How to Get Help for Ketamine Addiction

About Ketamine

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic—a chemical cousin of PCP. Its use as a recreational drug can increase a person’s risk of developing addiction and hasten the emergence of long-term psychological effects, including:

Memory impairment.
Personality changes.
Slowed reactions.
Social withdrawal.
Sleep disturbances.
Symptoms of psychosis.

Those who are addicted to ketamine or similar drugs—such as PCP—should seek help to lower their risk of experiencing serious side effects. In addition to the effects listed above, medical complications of ketamine abuse have been reported. These include epigastric/upper stomach pain, liver dysfunction, gallbladder problems, kidney failure, cystitis, and other urinary tract problems.¹ Also, because anesthesia is common with ketamine, vomiting and subsequent choking are possible. Brain damage from ketamine use was also detected during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on 21 test subjects in a 2013 study.

Is Ketamine Addictive?

Ketamine’s capacity to elicit euphoria, dissociation from pain, and detachment from one’s environment are primary motivators for its abuse and contribute to its addictive potential.²

Ketamine was originally developed as a safer alternative to PCP for inducing anesthesia prior to surgery. It continues to be used as an anesthetic—most notably in surgical procedures for animals. Like with many other psychoactive drugs with potential medical applications, addiction can develop when ketamine is taken in excess or over long periods of time.

The administration route of any drug can accelerate the addiction process, and ketamine is no exception. Ketamine crystals are usually snorted but can also be smoked, quickly delivering a powerful effect.³ The euphoria and indifference to pain and one’s environment that ketamine induces are intensely pleasurable effects—spurring the addict to repeat and increase their use of the drug.

Three Stages of Addiction

Addiction to ketamine follows a trajectory not unlike those of other drugs of addiction. There are thought to be 3 stages of the addiction cycle:³

Binge/Intoxication Stage—This is the period of experiencing rewarding effects of ketamine, but you may also begin to want it more than other things which used to give you happiness.
Withdrawal/Negative Affect Stage—This is the stage of negative reinforcement, where you need the ketamine simply to avoid unpleasant effects associated with absence of the drug or withdrawal.
Preoccupation/Anticipation Stage—This is the stage of cravings, when your brain’s ‘brake systems’ don’t work anymore and trying to avoid the drug becomes an increasing struggle in the presence of continued stress from drug cues or triggers, such as people, places, and things.

What Are the Signs of Ketamine Addiction?

The major sign of ketamine addiction is that you keep taking the drug regardless of negative consequences and cannot stop even when you want to.

Signs of ketamine addiction don’t simply involve the addicted individual. Other signs of ketamine addiction manifest in family relationships. Addiction to ketamine has the potential to cause a great deal of pain, anguish, sadness, loss, and alienation.

Am I Addicted to Ketamine?

The following questions will help you to determine whether you have a problem:

Do you ever get angry or feel guilty when confronted about your drug use?
Do you try to stop using ketamine or cut down your use without success, despite numerous efforts to do so?
Do you need more and more ketamine to achieve the desired effect?
Do you find that the activities you used to love, like athletics or spending time with friends and family, have been replaced by your ketamine use?
Have you sustained any injuries because you felt indifferent to pain while on ketamine?
Have you stolen ketamine or procured it through other illegal means?
Do you find that you live in a world of invincibility while on ketamine, oblivious to the real world in which you have to live and survive (delusions)?

Help is available for ketamine addiction, and professionals in addiction treatment centers are no strangers to treating the effects of ketamine misuse. You should be able to easily find a treatment center that will help you overcome your addiction to ketamine.

Ketamine Addiction Treatment Types

Ketamine addiction doesn’t have to be a lifelong burden, and anyone who abuses ketamine can seek help and achieve lasting recovery. Ketamine addiction treatment helps you get back on track, reversing a lot of the negative brain effects associated with craving the drug. Successful treatment often includes family therapy—helping heal relationships impaired or broken by ketamine addiction.

The first treatment consideration for you may revolve around the question of residential treatment, inpatient treatment, or outpatient treatment. Which one is right for you depends on your treatment needs. Here are a few considerations:

If you have medical complications arising from ketamine use requiring clinical supervision or laboratory services, you should consider inpatient/residential treatment.
Inpatient treatment has been found to benefit those who have co-occurring personality disorders or psychiatric disorders more than outpatient treatment does.⁴
If you are experiencing problems at home, issues with your employment, or legal problems, inpatient treatment may be a better option.⁴
If you lack transportation, are homeless, or live a long distance from a treatment center, residential treatment is better than outpatient treatment.⁴ Having a place to stay where you feel safe, with access to social services after treatment, gives you a good start to a life of happiness and recovery.

If you have a strong support system at home and minimal medical needs, outpatient treatment may work for you. This is an especially desirable option for those who are unable to continue working or live away from home for an extended period of time. Often, outpatient treatment is used in combination with residential treatment as continuing care once the initial period of rehab ends.

What Happens During and After Treatment?

Addiction is a chronic, relapsing condition, like other chronic illnesses such as diabetes and asthma. Similar to other medical conditions, it is treatable and manageable. If there is a relapse back to ketamine use, this does not mean that treatment is a failure, but rather that you may need more intensive treatment, a change in medication, or changes in your personal and social life.

Treatment addresses your deepest needs, tapping into your strengths and enhancing your motivation. It enables you to become aware of factors that led to drug dependence and deal with the problems that kept you there. Interventions may include medication for depression or other mood disorders resulting from, or exacerbated by ketamine addiction.

Group therapy, individual therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational enhancement therapy (MET), and 12-step meetings (e.g. Narcotics Anonymous) help you develop skills to avoid relapse, increase your self-efficacy (“I can do this”), and draw from the strength of others in recovery. Based on research findings, CBT and MET are among the most effective treatments for addiction.⁵

Since recovery is a lifelong process, aftercare is an important tool that allows you to build on successes made in treatment. Aftercare can range from regularly scheduled addiction counseling sessions to ongoing 12-step meeting participation.

Find Ketamine Treatment Programs

If you’re suffering with ketamine addiction, you need to seek help. Our hotline is available 24/7. You can contact American Addiction Centers (AAC) free at . Treatment support specialists will help find you the right place to go for assistance. There are also free drug abuse helpline numbers you can call.

You can begin a new life today.