Ketamine is a highly addictive substance that is becoming an increasingly large issue and strain on society.
Ketamine is used in the healthcare and medical setting as an anaesthetic, as it works as a strong painkiller.
Nevertheless, more and more people are abusing ketamine, so much so that it has now adopted numerous street names such as K, Ket or Vitamin K.
Unfortunately, more young people are abusing ketamine than ever before, as it’s typically one of the cheapest party drugs on the market.
In fact, studies have found that the amount of people abusing and seeking help for a ketamine addiction has risen by 5 times since 2015 [1].
Addiction to ketamine disrupts your life in more ways than you can imagine.
When you start to abuse ketamine, your tolerance increases significantly and very quickly, and people often do not realise they are becoming addicted to ketamine until it is too late.
When people abuse ketamine on a regular basis, their body becomes increasingly dependent on the substance in order to function.
This means that in order to recover from an addiction to ketamine, individuals must attend rehab and a medical detox.
Attending rehab for an addiction to ketamine is incredibly important, as you are only able to recover from a ketamine addiction with a combination of a detox and therapy to help you to overcome the root causes of your addiction.
Therapy will help to address your psychological dependence on the substance, which might have been triggered by stress, trauma or mental health issues such as depression, anxiety or paranoia.
When you attend rehab for a ketamine addiction, you will receive a mixture of therapy techniques such as cognitive behavioural therapy and group or family therapy.
During your time in rehab for a ketamine addiction, you will also receive treatment for long term issues and damage caused to your body, such as damage to your bladder and kidney. These issues are sometimes referred to as ‘ketamine bladder.’
Alongside treatment for the physical damage caused to your body, you will also gain treatment on how to prevent a relapse again in the future.
Unfortunately, a significant amount of people who attend rehab go on to relapse again at a later date. This is why a lot of your time at rehab will be spent on relapse prevention.
Towards the end of your stay in rehab for a ketamine addiction, you will spend some time creating an aftercare plan.
This plan will assess your triggers and a number of things that you can put in place to ensure that you do not relapse when you return back home. Your relapse prevention plan will also contain a list of helpful tools and lifelines to call if you ever struggle.
Recovery from a ketamine addiction usually takes a number of weeks or even months, depending on how severe your addiction is. The more severe your addiction, the longer you will need to stay in rehab in order to recover.
You will spend a number of weeks or even months in therapy, aiming to get to the root cause of your triggers and addiction. This will usually involve a range of therapy techniques such as cognitive behavioural therapy, motivational interviewing, holistic therapy or group therapy.
You will also get treatment for any physical damage the addiction has caused, especially to your bladder or to your liver. You will be assessed by medical professionals, including doctors and even sometimes surgeons if required.
The more severe your addiction, the longer you will need to stay in rehab for. This could involve a combination of inpatient and outpatient rehab treatment, and could last a number of months or even years if your addiction is severe enough.
Rehab for a ketamine addiction can cost thousands of pounds, depending on how long you stay in the rehab facility for and where in the country you are based. A stay in a rehab facility that lasts just a couple of weeks can cost up to £6,000 at a private rehab facility.
The longer you stay in rehab, the more expensive it is. Likewise, when opting for a private rehab facility you can choose between a private or shared room, as well as other luxuries which hike up the price.
However, if you are unable to afford private rehab treatment, then you might be able to opt for NHS-funded rehab treatment.
Opting for NHS-funded rehab allows you to gain access to treatment for free. This makes rehab treatment far more accessible and open to a number of people who otherwise would not be able to afford treatment.
Nevertheless, there are significant waiting lists when it comes to NHS funded rehab treatment. These waiting lists can last a number of weeks or months, meaning that people’s addictions are growing worse in the meantime. For this reason, a lot of people opt for private rehab treatment, despite the costs.
If you have never been addicted to a drug such as ketamine, then it can be incredibly difficult to imagine how your body could feel when it is dependent on a substance in order to function.
However, when you abuse a strong substance such as ketamine, your body is affected in numerous ways, and your cravings become intense. The more you abuse ketamine, then the stronger your cravings would be.
Ketamine affects the brain’s neurotransmitters. The receptor in the brain called serotonin 1B increases in its production, and you immediately feel happier and more calm [2].
Ultimately, ketamine blocks NMDA receptors in the brain, affecting the cortical circuits [3].
Repeated exposure and abuse of ketamine leads to structural changes in the brain, including the dopamine system which is a response for feeling excited and ‘high.’
The more you abuse ketamine, the more you will need to abuse in order to feel the same sensations that you once did.
Ketamine is an anaesthetic, producing analgesia, sedation and dissociation with the world around you.
Meanwhile, you are likely to experience an increased heart rate and high blood pressure, as well as feeling a range of other side effects such as vomiting, dizziness, confusion and hallucinations.
As mentioned, when you stop abusing ketamine, you will experience a range of withdrawal symptoms. These withdrawal symptoms will likely kick in almost immediately, or within a few hours or sustaining.
Anyone who has struggled from an addiction before will tell you that overcoming your withdrawal symptoms are by far the hardest part of your recovery. The worse your addiction, the stronger your dependence, and the stronger your dependence then the worse your withdrawal symptoms from ketamine will be.
Below is a list of just some of the withdrawal symptoms you are likely to experience during your detox from an addiction to ketamine [4].
If you are addicted to ketamine, or struggling with an addiction to other substances such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine or cannabis, then you might need to attend rehab in order to recover from your addiction.
Here with Rehab 4 Addiction, our team is on hand to private you with the knowledge and advice you need in order to gain access to treatment.
Our friendly team is on hand to assess you and the severity of your addiction, and will be able to provide advice on which rehab facilities might be available to you, as well as help and support on what type of treatment you might need in order to recover.
Recovery from a ketamine addiction is possible, although it will require focus and willpower. To get the help that you need and deserve, call our team today by calling us for free on 0800 140 4690.
[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4059572/
[3] https://bcs.mit.edu/news/study-models-how-ketamines-molecular-action-leads-its-effects-brain
