More research is going into alternative therapies, and it has gotten many people asking, “Does Ketamine therapy get you high?”
Ketamine is being adopted more for the treatment of mental conditions like depression, and most people are unsure about its operation and potential side effects.
A quick search will show you that Ketamine is a controlled substance, and you might not be sure if it is safe for you to use.
This article will go into details of all the aspects of Ketamine therapy and help you understand its positive and negative effects. Let us get into the details and find out more;
Does Ketamine Therapy Get You High?
Ketamine therapy gets the patient high since Ketamine is a drug, but medical professionals monitor the therapy session so it won’t go overboard. Ketamine is a potent drug, and it will give a high if not properly administered.
The goal is for it to provide a “controlled high” where a person is detached from the body, and at higher doses, it can give full-blown dissociative effects.
It can create various sensory distortions that lead to euphoria and hallucinations, so you can get high, primarily if the drug is used in an uncontrolled environment.
What Is Ketamine Therapy
Depression and increasing mental health concerns in the last decade have led to people focusing more on various methods for helping people get through their mental hurdles.
One of the most significant ways through which people can tackle depression is Ketamine therapy, but there is a lot to it.
Before going into more detail, we need to understand the drug being used in the process, Ketamine. Ketamine is a medication that is used as an anesthetic to induce loss of consciousness. Ketamine resembles cocaine in appearance and partly in effects, but it is an entirely different drug.
Ketamine (Ketalar) is a dissociative drug, and that is why it is used for general anesthesia for surgeries that don’t need muscle relaxation.
A lot of research has gone into studying Ketamine and its side effects, and that is what led to the development of Ketamine therapy.
Ketamine therapy is a treatment process that involves the use of low Ketamine doses to manage various mental conditions. The procedure is used to treat anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and others.
Ketamine is FDA-approved for high-dosage use in operation rooms, but sometimes, the injections are used off-label to treat pain, depression, and various mental conditions.
The recent years have seen a spike in mental health issues, and it called for a more drastic way of handling the cases.
There are several medications prescribed for anxiety and depression, and they work by artificially correcting the neurochemical imbalances that cause the underlying issues.
They go for specific brain receptors and cause changes in chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and others.
Ketamine is a psychedelic, and it doesn’t work in the same way; it produces a brief but intense subjective experience. This will trigger an afterglow accompanied by cognition, insight, and a positive behavior change.
The more straightforward way to put it is it makes you high, so you see the shady side of yourself that is causing your depression, and you wake up feeling better.
You can then have a talk with your therapist about the revelations you had while under, and this can help you get over most of the issues you had.
There were studies in about 40,000 patients in the 1950s and 1960s in North America to see the effectiveness of psychedelic-aided therapies.
Ketamine therapy includes one or several Ketamine dosages under clinical supervision integrated with counseling.
Ketamine works by blocking the action of the NMDA receptor which r is responsible for pain perception and mood control.
Ketamine therapy has rapid-acting antidepressant effects, and many patients reported feeling better a few hours or days after the administration.
The goal is to achieve more sustained results with fewer Ketamine doses by harnessing its psychedelic effects.
Who Can Use Ketamine Therapy?
Ketamine infusion therapy is becoming more popular, but knowing it is not an ideal solution for everyone is essential.
In some cases, Ketamine will cause more harm or fix mental issues while creating more significant physical issues.
Ketamine therapy is a good choice for PTSD patients or those with treatment-resistant depression who don’t respond to traditional solutions.
With that being said, Ketamine therapy is a big gun, and it should only be used after other, lighter methods have been tried and failed.
The more important question is who shouldn’t use Ketamine therapy since the risks may outweigh the benefits.
Patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases like angina, hypertension, strokes, or heart rhythm disorders should not use Ketamine therapy.
Additionally, pregnant women, people with a history of drug use, severe liver disease patients, and individuals with psychiatric disorders shouldn’t use Ketamine.
Ketamine’s effects can be unpredictable, and some people might get violent reactions if they have these underlying issues.
Advantages of Ketamine Therapy
Ketamine is a flexible drug that offers a lot of benefits, especially to the mind, if used correctly. Its use started in surgery, but its benefits went past those borers and have helped in the successful treatment of many other conditions.
Ketamine helps eliminate migraines, PTSD, bipolar disorder, OCD, and chronic pain. One of its biggest advantages is that it reduces the necessity for narcotic painkillers. This is a significant advantage as it helps reduce the risks associated with long-term narcotic use.
Another advantage is that Ketamine works very fast, and its effects will continue even after your boy metabolizes it, and this is especially true for treating depression.
Standard antidepressants need to build up in the body for weeks to have an effect, while Ketamine takes only a few hours.
Ketamine doesn’t have a significant effect on blood pressure and heart rate when used correctly, and that is why it is safe for surgeries.
This means that you don’t risk getting the sedating effect that you would get from most other drugs, and this saves you a lot of complications.
It is crucial to note that the positive effects will only manifest if Ketamine is administered correctly under close supervision by a medical professional.
What are the Potential Side Effects of Using Ketamine?
Ketamine is a controlled substance mainly because it has a lot of short and long-term side effects, especially if it isn’t administered correctly.
Experiencing these side effects is the most considerable risk when dealing with Ketamine therapy, so let’s review some of them to give you all the data you need;
1. Short-term side effects
Ketamine showcases a range of somewhat unpredictable side effects that you can feel just a few minutes after taking the drug.
The effects will vary depending on the amount of Ketamine you induce, but some acute symptoms can last for several hours and require medical intervention.
At a low dosage, the side effects will be minor, like confusion, disorientation, and loss of motor coordination. The patient will also get increased blood pressure, heart rate, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness.
There will be additional changes in sensory perceptions, which will include full hallucinations and a feeling of being detached from the body and environment. This is the drug’s intended effect and is meant to help the patient reflect better on their problem.
At higher doses, these effects will be more severe and sustained for longer times, which can put the user at risk of overdosing.
The problem is worse if Ketamine is used along with other drugs like cocaine, MDMA, or amphetamine. Using Ketamine with alcohol or other CNS depressants can lead to respiratory failure and death.
2. Long-term side effects
There isn’t a lot of research on the matter of Ketamine’s long-term effects. The most significant long-term risk is related to the fact that Ketamine use, like cocaine and many other drugs, is reinforcing. This puts the user at a significant risk of becoming addicted.
Additionally, research shows that Ketamine leads to a level of physical dependence and a level of tolerance, and it causes withdrawals when use stops.
Ketamine withdrawal syndrome will lead to issues such as excessive sleepiness, depression, and drug cravings.
Additionally, studies show that long-term abuse of Ketamine can lead to permanent neurological risks since Ketamine interacts with neurochemical receptors in the brain.
A 2022 research proved that continued recreational use of Ketamine over long periods led to changes in brain structure and function.
The changes can lead to adverse permanent effects like memory impairments and a decline in executive functioning.
Additionally, some of the effects could result in emotional and cognitive changes that could then lead an individual to develop a Ketamine addition or addition to other drugs in the same group. In such cases, supervised detoxification and rehab are the best choices to help the user recover.
Conclusion
Those are all the answers to the question,” Does Ketamine therapy get you high?” Ketamine is a psychedelic, and it will get you high.
Ketamine therapy is becoming a reliable solution for the mental health crisis, and more research is being put into using it to help people.
With proper administration, Ketamine can help with several mental disorders, including anxiety, PTSD, depression, and OCD. It is crucial to note that it has a wide range of effects, and it might not be a good choice for everyone, so consult a medical professional before using Ketamine therapy.
