Ketamine is used by both vets and doctors, especially in dentistry, as a sedation tool.
What are the effects of ketamine?
There are short-term and long term effects of ketamine. The short-term effects include:
- Sedation
- Delusions
- Changes in the discernment of noise, schedule, settings, and body
- Feelings of invulnerability
- Decreased awareness of surroundings
- Dream-like state
- Amplified disruption
- Impaired thinking
- Out-of-body experiences
- Lower pain awareness
Long term effects of ketamine abuse include:
- Reduced memory and thought
- Diminished higher-level skills such as problem-solving, concentration, organizing, self-control, decision-making, emotional control, and moral intellectual
- Diminished psychological welfare
- Delusional ideas, even after abstinence
- Sadness and dissociative symptoms
- Problems with vision
- Loss of white matter in the brain
- Violent or aggressive behavior
- Psychological need
- Urination that hurts
- Stomach ache or pain
On top of physical and psychological issues, there are also life issues that ketamine effect. These include:
- Loss of job
- Kicked out of school or flunking out
- Problems with relationships
- Being in debt or broke
- No longer enjoying hobbies or things that used to bring you joy
Signs and symptoms
What are the signs or symptoms of ketamine abuse or addiction? The following are signs or symptoms:
- Excessive use or doses of ketamine
- The inability to quit or cut back
- Too much time spent finding and using ketamine
- Strong cravings
- Constant use of ketamine to the detriment of home, work, or school life
- Less involvement in occupational, social, or recreational activities
- Continuing ketamine use even if it harms or worsens your mental and physical being
- Needing more and more to get the same high
Symptoms of overdose
While overdose with ketamine is rare symptoms include:
- Breathing slowed
- Rapid heartbeat
- Sedation
- Faintness
- Hallucinations
- Garbled speech
- Anxiety
- Muscle spasms in the jaw
- Larger pupils
- Retching
- Amnesia
- Seizures
- Muddled thinking
- Stopped breathing
Treating ketamine abuse and addiction
Treatment will take into consideration the age of the person and any other problems that are going on at the same time.
Treatments can be done as an outpatient, residential, or in the hospital. Some treatments that can be used include the following:
- One on one therapy
- Group session therapy
- Family therapy
- 12-Step program
- Tools to help reduce relapse
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Biofeedback & Neurofeedback
- Medication management
- Anger management
- Hypnotherapy
Which of these you will use; will depend on what your goals, are how long you have been abusing or addicted to ketamine. Your doctor and therapists will work with you to make sure you get the correct treatment.
It is 449 Recovery’s ultimate goal to help each client overcome every test on the road to recovery. We believe that healing is best achieved in an atmosphere that will encourage it. The uninterrupted watched detoxification, in conjunction with long term treatment programs at 449 Recovery are provided in a caring and structured setting. Postponement is the foe of success, so please give us a call at (855) 435-7449 to gain more insight into our all-inclusive drug addiction treatment program today.