Ketamine

Has anyone tried it as a treatment?

[Sillysausage234]

No but had ketamine…loved it

[FindingTheAnswers in reply to Sillysausage234]

Just to be sure, you tried Ketamine as a recreational drug? If so, what did you experience?

[Sillysausage234 in reply to FindingTheAnswers]

Yes recreational…..like having exctasy and benzos…..really tranquil peace and love kinda feeing …..highly recommend any kind of treatment plan involving ketamine…..I hear it has great reviews…. For Treatment of depression/anxiety ….not available here in the uk unless you’re a horse in need of tranquility….

[FindingTheAnswers in reply to Sillysausage234]

Please bottle "really tranquil peace and love kinda feeling" and send to me. Just name your price. (It would be priceless for a lot of us).

I have had Ketamine for treatment of depression, but without positive results.

*To others reading this, that does not mean giving up on ketamine treatment. It may be the right thing for you. But also you need to go in to this treatment in a realistic view, so that you don't set yourself up. As in that for some people it can make their depression worse, because their hopes were set so high that Ketamine would help them ease or rid them of their depression, but did not help. That they didn't get the relief they so badly needed and wanted. All that being said, I DO NOT want to take away anyones Hope. DO NOT GIVE UP. KEEP TRYING. Do your research.

I wonder how much/if the dosage I was given, over each 1 hour session, played a part compared to what you experienced?

*To everyone, how often does someone who wants to escape the living Hell of Anxiety and Depression turn to recreational drugs, alcohol, etc? Just to escape for a little while? But it turns into an addiction? Yet, another Hell.

[Sillysausage234 in reply to FindingTheAnswers]

Copious amounts of veterinary grade stuff probably not the same is true ….but I’m an addiction survivor since way back when but still think of them tranquil times with affection…..Good luck in your quest for the holy grail

[Blueruth]

I haven't -- even for fun. But check out Michael Pollan and related research. There is some really good research happening with psychedelics. IDK how available it is yet but some states are legalizing it without the burden's of THC. There is a pharma company working on meds for better or worse.

[Hidden in reply to Blueruth]

I am tired of antidepressants. People say the side affects go away after a month or so, but longterm they numb all of your emotions even the good ones.

I have taken zoloft since I was in my twenties. I was able to come off of it for a few months after having my thyroid removed and all of a sudden started to feel happiness, intense orgasms, and tears of joy which I realized I had not felt in years.

I want something better than that.

[Blueruth in reply to Hidden]

I stopped them years ago for the same reason but I was also ready and had other things in my toolkit. Last year I reached the end of my rope with Covid and the other stuff going on so I took one called Viibryd for a year. It actually has some activating properties and it worked fairly well. Not sure how much was placebo because I took a really low dose. Placebo is actually a really effective treatment btw. Can't bottle it though.

One key to treatment is not to accept a med as the primary course of treatment. It is there to help but you really do need to do work to develop resilience and self regulation skills. Without those skills coming off a med is very difficult. Whether you are learning something like CBT or working Brene Brown's program and also incorporating exercise and nutrition would be my first question before trying something that still needs a lot of research. Just my two cents.

[JessicaAnn88]

Yes, it works for me, however, I wish the effects lasted longer. I do have the MTHFR gene mutation which could be a cause of it not sticking as long. I am not giving up on it yet. It's a very relaxing and enjoyable experience for the most part, but you must have your mindset and breathing work in a good place, with calming music (I like without words and watch nature images). IV Ketamine is slower and so I would begin with that if you were to try it. You need a calming place which most clinics provide. You also should set up therapy a day or two later to discuss anything that came up.

[Hidden in reply to JessicaAnn88]

Nice.

[Midori]

Ketamine was developed as a veterinary Anaesthetic for large animals, such as horses. When I was Nursing in the 70s, we used it on the orthopaedic wards, especially for joint replacement.

We were warned never to attempt to wake a 'ket' patient, as it could trigger aberrant behaviour. ( I think at the time that it was still in the experimental stages for humans.)

I don't know a great deal about it's modern uses, but I would be careful.

Cheers, Midori

[designguy]

I did four ketamine infusions over a year ago and did not find it helpful for me. My primary issue has been social anxiety and some depression and not treatment resistant depression for which it is primarily recommended. I didn't find it relaxing and calming and if I had not had a lot of experience dealing with anxiety it would have really provoked it. It is a hallucinogen and I had all kind of very surreal, vivid images and felt like I was on a roller coaster and had no sense of reality. It also is physically demanding and I got motion sickness and would be wiped out the rest of the day after the treatment. You can't drive after the treatment so my wife had to take me and pick me up from the appointment. It's also expensive and not covered by insurance, each infusion was approx. $500. Supposedly, one of the benefits of it is having a spiritual experience but I don't need ketamine to be able to do that. I've since read that they doing micro-dosing of it and maybe that would have been a better way for me to have done it. We all react differently to meds so your experience may be different from mine. You might also look into TMS treatment.