Ketamine Addiction

Is Ketamine Addictive?

Can You Get Addicted to Ketamine?

Ketamine abuse and toxicity can result from the medical use of parenteral or intranasal ketamine or the recreational misuse of ketamine, commonly through intravenous or intramuscular injection, insufflation (snorting), oral consumption, or smoking.

Ketamine-related emergency department visits often involved other drugs, with 71.5% of ketamine-related visits in the United States in 2011 involving alcohol (Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2011). The national survey-based Monitoring the Future Study in the United States reported that ketamine use decreased between 2012 and 2002, from 2.5% to 1.5% and 1.3% to 0.4%, among 12th graders and college students, respectively.

The World Drug Report in 2015 categorized ketamine as a worldwide recreational drug, with 58 countries reporting illicit use. However, ketamine misuse occurs on a relatively small scale, and PCP derivatives constituted only 1% of “new psychoactive substances” reported to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime in 2014 (fact file on ketamine). Ketamine misuse often occurs with other substances, including alcohol, amphetamines, MDMA, cocaine, and caffeine. [2]

n the United States, where ketamine has been classified as a C-III controlled substance since 1999, ketamine misuse has increased since the 1980s. However, compared to the surges in opioid addiction and illicit cannabis misuse, ketamine misuse has occurred relatively small.

Ketamine Used

Ketamine Treatment for Opioid Addiction

Opioids are good painkillers, but many patients treated with opioids as painkillers developed a secondary addiction. These patients need to stop misusing opioids, but the mild-to-severe clinical symptoms associated with opioid withdrawal risk increasing their existing pain. In such cases, ketamine for opiate addiction, used by anaesthetists and pain physicians to reduce opioid medication, may be an effective agent for managing opioid withdrawal. [4]

Ketamine Treatment for Drug Addiction

Does ketamine help with addiction? Yes. Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic drug that acts on the central nervous system by antagonizing the n-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Recently, ketamine therapy for addiction has attracted attention as a rapid-acting anti-depressant. Other studies have reported ketamine therapy addiction efficacy in reducing problematic alcohol and drug use. 

Ketamine has effectively prolonged abstinence from alcohol and heroin in detoxified alcoholics and heroin-dependent individuals. 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. Ketamine shows great promise as a treatment for various addictions, but well-controlled research is urgently needed. [5]

Ketamine for Depression

Is ketamine for depression addictive? Yes, it can be addictive. Depression is a serious mood disorder with symptoms that include prolonged periods of sadness, hopelessness, and irritability. The symptoms can affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities. Depression is usually treated with medications, psychotherapy, or a combination. The FDA approved ketamine to treat depression. However, it should be medically monitored or under professional supervision as it has addiction risks itself. [6]

Is Ketamine Addictive When Used for Depression?

Yes. Ketamine works wonders for depression and fast. But it’s also addictive and potentially triggering for people in recovery. It’s proven to effectively treat severe depression that won’t respond to other medications. But because it affects so many receptor sites in the brain and causes hallucinations and other psychedelic effects, there’s much to consider. 

Ketamine Addiction Side Effects

Ketamine overdose symptoms are similar to PCP overdose, although the effects of ketamine tend to resolve more quickly. Physical signs and symptoms are dose-dependent through the loss of consciousness.  Patients may be unable to provide a relevant history, and clinicians should seek pertinent clinical information from witnesses. Clinicians should also maintain familiarity with street names for ketamine.

The following symptoms may be present during ketamine use and intoxication: 

• General – sedation, impaired consciousness
• Head, Ear, Eyes, Nose, Throat – horizontal, vertical or rotary nystagmus, mydriasis, excessive salivation 
• Cardiovascular – hypertension, tachycardia, palpitations, arrhythmias, chest pain 
• Abdominal – abdominal pain, abdominal tenderness, nausea, vomiting 
• Neurological – altered mental status (disorientation), paranoia, dysphoria, anxiety, confusion, slurred speech, dizziness, ataxia, dysarthria, trismus, muscular rigidity, psychomotor, psychomimetic, or acute dystonic reactions
• Genitourinary – lower urinary tract symptoms
• Trauma – a thorough examination for evidence of trauma is needed as injuries secondary to ketamine intoxication can occur due to the diminished perception of pain.

