatment for Drug Addiction

Two clinical studies that focused on alcohol dependence and cocaine addiction, respectively, found that patients who received ketamine treatment in addition to counseling fared better than those who only received therapy.

The people who had cocaine addictions got ketamine through an IV for five days and five weeks of mindfulness relapse prevention therapy. The people dependent on alcohol got ketamine through an IV during the second week of a 5-week motivational enhancement therapy session. In both studies, the researchers concluded that ketamine lowered the chances of restarting or relapsing into addiction.

Is Ketamine Addictive When Used for Depression?

Even though ketamine has yet to be approved by the FDA for use in treating depression, patients are flocking to ketamine clinics to receive the treatment off-label. It provides fast relief, which is vitally important in cases where patients feel suicidal. For depressed patients who have tried all of the other anti-depressants available with no luck, ketamine offers new hope. 

The FDA hasn’t yet approved ketamine for use as an anti-depressant, but both Esketamine and Rapastinel (developed by Johnson & Johnson and Allergan, respectively) have been fast-tracked as breakthrough drugs. The demand for these two medications is projected to grow rapidly in the coming years. 

Doctors can only prescribe ketamine for depression off-label since ketamine has been FDA approved for use as an anesthetic, not as an anti-depressant. Researchers have cautioned doctors to avoid over-prescribing this drug because patients’ long-term health and well-being could be at risk. Ketamine has a high potential for abuse after all and experts claim that the evidence does not exist to prove that this drug is safe

Ketamine Addiction Side Effects

Ketamine drug causes users to have distorted perceptions of sight and sound and to feel disconnected and out of control. In addition, the use of the drug can impair an individual’s senses, judgment, and coordination for up to 24 hours after the drug is taken, even though the drug’s hallucinogenic effects usually last for only 45 to 90 minutes.

The use of ketamine has been associated with severe mental and physical problems. Ketamine addiction can cause:

A couple of minutes after taking the drug, the user may experience increased heart rate and blood pressure, gradually decreasing over the next 10 to 20 minutes. Ketamine drugs can make users unresponsive to stimuli. When in this state, users experience:

In addition to the risks associated with ketamine itself, individuals who use the drug may put themselves at risk of sexual assault. Sexual predators reportedly have used ketamine to hurt their intended victims, either by lacing innocent victims’ drinks with the drug or by offering ketamine to victims who consume the drug without understanding the effects, it will produce.

Ketamine Addiction Signs

Ketamine addiction symptoms are often easy for a user to recognize. As with most drug addictions, early detection is key to helping your loved one make a quick recovery. The longer a person uses ketamine, the more dangerous it is, and the more they are exposed to the risks of long-term abuse. The influence of ketamine over the brain and its impact on the body become more apparent the longer a person abuses it. The physical symptoms of ketamine abuse to look out for are as follows:

What is Ketamine Psychosis?

Ketamine recreational users and abusers frequently experience a range of symptoms that resemble psychosis or a psychotic episode. A ketamine user experiencing a psychotic episode may speak, believe, or act in ways that are inconsistent with reality. After taking the Ketamine, they were more likely to have disorganized thinking and may have had trouble trying to finish simple words.

Loss of connection to reality is a hallmark of psychosis. It’s possible for someone to have incorrect beliefs or delusions that are based on hallucinations. Their ability to perform at work, in the home, and in society is substantially impacted by ketamine psychosis. Psychosis sufferers frequently have poor physical conditions. The greater the psychotic symptoms are, the higher the related level of impairment. People frequently have difficulty telling the difference between psychotic disorders like bipolar disorder or other similar disorders and drug-induced psychosis. In the case of ketamine psychosis, intervening as quickly as possible with treatment provides the best long-term solution for the patient.

Are Ketamine Infusions Addictive?

What is Ketamine infusion? Ketamine infusions are delivered intravenously in a hospital or clinic setting and typically last around 40 minutes. It treats conditions like depression, anxiety, stress, chronic pain, and more. Ketamine infusion therapy helps with a number of psychiatric conditions, but it is most commonly used in those with treatment-resistant depression, a form of major depressive disorder. You will likely be diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression if you have tried more than two antidepressant treatments and have not responded adequately.

Is ketamine for depression addictive? It is thought that ketamine infusions work by inducing the production of glutamate, a neurotransmitter in the brain. Abnormal levels of glutamate have been linked with depression. The glutamate leads the brain to form new connections and repair damaged ones, increasing its adaptability.

According to the National Center on Biotechnology Information (NCBI) research, preclinical and clinical studies indicate that repeated treatment with low-dose ketamine infusions can have addictive properties and induce cognitive deficits.

• Animal studies suggest that adolescent and adult female rodents are more sensitive to ketamine’s abuse potential. In contrast, adolescent and mature male rodents are more susceptible to the memory-impairing effects following repeated ketamine exposure. 
• Furthermore, the presence of ovarian hormones enhances sensitivity to the abuse potential of low-dose ketamine. In humans, it remains unclear whether women are more sensitive to the antidepressant and addictive potential of ketamine since most studies only examine one dose (0.5 mg/kg, i.v.). 
• A clinical trial examining the effects of ketamine across a wide range of doses is currently underway, though, and should provide insight into any effect of gender on antidepressant response soon. In humans, it has been reported that men are more sensitive to the impairments ketamine causes on both episodic and semantic memory following repeated, low-dose infusions.

Treatment for Ketamine Addiction

First and foremost, if you think a loved one is abusing ketamine, you should research the drug and its associated addiction to understand better what your loved one needs. Next, you must plan an intervention to provide your loved one with options to battle their addiction in a safe and supportive environment. During this intervention, offer compassion and support instead of judgment. Lastly, show your support throughout the entire Ketamine treatment process.

Clearing ketamine from the body and overcoming ketamine withdrawal symptoms is the goal of medical detox, which is the first step of ketamine addiction treatment for ketamine addiction. Here at We Level Up NJ, a comprehensive team prescribing medications as part of our medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program aims to alleviate your ketamine withdrawal pains while monitoring your health 24 hours during the detox. We prioritize your safety and comfort because this is a fragile and challenging time for you.

Once detox is complete, a new doorway in Ketamine addiction treatment opens up, which is referred to as an inpatient drug rehab or residential level of care. Our residential care program slowly and effectively introduces the individual into an atmosphere of therapeutic growth, marked by master’s level therapists, clinicians, group counselors, psychiatrists, and a community of like-minded individuals with the same aim: to attain sobriety and live a great life.

Some of the many modalities applied and practiced within our residential treatment facility are: