What is ketamine? Ketamine refers to a medicine that is used by doctors and vets as a sedative and a painkiller. It prevents your brain from interpreting pain messages and that is how it works as an anaesthesia. It is also under study as a medicine for depression.
Furthermore, ketamine is also used illegally as a hallucinogen. It is known for its hallucinogenic effects. Sometimes, it may be used as ecstasy in drinks. Read on to know ketamine side effects.
What are the Effects of Ketamine Consumption?
Ketamine starts to work in 30 seconds to 20 minutes and its effect comes based on its way of consumption. Later on, the effect can last for a duration of 45 minutes to 3 hours. You may feel happy and relaxed. Ketamine users may also feel as if they are unattached from their body. It can further cause hallucinations, making you see, smell, hear, or taste things that do not even exist, or perceive them differently.
Here are some of the effects of taking ketamine:
- Slurred speech and blurred vision
- Numbness, disorientation, and drowsiness
- Feeling of non-coordination
- Loss of consciousness
Some of the unwanted ketamine side effects include:
- Sweating and raised temperature
- Nausea and vomiting
- Feelings of panic, confusion, and anxiety
- Faster and irregular heartbeat
The effects depend on the following factors:
- Quantity of ketamine
- Strength of ketamine
- Person’s size, weight, and height
- Your past experience with ketamine
- Whether or not you take other drugs with ketamine
There can also be symptoms for 4-6 days. These include depression, memory loss, clumsiness, aches, disorientation, restlessness, and anxiety. Note that an overdose can cause seizures and coma; it can even be fatal and lead to death. An overdose often results in rigid muscles, convulsions, unconsciousness, high blood pressure, and inability to move.
There can be several long-term problems also such as flashbacks, depression, pain in the stomach, ketamine bladder syndrome (ulcers in the bladder leading to incontinence), mood changes, personality changes, and issues with concentration and memory.
Besides all this, ketamine can lead to social, financial as well as work problems. One must also note that taking ketamine with alcohol, opiates, and heroin is quite dangerous; it can slow down the nervous system, disrupt the functioning of the body, and even get fatal. It should also not be taken with other drugs to prevent chances of strain and faster heart rate.
Withdrawal from Ketamine
When taken on a regular basis, ketamine consumption can lead to addiction. You will then need a higher dose to feel its effects and need it necessarily to pass the day, affecting your whole life.
While withdrawing oneself from its consumption comes with the following symptoms:
- Cravings for ketamine
- Exhaustion
- Loss of appetite
- Nightmares
- Depression and anxiety
- Sweats, chills and tremors
- Fast heartbeat
Withdrawal can be difficult but it is possible with the help of a doctor. They suggest ketamine therapy, counselling, taking help from an addiction specialist, inpatient detox, and rehabilitation. There are also support groups to help such people.
Applications of Ketamine
We have gone through various effects of ketamine and how we can get rid of its addiction. However, ketamine also has its own set of uses such as ketamine for depression may be a way out for certain patients. Some of the ketamine uses are as follows:
- As general anesthesia: Doctors sometimes use ketamine to induce general anesthesia. This may be done when treating joint dislocations, reducing fractures, or repairing wounds in individuals who do not cooperate.
- May heal pain: A low dose might be used to treat severe trauma, fractures, pain in the abdomen, leg or arm pain, and low back ache. A low dose of ketamine does not produce the dissociative effect and relieves pain.
- May help treat status epilepticus: Research is on to find out if ketamine can help with refractory status epilepticus (RSE), where the person experiences seizures. Ketamine may work if other standard antiseizure drugs fail to respond.
- Helping with depression: Although ketamine may treat depression when other treatment options do not work, it is recommended that doctors first try antidepressants before coming to ketamine for depression.
- Aiding in anxiety: Research is on to find out if it can also work on people with social anxiety disorder.
Conclusion
Ketamine is a general anesthetic used by doctors in emergency room settings. The drug may have other medical uses but more research is needed to prove its effectiveness as well as safety for the users. This is why it is important to understand ketamine uses. People with certain heart conditions should not take ketamine but it is safe when consumed under a trained professional.