Symptoms mostly unique to overdose, overly rapid infusion, or combined with other drugs include: 

• Respiratory – respiratory depression, apnea
• Cardiovascular – hypotension, bradycardia, myocardial infarction 
• Neurological – seizure, stupor, coma 

Symptoms mostly unique to iatrogenic, intravenous delivery include:

• Respiratory – respiratory depression, laryngospasm

Ketamine Addiction Signs

The following are signs that you, or someone you know, maybe struggling with an addiction to ketamine.

Behavioral and social symptoms of ketamine addiction:

• Using ketamine regularly in your day-to-day life and feeling as though you are unable to function without it
• Devoting an excessive amount of time to obtaining, using, and recovering from the effects of ketamine consumption
• Feeling as though you want to stop taking ketamine but finding that you are unable to
• Inability to stop thinking about when, where, and how you will get your next fix of ketamine
• Feeling as though ketamine has taken over your life
• Taking ketamine has become more important than hobbies or activities that you once enjoyed
• Continuing to take ketamine, even after experiencing negative consequences as a result of your ketamine abuse
• Mixing ketamine with other addictive drugs or alcohol
• Seeking out new ways to consume ketamine to experience a more intense ‘high’
• Being defensive, dishonest, and secretive about your ketamine use
• Withdrawing from loved ones leads to social isolation
• Finding that you only tend to socialize with people who take ketamine or other drugs
• People have noticed dramatic changes in your appearance or behavior as a result of your ketamine use
• Neglecting your responsibilities due to being high on ket
• Poor performance and attendance at work
• Stealing money or selling valuables to pay for ketamine
• Possession of paraphernalia related to injecting ketamine e.g. needles, syringes
• Engaging in risky and reckless behaviors when under the influence of ketamine

Physical ketamine addiction symptoms:

• Gradually building a tolerance to ketamine, meaning that you need to take higher doses of this drug and more frequently to experience the desired ‘high’
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking or significantly reduce your ketamine use
• Scabs and bruises on the skin as a result of injecting ketamine
• Tiredness and fatigue
• Inability to feel pain
• Increased heart rate
• Breathing problems
• Co-ordination problems

Are Ketamine Infusions Addictive?

Numerous small clinical studies and ketamine addiction stories have shown that a single, low-dose ketamine infusion can rapidly alleviate depressive symptoms and thoughts of suicidality in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), lasting for about one week. Interestingly, the antidepressant effects of ketamine can be prolonged with intermittent, repeated infusion regimens and produce more robust therapeutic effects when compared to a single infusion.

The safety of repeated treatments with ketamine and ketamine addiction risk with depression has not been thoroughly investigated. Although more studies are needed, some clinical and preclinical reports indicated that repeated infusions of low doses of ketamine might have addictive properties and suggested that adolescent and adult female subjects may be more sensitive to ketamine’s addictive effects. Additionally, during ketamine infusions, many TRD patients report hallucinations and feelings of dissociation and depersonalization, and therefore the effects of repeated treatments of ketamine on cognition must be further examined. [7]

An inpatient treatment center is designed to make the detox process as comfortable as possible and minimize all associated risks. Round-the-clock care and monitoring are provided to assist those with chronic symptoms and ensure the safety of every client. We Level Up FL have a luxury detox facility with everything necessary to achieve sobriety. This includes the most highly qualified and trained staff and various treatment options. Following a short stay in our detox and residential rehab program, We Level Up FL patients are ready and prepared for the next phase of their recovery journey.

The recovery process should be relatively smooth if you’re fortunate enough to survive ketamine toxicity and overdose. If you overdosed because you couldn’t stop using ketamine, now is the time to evaluate treatment options. Contact us today for a free personal, private consultation with one of our counselors 24/7.

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