If you are addicted to ketamine, then you might need to attend drug and alcohol rehab in order to recover. You will have to undergo a medical detox, as well as a range of other therapy treatment techniques.
Ketamine is an anaesthetic which has been used throughout human and veterinary medicine for decades [1]. It is also known as a dissociative drug, which means that it has the potential for you to hallucinate and feel detached from reality.
Ketamine has been used a lot as animal tranquilisers, and has also been distributed illegally throughout places such as America and the United Kingdom to be used as a ‘party’ or ‘club drug’ [1].
Ketamine has many different ‘street names’ and can sometimes go by special k, super k or even vitamin k. Ketamine’s main chemical structure is similar to that of PCP, which is a highly dangerous and illegal drug.
Most people inject ketamine into the body, but some people are now able to swallow or snort ketamine as a powder, too [1].
Unfortunately, ketamine has also been used a lot as a date rape drug, meaning that people use ketamine as a way of sexually assaulting people on nights out.
This is because there is no odour, taste or colour to ketamine, which means that it can be easily slipped into someone’s drink on a night out. Ketamine sedates and incapacitates its victims, but can also have some extremely scary and life threatening side effects [1].
There are many side effects when it comes to using and abusing ketamine, including heart palpitations, the ability to knock you unconscious and putting you in a dream-like state. People who abuse ketamine legally often describe feeling like they have been detached from their bodies, and experience severe and intense hallucinations.
In recent years, ketamine has been used to help treat the symptoms of depression in many patients across the world. Whilst there is some evidence to suggest that ketamine can be used to treat the symptoms of depression, it is important to understand that doctors will only prescribe ketamine to people who have tried other antidepressants but have failed to get any better.
Ketamine is a highly addictive drug which can have huge effects on your body and mind. It is important to seek professional help if you are addicted to ketamine, as ketamine is both physically and mentally addictive.
Any addiction is able to develop as a result of environmental, genetic, mental and psychological factors. Unfortunately, there are sometimes a number of different factors that influence whether or not someone becomes addicted to drugs such as ketamine.
Unfortunately, when people abuse ketamine they experience intense highs when they first, initially take ketamine. In fact, people report that they experience a sense of calmness, pleasure and euphoria when they take ketamine.
Due to this, people’s tolerance increases and they become addicted to the sensations they feel and experience when they abuse the drug.
Once an individual has been abusing ketamine for a number of weeks or even sometimes months, they will become dependent on the substance. This means that their body has now become reliant and addicted to the drug, and it needs the substance in order to function day to day.
This creates a cycle of addiction, as the more they abuse, the more reliant they become on the addictive substance. It is important to understand that this becomes biological and psychological, and addiction is a disease and not a moral failing.
There are a number of reasons why someone might initially experiment with substances such as ketamine, including genetic and environmental factors.
Unfortunately, those whose parents abuse drugs and other substances are a lot more likely to become addicted to drugs in the future, too.
This is particularly true if you grow up around your parents abusing substances or if your mother abused drugs whilst pregnant with you.
Likewise, you are also more likely to become addicted to drugs such as ketamine if you have been exposed to a number of environmental factors. This could include being exposed to drugs and other substances as a child, being exposed to certain traumas, or suffering from a range of mental health issues.
As you can see, there are a range of factors that might influence someone to become addicted to ketamine. This is why it is important to know and understand the warning signs, so that you can be on the lookout for any signs and symptoms when it comes to yourself and those that you love.
As ketamine is highly addictive, when someone stops taking ketamine for a period of time (depending on their tolerance) they will experience a range of withdrawal symptoms.
As with any physically addictive drug, these withdrawal symptoms can be incredibly unpleasant. These withdrawal symptoms can last a number of days or even sometimes a few weeks, depending on the severity of your addiction. These withdrawal symptoms happen because the ketamine in your body alters the opioid receptors in your brain.
This means that you will experience a mixture of physical and psychological symptoms, including heart issues and depression.
This is why it is important to withdraw in a safe and controlled environment, because these withdrawal symptoms can become extreme and life threatening.
Withdrawal symptoms to ketamine are mainly psychological, but can be physical too. Some people experience withdrawal symptoms for a number of days or weeks, whereas others might only experience them for a day or two.
This all depends on how severe your addiction issues are, and whether or not you are addicted to one substance or a number of different substances [2].
Some of these symptoms are listed below. However, it is important to remember that you might not experience all of these withdrawal symptoms, in fact you might only experience one or two of the below withdrawal symptoms.
During the withdrawal, you will feel physically and emotionally stable. This is why it is incredibly important to only withdraw within a safe and calm environment, such as a rehab centre.
By doing so, you will be surrounded by doctors and healthcare professionals who will monitor your withdrawal symptoms 24/7.
If you suffer from a very mild addiction, then you might be approved for a home detox. However, you have to be incredibly self motivated to overcome your addiction issues yourself, in the comfort of your own home.
If you do not detox in a safe and controlled environment, then you might be putting your health at risk. A detox is the only way your body will be able to overcome its dependence on addictive substances, and does take time to overcome.
By detoxing in a rehab centre you will ensure that you are being monitored throughout your detox, and won’t be overwhelming your body by starving it of what it needs in that moment and time.
The majority of people who are addicted to ketamine are also addicted to other substances, too. This could include a list of other drugs such as cannabis, alcohol, cocaine or heroin. Unfortunately, this makes it a lot harder and more complicated to overcome.
During your detox to ketamine, you might be prescribed certain medications to help you to overcome and deal with your withdrawal symptoms.
For example, by detoxing from ketamine, you might experience depression and so might be prescribed certain drugs to help you to overcome this.
Withdrawal from ketamine can last a number of hours, days or even sometimes weeks. Only those with severe addictions to ketamine experience severe withdrawal symptoms, simply because their body is more dependent or reliant on the substance.
Symptoms usually start within just a few hours or days after initially withdrawing from ketamine, with some people experiencing withdrawal symptoms just 6 hours after their last dose of ketamine.
Below is an explanation of what the typical ketamine withdrawal timeline looks like. Whilst this does differ and change depending on how severely you are addicted to ketamine, the below timeline is set as a common example.
If you need to undergo a detox from an addiction to ketamine or any other substance, then it is important that you understand exactly how the detox process works, and how long it lasts. This way, you will know what to expect and at least there will not be any unpleasant surprises.
During days 1 – 3 after initially withdrawing from ketamine, you will start to experience some of the more acute and minor withdrawal symptoms. This includes feeling a bit more tired than usual, struggling to sleep, feeling angry or depressed. You might also start to experience some hallucinations and sickness. You might start to confuse reality, and might start to see or hear things that aren’t really there.
Between days 4 – 14, you might start to experience some of the below withdrawal symptoms more severely. These could last two weeks and could be really severe or stay quite mild.
When you progress further than two weeks, most of the above withdrawal symptoms should be stabilised by now. However, those who suffer from really severe withdrawal symptoms will still be experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, individuals with severe symptoms might have done persistent and permanent damage to their brain and body, which could be permanent for life.
If you need to undergo a withdrawal and detox from ketamine but are worried about how the process works, then speak to a member of the team at Rehab 4 Addiction for help and support.
If you or someone that you know is suffering from a ketamine addiction, then you might need to attend drug and alcohol rehab in order to recover. Unfortunately, recovering from a ketamine addiction might be more difficult than recovering from other addiction issues.
Most people who suffer from ketamine addictions are usually suffering from other substance use disorders.
This could be related to the fact that ketamine is often used to help to treat depression, which could be linked to using other types of illegal substances such as cannabis, cocaine or alcohol.
Treatment for a ketamine addiction will most likely involve inpatient drug and alcohol rehab. Upon arrival at the rehab centre, you will attend a medical and physical detox. Once you have overcome this, you will then attend therapy sessions.
This includes a range of therapy techniques from cognitive behavioural therapy, to motivational interviewing to brief interventions and holistic therapy.
You could stay in inpatient drug and alcohol rehab for a number of weeks or even sometimes months. If you suffer from a mild addiction to ketamine, then you might be able to attend outpatient drug and alcohol rehab.
This means that you will be able to remain living in the comfort of your own home for the duration of your treatment, and only have to visit the outpatient rehab centre on a frequent basis to recover.
Ketamine does not stay in your body for a long period of time. In fact, the half life of ketamine is around 45 minutes to 4 hours, but it does depend on how much of the substance you have in your body.
How long ketamine stays in your body also depends on a number of different factors including your age, your health, your weight and how fast or slow your metabolism is. This also depends on how healthy or unhealthy your liver is.
This is because it is your liver that is mainly responsible for breaking down the amount of ketamine that is in your body.
Outpatient drug and alcohol rehab is a great way to detox and recover from your addiction issues, if you are still holding down a job and looking after dependents such as children. This is because you continue to live in your home throughout your recovery and only visit rehab centres to receive your treatment.
Due to this, your treatment will be more slow paced, but will most likely last for longer than inpatient rehab does.
This is the best option for anyone who is in the early stages of their addiction issues, but are not yet fully physically addicted to ketamine or other drugs. Unfortunately, those with a severe ketamine addiction might not be best suited to outpatient drug rehab.
Inpatient drug and alcohol rehab is a great option for anyone who is severely addicted to ketamine or other drugs. During inpatient drug and alcohol rehab, you will need to move into a rehab facility for a set period of time.
This is a great option for anyone who suffers from triggers at home, such as family members. You will usually spend around 28 days within a residential facility, but will only be able to leave when professionals feel like you have recovered.
Private residential rehab can be incredibly expensive, which is why a lot of people opt for NHS funded rehab treatment, as this way you do not need to pay a penny for your treatment.
If you are suffering from a mild, moderate or severe addiction to ketamine or any other drug or substance, then it is important that you seek the right kind of help and treatment for you and your addiction issues.
Our team of specialists are able to offer you advice on treatment options and where the best residential rehab centres are in your area. At Rehab 4 Addiction, we understand that taking the first steps can often be the hardest part, which is why we talk you through the admissions process from start to finish, and will even be able to help you schedule an admission with a rehab centre in your area.
We are also on hand to help and advise your family and loved ones on how to support you through the recovery process.
Start by calling our free and confidential helpline on 0800 140 4690 or by visiting our website on www.rehab4addiction.co.uk.
[1] www.drugabuse.gov/sites/default/files/drugfacts_clubdrugs_12_2014.pdf.
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541087/
Boris is our editor-in-chief at Rehab 4 Addiction. Boris is an addiction expert with more than 20 years in the field. His expertise covers a broad of topics relating to addiction, rehab and recovery. Boris is an addiction therapist and assists in the alcohol detox and rehab process. Boris has been featured on a variety of websites, including the BBC, Verywell Mind and Healthline. You can connect with Boris online at LinkedIn or X.com.
